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Dear Arthur,

Today's newsletter includes:

1. Information on last Saturday's Preparation Session #1 for the "U.N. & the Future" conference.

2. Information on this Saturday's Preparation Session #2 for the "U.N. & the Future" conference.

3. Updated information on high school discussion groups.

4. Updated information on Middle School class visits and session rosters.

5. New survey on NBC's cancellation of "West Wing."

Special thanks to MarketVolt, the software company that developed and supports our e-newsletter program. We hope that you enjoy the format improvements in this week's newsletter which would only be possible with the fine work of Harry Imster, Tom Ruwitch, and the rest of the group at Marketvolt.



First "Reinventing the U.N." Prep Session Big Success; second one this Saturday, Jan. 28!


We had a most successful preparation session for our "Reinventing the United Nations" conference last Saturday, January 21. Gloria presented an outstanding PowerPoint presentation that she had created to illustrate the issues in the conference. It is available for viewing on our web site in a PDF format, and you can access it by clicking here. The presentation outlines the wide scope of issues that are open for discussion in the conference as well as being in need of creative solutions from students.

After indulging in the mountain of food and fine beverages that Bobbi had brought to the meeting, we re-convened in the library. Arthur provided students with a list of significant events in 1945, the year in which the U.N. was formally established. In our second preparation session this Saturday, we will contrast the ways in which the United Nations functioned in 1945 with the way that it must now in 2006.

There is a tendency to think that the world must have been much more simple in 1945 than it is today. A glance at the events of that year clearly indicate almost every day brought either turmoil, joy, frustration, anticipation, or relief. Despite mistakes, the U.N. did a remarkable job of addressing the major issues following World War II. However, what it did then and the way in which it was formulated then may not be appropriate for 2006. Thus, we have our conference to explore whether the U.N. is in need of "fixing," and if so, how.

In Preparatory Session #2 this Saturday, we will be viewing the movie "Broken Promises." It is a documentary that was produced by Citizens United, a conservative Washington-based organization that is quite critical of the U.N. Those on our staff who have previewed it believe that it points out some important short-comings of the U.N. At the same time, we question factual accuracy and the conclusions drawn. In any event, it will be a catalyst for discussion this Saturday.

This Saturday's prep session will be at Crossroads School (map) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM.

Any student who would like to participate in the conference but who missed last Saturday's session is still welcome. However, you will be required to do a moderate amount of make-up work to pick up the information from last Saturday's session.



Once again, an overview of the conference is the following:

If you could start all over, what kind of international organization would you create? That's the big question you'll be trying to answer as a delegate to the Civitas Conference on the UN and the future, on Friday/Saturday, February 17-18, 2006.

If you'd like to help re-invent the United Nations, now is the time to sign up. More than 42 people have already indicated interest in the conference, and there's still room for more.

At the conference, you'll represent a country of your choosing, and you'll work with other country delegates to create a new "United Nations," [or an organization with an entirely new name] designed to address world issues.

You'll have a lot to consider: What's working at the current UN? What isn't? Why not? Would you create an organization with more limited goals than the current UN, or with broader goals? How would you organize it to be fair to large and small countries? Who would be eligible for membership? How would you structure voting? How would you get money for this organization?

We're looking forward to a thought-provoking conference, where nations with widely varying interests will try to find ways to work together.

Application forms are available on-line and in person [at Saturday discussion groups]. The cost for the entire conference is $60, which includes your hotel room, all meals and snacks, and conference materials. Financial aid is available.

We'll also have two or three prep sessions to help you get ready for the conference. At the sessions, we'll present background information that will help make conference discussions more meaningful. The prep sessions are scheduled for:

1. Saturday, January 21, 2006 -- done!
2. Saturday, January 28, 2006 -- this Saturday!
3. Saturday, February 4, 2006 -- sooner than you might think!

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

You can continue to access updated information on the conference by clicking on the link below.

Conference Home Page Including Link to Application Form



Two-minute Lively High School Discussion Last Saturday!

