Vicky Perez illustrates what she is talking about during the Taste of Spain Presentation. Tevin Harris | Photo Editor.

Beginning with the Northwest corner and circling the coastline then traveling through the interior, guests were shown the highlights of many cities and regions.

“There is a wide variety of languages spoken in the country,”  Calzadilla said, “depending on what region you are traveling in.”

Like the language, the landscape varies drastically from Northern to Southern Spain. Northern architecture is dark and grey with thick stone walls to keep out dampness and cold. Southern architecture is white, bright, and much more airy.

“In the South, you will see flat roofs and large windows,” Calzadilla said. “Many old parts of towns are pedestrian only.”

She showed examples of various traditional celebrations including Las Falles, the celebration of Saint Joseph. Large models are made of wax, paper-mache, and wood then burnt at the end of the celebration, she said. It is a smoky, fiery, five day celebration that involves fireworks and many noisemakers. Some models are five stories tall. They depict a wide range of people from Lady Gaga to President Obama. There is no limit to what is created.

A video was also shown of the historic yearly running of the bulls celebration in Pamplona. Calzadilla explained that tourism is a huge market in Spain due to the large amount of usable coastline. Almost all Spanish cities are tourist destinations due to the huge variety of architectural influences.

“It’s a very exploited area because of the tourists,” Calzadilla said.

She displayed pictures of miles of beaches with hotels nearly on the water. She said that heavy beach erosion has occurred in these areas due to overpopulation and exploitation. Spain sets on the Mediterranean Sea coastline, Calzadilla explained that the water there is similar to calm lake water. It is crystal clear, warm and very pleasant to swim in, she told the crowd.

“This is a unique way of seeing what is native to the land,” assistant professor of Spanish Francisco Castilla Ortiz said. “it shows what the natives would show.”

Calzadilla said the city of Bilbao boasts a Guggenheim Museum built by Canadian-American architect  Frank Gehry. The modern art building is highly recognized because it has been featured in movies, music videos and video games. Built in 1997, it invigorated the Bilbao tourist industry with its wavy, reflective outer walls and innovative interior design.

“Overall, I thought the presentation was very exciting, and it convinced me to visit Spain in the future,” junior Kelsey Samenus, president of the Spanish Club, said.

HB 70 would give faculty the right to conceal and carry guns on campus during school hours. Western’s faculty have voiced their opinion on whether they agree with the message the bill is trying to portray.

Dr. Robert Vartabedian, president of Missouri Western and Dr. Robert Bergland, faculty senate president both stand in opposition of HB 70. Bergland said he personally wouldn’t like to see anyone carry firearms on campus outside of campus security.

“There are more chances of things going wrong, than there would be a chance of guns serving as a deterrent,” Bergland said.

Faculty have been portrayed as educated, intelligent individuals who are stable enough to handle guns on campus said Representative Mike Kelley, R-Lamar. He said he knows of professors who hide the fact that they conceal and carry on school grounds illegally. The bill would relieve them of hiding the guns.

Dr. David Tushaus, professor of legal studies, said he stands in opposition of HB 70. He said he doesn’t know of any legitimate research that supports allowing guns to be carried by teachers while in school.

“In fact, more research is needed on effective ways to reduce violence,” Tushaus said. “I am not convinced more guns make us safer.”

In recent years, most shootings that have occurred in the United States are in gun-free zones which happen to be schools. Dr. Steven Greiert, chairman of the history department said he supports the bill and believes professors with proper training and responsibility should be given the chance to conceal and carry on campus.

“Let’s face it, a lot of people doing these school shootings are mentally ill,” Greiert said. “We can’t prevent everything that happens in the world, but if we have trained people then they should be allowed to carry.”

The faculty members who were interviewed were in agreement that they don’t see the need for guns on campus. Dr. Edwin Taylor, assistant professor of political science said as a faculty member he also doesn’t support the bill. He said he doesn’t own a gun and doesn’t have any intentions on buying one if the bill passes.

“Arming faculty members would do little to improve the safety of the campus community and would only increase the probability of gun related accidents,” Taylor said.

The Faculty Senate hasn’t met with Vartabedian to discuss the matter of allowing guns on campus during business hours. Bergland said that if the bill progresses out of committee, then he thinks there would a vote from the faculty to either support or oppose the bill.

