VOL. 5, No. 5; Tuesday, January
31, 2006
Dear Arthur,
Today's
newsletter includes:
1. Information on last
Saturday's Preparation Session
#2 for the "U.N. & the Future"
conference.
2. Information on this Saturday's
Preparation Session
#3 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
the proposed drug policy
likely to be adopted by CBC High School.
Again, 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.
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Second "Reinventing the U.N." Prep Session Big
Success; third one this Saturday, Feb. 4!
First, we want to thank Theresa
Higgins and the staff of the Creve Coeur Government Center for
allowing us on short notice to use their multi-purpose room for
our meeting last Saturday. It is a wonderful facility, as
those affiliated with our middle school program know well.
In our Prep Session #2, we asked each student to first
tell what have been the most significant global events that
have occurred in their lifetime. Frequently mentioned were
"9-11," the crumbling of the Berlin coupled with the fall of
Communism in the former Soviet Union, the growth of the Chinese
economy, and the globalization of technology. Then we
expanded the list to include other events that occurred after
1945 (the year when the United Nations was established) and when
the students were born. The list naturally expanded, and
we were able to develop a real feel for what a different world
we, and the United Nations, face in 2006 as opposed to
1945. Recognizing and adapting to these changes will play
vital roles in our process to "Reinvent the United Nations."
We also saw a video called "Broken Promises," a documentary
which had considerable praise for the goals of the United
Nations, but numerous criticisms of actions taken by the
U.N. It cited the U.N.'s lack of complete success in the
Middle East, in Somalia, in Rwanda, and in the Balkans. It
also pointed our corruption within the organization, especially
in the "Food for Oil" program with Saddam Hussein.
While the widespread criticism of U.N. actions (or inactions)
is subject to debate, the documentary certainly brought to our
attention a number of areas where the institution needs
considerable reform. These contentions will also play a
vital role in our efforts to "Reinvent the U.N." in the
conference.
We want to remind everyone
that we had a most successful preparation session for our
"Reinventing the United Nations" conference the week before on
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 #3 this Saturday, we will have a short
presentation by Dr. Ron
Glossop of SIU-E on the international language
Esperanto followed
by a "reinventing" simulation for all students to engage in as
preparation for the conference. The topic is one that is
"close to home" and is likely to actively engage all
participants!
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 to
apply. However, you will be required to do a moderate
amount of make-up work to pick up the information from the last
two Saturday sessions
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 -- done!
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 |
No Time for High School
Discussion Last Saturday; Maybe this Saturday!
Our Preparation Session for the
"Reinventing the United Nations" conference went long last
Saturday and we were not able to include any time for a general
discussion.
However, we did reaffirm our commitment
to have an introductory presentation about the international
language, Esperanto. 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 this Saturday,
February 4.
Carry-over topics for our next
discussion include 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, February 4 preparation session
for the "Reinventing the United Nations" conference.
If not, we will have to wait a full month until our next regular
discussion session on Saturday, March 4, 2006.
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
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Middle School Class Visits Continue
Lisa visited more
middle schools 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 other
schools. 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 | | |
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What Do You Think of CBC High School's New Drug
Testing Policy?
CBC (Christian Brothers College)
High School recently announced that by 2007, it will institute a
policy of testing all students for drugs. The method it
will use is taking "shoe-lace width" hair clippings from each
student. The tests will screen for marijuana, cocaine,
PCP, Ecstasy, methamphetamines and opiates, CBC leaders said.
If a test comes back positive, leaders will meet with
the student and parents. The student will then have 100 days to
clean up - a step that could include mandatory drug
counseling.
After the 100 days, the student will be
tested again. And if he fails again, CBC will ask him to
withdraw.
The test apparently cannot detect
alcohol consumption or steroid use. The cost of each
test will be approximately $45.00 and this expense will be added
on to each student's tuition.
Our question is, do you
support this policy?
a) Yes,
completely
b) Yes, but with modifications
c) I have my
doubts
d) Definitely not
e) Not Sure
Click
here for the survey: | |
Previous Survey
Results!
Last newsletter's question was:
NBC has just announced that the program
"West Wing" will be cancelled 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 cancellation of "West Wing?"
a)
There has been a "dumbing down" of the American people and the
television viewing audience. -- 4
(66%)
b) The ABC show "Commander in Chief" has drawn
away many of the viewers of "West Wing." -- 0 (0%)
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). -- 2 (33%)
d) The quality of the
writing and the quality of the programs has declined through the
years. -- 1 (17%)
e) Not Sure
-- 0 (0%)
(responses to not add up to 100% because respondents
could provide multiple answers)
COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE
What Does the Cancellation of the NBC
Show "West Wing" Mean"
Tony Keel; S.L.U.H., 2006 Well,
I've never seen "The West Wing," but I'm sure I would have liked
it if I had. It appears most dramas these days without sex,
killing, or something like that are dying off. I used to like
"Joan of Arcadia" and "American Dreams" before they got
cancelled because they dealt with serious issues all people and
families face. It appears audiences are being dumbed down, or
encouraged to do so, because most shows involve sex, crimes, or
comedy. It is a sad thing that the media encourages most
Americans to be stupider than they already are.
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