With major emphasis placed on preparation for the upcoming Civitas "Reinventing the United Nations" conference, we had very little time last Saturday for our free and open discussion. As a matter of fact, we had only two minutes before everyone had to pull an "outa here!"

During those two minutes, we did discuss the possibility of Civitas providing students with information about the international language, Esperanto. By almost unanimous consent, everyone agreed that it would be a good idea. As a result, Dr. Ron Glossop of Southern Illinois University -- Edwardsville will make a ten-minute presentation on Esperanto at our final preparation session for the conference on Saturday, February 4.

Topics that we did not have time to discuss included whether it was "God's will" that a rebuilt New Orleans be a chocolate city (as suggested by N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin), assisted suicide, and the so called culture of corruption in D.C. Hopefully, we will be able to discuss one or several of these as well as other suggested topics at the conclusion of this Saturday's, January 28 preparation session 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



Middle School Class Visits Continue



Lisa visited St. Francis Cabrini, Crossroads, St. Mary Magdalen, and Jennings Junior High last week to help prepare them for their spring Model UN sessions. The students were introduced to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and did an excellent job learning how to apply those rights to their resolutions. Some students found some of the rights in the Declaration surprising. "We have a right to rest and leisure?" commented one, "Tell that to our teachers!" Students also learned about the top five mistakes of resolution-writers and vowed not to fall into these pitfalls. Undoubtedly we'll see some high quality resolutions written in the next few weeks. This week Lisa will be visiting with Maplewood-Richmond Heights and Loyola Academy, a school that is new to our program this year.

A reminder to teachers that there will be an exciting, stimulating, action-packed (and really, really necessary) teachers' meeting on Monday, February 27th. At the meeting, we'll choose the resolutions for the spring sessions and discuss other important details of the General Assemblies. The meeting is at the luxurious Creve Coeur Government Center and it lasts from 4:00 PM until no later than 5:00 PM. We promise to bring lots of chocolate, salty food, and caffeinated beverages.

contact Lisa at [email protected] or (314) 865-4704.


Middle School Country Selections for 2005-2006





What does Cancelation of the TV show "West Wing" mean?

NBC has just announced that the program "West Wing" will be canceled following the 2005-2006 television season. The program is in its seventh season and when it debuted, it was acclaimed by many as a "breakthrough" program that appealed to an "enlightened audience." Our question is, "Which of the following do you think are the most important factors in the cancelation of "West Wing?"

a) There has been a "dumbing down" of the American people and the television viewing audience.

b) The ABC show "Commander in Chief" has drawn away many of the viewers of "West Wing."
c) NBC doomed "West Wing" to lower ratings by moving it from 8:00 PM on Wednesdays to 7:00 on Sundays (Central time zone).
d) The quality of the writing and the quality of the programs has declined through the years.
e) Not Sure

Click here for the survey:



Previous Survey Results!

Last newsletter's question was:

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)


Factors You Would Consider in Revising United Nations

a) Population of each country. -- 7 (58%)
b) Military strength of each country. -- 1 (8%)
c) Economic strength of each country. -- 5 (42%)
d) Human Rights record of each country. -- 8 (67%)
e) None of the above. -- 1 (0%)

(responses to not add up to 100% because respondents could provide multiple answers)


COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE

Questions Regarding How You Would Reform the U.N.

Patty Rodriguez; Parkway North High School, 2009

I don't think the military strength of a country should have anything to do with the voting power of that country because 1) in cases of natural disasters you're not going to have that strong of a military, and if you do still have a strong military, they're kind of busy right now, and 2) because that's what went wrong the first time with the whole victors of WWII got the veto thing. I also don't think that economic strength should have anything to do with it simply because each country has its own economic strengths and weaknesses and for any third-world country, it's not fair to say, "Your opinion is less important than ours because we're richer than you." That's my opinion.

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

I think more than one factor would ideally go into a weighted vote system, but if I had to choose one, I'd choose economic power (assuming that is per capita income too). Human rights record is a good one also, but most nations have good records anyway. I would suggest a mixture of economic, military, population, and human rights issues



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