Delegates and guest on the Republican National Convention floor. Photo by. Ellis Cross, News Editor for the Griffon News

Republican National Convention began this morning with excitement since yesterdays events were canceled due to the tropical storms.

News Editor Ellis Cross has just arrived in Tampa, Fla., where the RNC is to be held. He said that activities start for him today at noon.

Cross stated in his blog thecrossreference.wordpress.com that yesterday at 7:38 p.m. eastern, the Chairman of the RNC Reince Priebus emailed delegates and other “Interested Parties” informing them that the convention will “convene on Monday August 27 and immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28.

He said the email stated that the RNC’s first priority is ensuring the safety of delegates, alternates, guests, members of the media attending the RNC and citizens of the Tampa Bay area.

“The RNC is working closely with state, local and federal officials, as well as the Secret Service, to monitor Tropical Storm Isaac and preserve Florida’s emergency management resources,” Cross said. “They are expecting participants to experience difficulties due to sustained wind and rain.”

Cross said that the events Sunday, August 26, are still on schedule and will proceed.  He said that the welcome event hosted by the Tampa Bay Host Committee at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., is going as planned.

The crossreference.wordpress.com site states that the convention staff is working around the clock to find alternate housing for delegates in storm-impacted areas.

“Those plans for replacement housing are expected tomorrow morning Sunday the 26,” Cross said.

The convention and coverage from Cross will start tomorrow and will continue throughout the convention cycle. He said that he loves every minute of the experience.

“The weather is great so far but Monday’s RNC has been cancelled as a precaution due to Hurricane Isaac,” Cross said.

For more information on updates from Cross’ coverage of the RNC, please follow his blog at www.thecrossrefernece.wordpress.com or www.griffonnews.com. There will be an update from Cross on Monday, Aug. 27.

Click Here for coverage from Cross from the NRC

Ellis Cross, news editor for the Griffon News and Delegate for the Republican National Convention

One Missouri Western student will have the opportunity to travel to Tampa, Fla. on August 27 to be part of this year’s Republican National Convention.

Ellis Cross, news editor for the Griffon News was elected as alternate delegate by the Missouri Republican State Caucus along with fellow members of the state.

Cross said that students need to pay attention to this election because America is at a crossroads. He said the next election will determine if we will have larger government in our lives or if we will begin to get at the debt that comes with it under control.

“Students must register to vote and educate themselves on the issues and where each candidate stands,” Cross said. “Then they must vote their own conscience.”

The Republican National Convention occurs every four years when a presidential election occurs in our country. This year the likely nominees are presidential candidate Mitt Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

Cross said that they will be selecting the Republican candidate for president by vote of the delegation. He said they will also be voting on the articles of the Republican Party.

“Those are the rules of how the party operates,” Cross said. “There will be many speakers and candidates to talk to and experience.”

Cross said he will be blogging at thecrossreference.wordpress.com and will be sending videos to the Griffon News website. He said that most of the blogs he will be writing will be about what he’s experiencing and what is happening in Tampa during the Republican National Convention.

“My blogs will be loaded with opinion and even some facts,” Cross said.

For full coverage on Cross’ trip to the Republican National Convention, keep up to date on the Griffon News website at www.griffonnews.com and through Cross’ blog at www.thecrossreference.wordpress.com.

He was referring to his presentation, “The Middle East- Then and Now,” where he saw members of the Muslim mosque, United States military, veterans, Christian clergy and other guests in the audience who may have had their own opinion.

He executed his speech, keeping close to the facts. He knows those facts from serving America in Middle-Eastern U.S. Embassies for over 25 years. For a time, Armbruster was a hostage of Saddam Hussein and could not leave Baghdad.

When he was allowed to leave, it was in haste as the embassy group fled to Turkey for refuge. At the time, Armbruster was taking care of his infant daughter alone. He had to send her ahead with another diplomatic family and follow in a 19-hour car ride to Turkey.

“We [the U.S.] are in it for the long haul,” Armbruster said. He explained that peace would come eventually. “Changes result in protest in the Middle East; there will be balance between these tribes and countries but history isn’t written yet.”

