Newsletter of January 17, 2006.

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First "Reinventing the U.N." Prep Session this Saturday, Jan. 21!

Our first preparation session for the Civitas "Reinventing the United Nations" conference is this Saturday, January 21.. It will be at Crossroads School (map below) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. The first 60 - 90 minutes will focus on background information for the conference; the final portion will be reserved for regular discussion.

Our preparation will include a look at the way in which the U.N. is currently organized and how that reflected the global needs of 1945 when the institution was created. We'll examine how the U.N. has been able to respond to issues of armed conflict, human rights violations, economic injustice, environmental degradation, and more. We will use this information in our next preparatory session on January 28 when we begin to look at suggestions for modifying the U.N. to meet the needs of the early 21st century.

For those just tuning in, or those who occasionally have memory lapses, here is the key information on the conference and preceding preparatory sessions.

The conference is on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18, at the Airport DoubleTree Hotel on Natural Bridge Rd.

We have openings for about ten more students. If you would like to participate in the conference but have not yet signed up, you can (a) sign up on-line by clicking here or (b) just show up for the prep session this Saturday at Crossroads. To the forty-eight who have already signed up, we sent you an email under separate cover today (Tuesday) with the intent of making sure that you have all the details. Here goes:

1. Are you really planning to attend the conference? Please let us know if you're coming, so we can plan accordingly. We're reserving hotel rooms, planning meals, etc. Knowing how many people are coming is important. If you've decided not to attend, please let us know right away.

2. Prep Session #1 is this Saturday. That's January 21, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., at Crossroads School. We hope you're planning to attend. The session will focus on an introduction to issues facing the United Nations. This important background information will help make our conference discussions more meaningful and information-based. We will have fresh video and PowerPoint presentations.

3. Country selection and assignments. We have reviewed everyone's requests for country selection. At this week's prep session, you'll have an opportunity to revise your selection, in order to create a more diverse range of countries at the conference. We have very few countries from Africa [where most of the growth in membership of the UN has occurred], from the Middle East, and from Asia. Please consider representing one of these countries. We'll do our best to give everyone his/her first choice.

4. Emergency Info/Permission Forms. At the prep session, we'll be handing out Emergency Info/Permission Forms. Every participant needs to return a signed form to us before the conference. [You can also access a copy of the form and print it out from http://civitas-stl.com/civ0506/Permissionform2006.pdf .]

5. Roommates. We'll also be asking you to indicate your preference[s] for roommates.

6. Payment. The fee for the conference is $60. Payment is due by Friday, February 10. Make your check payable to Civitas Associates. If you need financial assistance, please let us know. We will do everything possible to allow all students to attend, regardless of ability to pay.

7. There are two more prep sessions after the one this Saturday, Jan. 21. Please plan to attend.

*** a. Prep Session #2: Saturday, Jan. 28, 9-11 a.m. Movie: "Broken Promises" -- a somewhat critical film of the U.N.

*** b. Prep Session #3: Saturday, Feb. 4, 9-11 a.m. Simulation: "Re-inventing a School District."

They will also be at Crossroads School and will run from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM in conjunction with regular discussion groups.

That's all for now. If you have questions or comments, please email us at: [email protected] or call us at (314) 367-6480.

You can continue to access updated information on the conference by clicking on the link below. We will continue to update our conference web site as we get closer to the conference.

Conference Home Page Including Link to Application Form

Discussion Group to Follow Prep Session this Saturday!

The final 30-45 minutes of our high school session this Saturday at Crossroads will be another one of our "we'll start some place and end some place else" discussion groups. The topics are up to you, the students. However (and doesn't there always seem to be a 'however'), we will take the liberty to offer a few suggestions:

1. Tuesday's Supreme Court decision which stated that the assisted suicide law in Oregon is consitutional.

2. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has called for rebuilding 'chocolate' New Orleans.

3. Should toy guns be permitted in schools?

4. etc.

Our next discussion group will be at the conclusion of the January 28 Preparatory Session (#2) for the "Reinventing the United Nations" conference.

Once again, links to photos and video from previous discussions as well as model U.N. sessions are located below.

Map and Directions to Crossroads School

Photos!

Streaming Video!

Lisa Visited Ten School Classes Last Week

Civitas Middle School Model UN Coordinator Lisa Granich-Kovarik visited ten classrooms last week as she provided students with background information on writing resolutions. The schools include Pattonville Heights, Remington Traditional, Queen of All Saints, Cathedral, St. Gabriel's, Hoech, Northwest Valley, McKinley Classical Junior Academy, and Bunche International Studies Middle School. Students also learned more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and difficult it is to interpret these rights in a multi-cultural world If you are a teacher and have any questions about Lisa's past or future visits, please contact Lisa at [email protected] or 865-4704.

Also, don't forget about the next Middle School Model UN teachers' meeting on Monday, February 27! It will be at the Creve Coeur Government Center from 4:00-5:00 and we'll be choosing the resolutions that we'll be discussing during the spring General Assembly sessions. It's an important date in history because the Cardinals open their exhibition season that day against traditional powerhouse Florida Atlantic University!

Middle School Country Selections for 2005-2006
Map and Directions to Crossroads School

If You Were Establishing A New Voting System in the U.N. General Assembly...

If You Were Establishing A New Voting System in the U.N. General Assembly (in other words, for all 191 members), which of the following would you consider as factors in changing the voting strength of a country? (you can select more than one answer)

a) Population of each country.
b) Military strength of each country.
c) Economic strength of each country.
d) Human Rights record of each country.
e) None of the above.
If You Were Establishing A New Voting System in the U.N. ...

Previous Survey Results!

Last newsletter's question was:

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted hearings on President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a controversial nominee. If you could ask him one question in an effort to learn more about what kind of Supreme Court justice he might be, what would you ask? [If you want to list more than one question, please feel free to do so.]

Responses: -- question asked for only text responses

1. Yes 0 (0%) --NA

2. No 0 (0%) --NA

3. Not Sure 0 (0%) --NA

COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE

Questions You Would Ask Judge Alito

Bobbi Clemons; Civitas Staff

I'd ask him what sorta movies he likes. You can tell a lot about a person by their film tastes. If Sammy liked chick flicks, that Passion of the Christ nonsense, or mobster movies, then you can assume he's wrong for the job.

Anthony Keel; S.L.U.H., 2006

I don't know much about this, but I guess I would ask him if he would uphold the law, search for truth in cases, and not act for any pre-set agenda (Bush's or otherwise). Of course he would answer yes, but that's all I want in a candidate.

Arthur Lieber; Civitas Staff

Judge Alito, sad as it is to say, the Supreme Court represents the only branch of our government in which members are not "bought and paid for." Campaign finance laws for legislators as well as the president and vice-president are a farce. If you are confirmed as a justice on the Supreme Court, you will have a life-time position and not be beholden to no one. In that light, do you think that it might be wise to look at the laws of the land as documents created by and agreed upon by individuals whose votes have often been bought? If that is so, do you have an obligation to look beyond the letters of these laws and to implement the principles in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution that truly protect democracy (including the rights of minorities) and to work to improve the "common welfare of all?" i.e., put the welfare of the people above the laws that have often been written by corrupt politicians.

Additional Links

Photo Gallery
Streaming Video [Real Media]
Civitas Calendar
Civitas Intranets Site
Civitas Home Page
Maps & Directions
Previous Newsletters
Resolutions (High School U.N.) for 2004-2005
Checklist for Writing a Model U.N. Resolution
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