He said that technology has been a great avenue of change, but not necessarily the technology that members of the audience may have expected. The introduction of the Internet, as well as social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have improved communications, but those changes started with satellite television, which brought news from other countries. The introduction of the fax machine was equally important, according to Armbruster. The cell phone also came to areas that didn’t have landline phones yet.

Audience member Rony Aboujawde asked a question about the representation of minority groups in the Middle East. He was referring to Christian populations. “Not all Muslims are radicals, the same as not all Christians are non-radical,” Aboujawde said.

Armbruster agreed and explained that Middle Eastern leadership groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, recognize the voices of minority groups and are working out a way that all voices will have some degree of power in the future. “It’s not a forgone conclusion that the majority will suppress the minority,” Armbruster said.

Armbruster told a story of spoiling thanksgiving turkeys during a time when there was no electricity at the embassy. They buried them, only to have them emerge from the ground in the hot sun, to be buried again. Western student Nicholas Brothers, who wants to be a Middle East specialist someday, referred to the story. “I learned today that I may need to bring a shovel,” Brothers said.

Brothers also mentioned the diversity of the nearly record crowd of over 160 attendees to the Eggs and Issues presentation.

Armbruster concluded saying “There are voices on all sides that seek peace. Also, there are voices who are best served by continuance of things as they are.”

“When I came, I expected Americans to know where Kosovo is since the United States fought a war for us,” Halili said. “I was so disappointed!”

On Oct. 19 in Blum 219, as part of MWSU’s International Lecture Series, Halili spoke to approximately 40 students and community members and outlined Kosovo’s history and political issues, making an identification of its geographic location one of her first priorities.

An international migration and ethnic relations major at Sweden’s Malmo University, Halili began by saying that she and her family fled to Sweden during the tumultuous disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1992. She suggested that the widespread discrimination against Albanians, one of six ethnic groups in Kosovo and the one to which Halili belongs, played a major factor in the decision to leave as well. Although she calls Sweden her home now, Halili has a strong desire to return to Kosovo and use her degree to rectify some of its political problems.

“Even though the war is over, there is a lot of tension and conflict in Kosovo,” Halili said. “Hopefully, I will go back one day and try to solve it. There is hope.”

Western student Barry Hersh knows Halili personally and attended the presentation in support of her. He thought her devotion to Kosovo was evident in her speech.

“I’ve had a couple classes with her, and she’s very passionate about peace-building in Kosovo,” Hersh said.

Halili, who came to Western through a foreign exchange program with Malmo University, was asked about the significance of Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008 . She said that the people of Kosovo are very grateful to the United States for its hand in their long-awaited liberation, sometimes even viewing Americans as heroes.

“It meant so much,” Halili said, in reference to the declaration. “That’s what they fought for. But now, they’re very skeptical because the situation isn’t improving.”

For Kosovo to endure its hardships, Halili believes there’s still a need for an international presence and a global awareness.

“Our government isn’t strong enough,” Halili said.” There are a lot of issues with corruption. Until we can solve these issues, we need the international community.”

Contrastingly, Halili doesn’t appear to have any needs. When asked about her adjustment as an international student, she said that there haven’t been any struggles, because she has friends that have made her feel very welcome.

Western counselor Steve Potter introduced Halili and spoke about the importance of the International Lecture Series,  which is sponsored by Western’s office of global engagement.

“It’s really about globalization,” Potter said. “It makes us aware of different cultures and ideas. It’s important to understand each other. I think if we do, good things will happen.”

Daugherty and his unit are scheduled to leave during the summer to go to Kosovo; this will be his second major deployment.

Missouri Western’s librarian Michelle Diaz said that Daugherty’s absence would definitely be noticed.

“He is one of the main public service librarians here,” Diaz said. “He is a great person to collaborate with when there are computer-related issues that need to be worked on.”

Daugherty is no stranger to having to be away from his family and country. He was deployed in early 2004 to assist in Operation Iraqi Freedom for 13 months. His unit was in charge of perimeter defense. He said he was proud to serve in such a historical point of time.

And others are proud of Daugherty’s service, too.

“I feel proud that someone local is going out there to fight for us,” Western student David Wyble said. “It just makes things more real when someone close to home is leaving.”

During his time in the Army National Guard, Daugherty has been called on many occasions besides fighting in the war. He helped out in one flood in Minnesota as a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard. He was also called upon again when the events of Hurricane Katrina happened. He and 15,000 other soldiers were able to help coordinate and give support to the needs of the locals.

Daugherty was a sophomore in college when a recruiter and a friend came by his house to talk about joining. When he decided to join, Daugherty probably didn’t realize the ripple effect of that one decision.

“Being able to travel has been one my most unique experiences,” Daugherty said.

He’s been to Norway, Singapore, Thailand, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar. In July of 2005 was when he was able to go Singapore, which he said he enjoyed.

“They have a good economy there,” Daugherty said. “And it was nice being around that culture, even though people were speaking different languages there, English was still the most prevalent one.”

He also enjoyed Thailand because he was able to train with the same army personnel that also staged a military coup in that country.

Daugherty isn’t the only one in his family that’s been able to serve his country. His dad joined the Air Force and stayed for 20 years.

While Daugherty was away in Iraq he also received letters from his uncle, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War.

In 1991 Daugherty was doing ROTC at the University of Kansas, where he has been able to take the leadership skills he has learned and apply it to his everyday life.

“I’ve been able to help supervise student workers more effectively,” he said.

Student librarian Charly Wells agrees that Daugherty’s skills have helped him supervise.

“He works really great with the student workers,” Wells said. “He always takes the extra mile to help out and answer questions for students. He is like the go-to guy.”

Except for one Western student, Selma Barbosa, who will soon leave Sweden to spend the summer closer to Western.

Barbosa has been doing double dribble this past year; she has been a college student while also playing professional women’s basketball in Sweden.

“Basketball is my passion, and I knew I was not ready to stop playing it after my senior year,” Barbosa said. “After I got my first major, I got myself a basketball agent and told him I wanted to keep playing basketball in Europe, where I knew I would have an opportunity to show my basketball skills.”

Barbosa recently slam-dunked her first year playing for The Comets, a European women’s basketball team.

While in the paint in Sweden, Barbosa has been attending UMEA University, a large university with a total student population of 30,000.

“The classes I am taking are related to my major, Spanish,” Barbosa said. Barbosa is taking 16 points, which will match the hours that she will need to be able to graduate from Western this summer.

Barbosa’s game schedule dead balled in March, as the season ended. She played games twice a week, playing in the highest-Elite league in Sweden. She helped her team control the boards all over Sweden.

“Every team had their foreign players, and most of the foreign players were from the United States,” Barbosa said. “I think I was the only South American player in the league. I got to know most of the American players.”

Barbosa said her practice was similar to that of when she was in college. Most of her teammates, including her coach, were also studying. She practiced mostly at night, after 6 p.m. everyday, only having one day to rest.

“My opinion is if a person really wants to accomplish something, she or he will find a way and time to do it,” Barbosa said. “I never had a problem with my homework. I always took my homework on trips with me or I would wake up earlier and do it.”

While Barbosa has been palming classes at UMEA, the support of her team at Western have been a tremendous help.

“Judith Grimes has been an angel in my life, since I decided to take my last courses here in Sweden,” Barbosa said. “The head of the foreign language department, Dr. Hennessy, also helped me tremendously, especially when she found a way to translate all my course descriptions. They were all in Swedish, and she had to read it to be able to approve it so she found someone that was able to translate it.”

Barbosa has communicated with Grimes, Hennessy and the registrar’s office almost daily in trying to complete requirements for
her summer graduation.

“We e-mailed sometimes five times a week,” Grimes said.

While e-mail correspondence worked to solve some questions, paperwork and other important documents, such as transcripts, were often faxed between the University in Sweden and Western.

“Mechanics were the main challenges, mostly paperwork,” Grimes said.

Passion drove Barbosa to Europe to play basketball. Rebounding after a two-year leave of absence, Barbosa charged to Western
in search of what she wanted to do after her basketball career.

After three years of college, Barbosa needed a fastbreak because she still couldn’t decide for sure what she wanted to study. That was when she heard about the idea of a PTA degree.

“I fell in love with the idea of a physical therapist assistances degree,” Barbosa said.

Washburn University and Missouri Western were only two of the few universities in the country that offered the major.

“The coach from Washburn and coach Keister – at that time he was still the assistant coach for Missouri Western – knew me from Bacone Junior College, so I took a visit to both schools and I decided to play for Missouri Western and also study physical therapy,” Barbosa said.

She left her family and her home in Barretos, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil at the age of 15 when she had the opportunity to develop the man-to-man defense with her basketball skills by playing in other cities in Brazil.

“My parents always taught me that education always should come first than basketball because my education, my diploma and knowledge cannot be taken away, but basketball can be taken away anytime with a serious injury or something else,” Barbosa said.

Realizing that it would be difficult to scrimmage both: playing basketball and further her education, Barbosa soon made the choice to come to the United States where she could do both.

“I had a few ex-Brazilians teammates playing in the states, and also my Brazilian coach at that time knew a coach in the USA, so I told him I would like to go to the United States to study and play basketball,” Barbosa said.

Speaking not a word of English, Barbosa attended Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., where she would play basketball, learn English and complete a degree.

Barbosa’s three-point fiend goals at Bacone earned her a position at Fort Hays State University, where she played only one season. Barbosa plans to take her PTA board exam after graduation and get her license.

“I would like during the summer, to get a job as a physical therapist assistant and get some experience on this field,” Barbosa said.

When the season starts again in September, Barbosa plans to travel to Europe to return to basketball.

“I always tell my good friends that I will continue to play basketball until no team wants to hire me anymore – until they tell me that I am too old to play the game,” she said. “That’s when I will stop playing serious, but I will still play for fun.”

The questions, what ifs and hypothetical situations are mounting. Concerns over safety policies and security procedures for college campuses are being called into question across the nation.

Missouri Western’s Dan Nicoson, vice president of university advancement, is confident that if a situation similar to Virginia Tech’s with an armed gunman on campus happened here at Western, it would be well handled.

“We maintain a professional police force 24/7; they are going to do what crime scene expectations are and what our emergency safety plan calls for,” Nicoson said.

Aside from just safety, many questions have been asked about the communication system used to alert the students at Virginia Tech. Many commentators and students feel that e-mail alone is not an accurate way to inform students of possible life-threatening situations.

Jonathon Kelley, director of public safety, said that there are many ways to communicate with students whether it is through e-mail or radio for the commuter students.

“Our initial steps would be to get e-mail out,” Kelley said. “It is the quickest way to get information out to a large group of people at one time. Also, the public safety vehicles have public address capabilities on three of the squad cars, so in a isolated area, that would be one of the tools we could use in our department.”

Kelley predicts that systems will be set up so that campuses can plug into student’s cell phones and send text messages or voice messages to large groups of students.

Nicoson said that campuses will continue to assess communication options.

Another question would be if Virginia Tech’s situation would have been different if better communication systems were in place.

“It might have improved, but wouldn’t have solved the issue,” said Robert Mazur, a Western senior.

Right now the campus has procedures in place for alerting students about dangers on campus include e-mail, a phone tree and public address systems on three public safety vehicles.

If a danger were to happen on campus, Nicoson stated what he believed would be the chain of events.

“Jon Kelley would call his supervisor, Ron Olinger, of financial planning and administration,” Nicoson said. “Ron would then determine if the president [James Scanlon] needs to be notified and probably either me or Kristi Hill because of the communication needs. And I am sure he would notify the Provost [Joseph Bragin].”

As for overall security, Nicoson and Kelley agreed that nothing is totally preventable, and what happened at Virginia Tech could happen anywhere.

Kelley made suggestions about what students can do for self-protection.

“Be aware of your surroundings, be aware of people and what is going on,” Kelley said.

He also stated that if something were to happen, students should get in a room, lock it and remain quiet until law enforcement is in the building.

Kelley said that public safety’s response would depend on the situation at hand.

When dealing with a student who is questionable and a possible threat to others on campus, Kelley said that various offices work together to solve the problem.

“The Public Safety Center, the Counseling Center and the Dean of Students office work closely together to address issues of behavior and inappropriate behavior at times,” Kelley said.

Mazur said he is confident as to the safety on Western’s campus.

“I think it’s [Western] fairly safe,” Mazur said. “Public Safety is active on campus.”

The students went to the Portobello Road Market, which is one of the world’s most famous markets; it’s internationally renowned for its second-hand and antique sections. The antique shops begin at the top of the road and are fairly pricey. As you move down the road, there are more general stores, and then it eventually becomes a food market. Further on, there are places where people are making and selling their own stuff. The market ranks in the top-ten most visited tourist sites in London.

“One of the coolest parts of the trip was talking to the locals and gathering their opinions about America and the rest of the world,” Western student Christopher Shove said. “And after being there, it’s definitely broadened my general perspective.” One of his favorite parts of the trip was going to Stonehenge.

“I actually got to touch the stones,” he said. “If you call ahead of time and setup a reservation, then you’re able to touch them.”

Some students were even able to see the sunset inside the circle, which was every exciting for them.

Shove said that one thing he noticed about London is that it’s a lot cleaner because they employ a lot more people to keep it clean. For example, they have sidewalk sweepers and street cleaners that go by a couple times a day.

Western senior Matt Baylor agreed with Shove. Although he didn’t go on the trip to London this time, he has been before.

“What’s weird about it is that it’s really clean, but there are no trashcans anywhere, like they’re really hard to find,” Baylor said.

The class also went to two museums. One of them was The Charles Dickens’ museum, which was Charles Dickens’ actual home. The trip to this museum was a nice touch for the students, as they are currently reading “A Little Dickens” in class.

The other museum they went to was Shakespeare’s Globe, and while they were there, they got to see a rehearsal production of “The Merchant of Venice” being put on by children between the ages of 10 and 11.

The class also went to a Restoration Comedy called, “The Man of Mode” in modern dress and setting, and they saw the musical “Billy Elliot,” which is based off an English film.

“That was a musical that the students and I loved,” said Karen Fulton, the instructor of the “Literature on Site” course and director of the study away program at Western.

If you didn’t make it to London this spring, keep your eyes open for it the next time the class is offered.

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

At 4 a.m. on March 11, Shaffer said goodbye to her friends and family and met the bus in the parking lot at Western, which would take her to her ultimate spring break. She soon boarded a plane in Kansas City and headed for the tropical island of Belize.

And in the tropical paradise, students spent an ample amount of time swimming and snorkeling. Students who were dive-certified had three opportunities to join in on dives, including the first dive at Cypress Tunnels and another during the evening at Hol Chan Marine Preserve. Many in the group had underwater cameras to capture the memorable experience during these dives. Shaffer said that this was her first ocean scuba dive.

“It’s hard to describe,” Shaffer said. “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It was so amazing. I held a shark and saw an eel. (The eel) was behind me. I felt a tug on my vest. My dive master pointed it out to me. It was the most surreal experience ever.” Shaffer said that later her dive master told her that the shark might have bitten her if it felt threatened by her turning around really fast.

On her first journey outside the U.S., Shaffer traveled with 11 fellow students, two alumni and three Western faculty classmates enrolled in biology professor David Ashley’s BIO 220 class: Field Natural History of Belize. Students are required to participate in lectures and also give their own presentations on the natural history of the country. In addition to course fees, students are responsible for the additional fee of $1750 to cover travel arrangements.

Once in Belize, the exchange rate of 2-to-1 was really on the side of the American students. “I felt like I was shopping at the half-priced store the whole time,” Shaffer said. “I brought so much stuff back. I ended up checking two bags coming back.”

Students also enjoyed tubing down a waterfall, but some only tubed down half the waterfall, as it was a long way back to the top.

“I went all the way down,” senior Michelle Scherder said. “It was 291 steps back to the top.”

They visited the Mayan Ruins, which also had many steps to climb to get to the top.

“I pretty much fell in love with the Mayan ruins,” senior Nicole Shiflett said.

During the early morning hours when most students were still sleeping, Ashley was able to get some photos of unique birds in Belize.

The students traveled to a butterfly farm and canoed through a cave. Each student had a responsibility going through the cave.

At one point in the trip, the students crossed over the same river they tubed down in order to get to the ruins. Their vehicle had to be hand cranked on a platform to get across.

“It was 70 cranks; I counted,” Western alumni William Gilbert said. “To think they do that 90 times a day is unbelievable.”

Shaffer is looking forward to April 23 when she can share her experiences, along with those of her classmates, with the public at a show-and-tell night. “You were there and you saw the same things, but you didn’t know what they were feeling,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer said that the class was paired off into groups prior to the trip and assigned days to report about.

“Each group had a day to document,” Shaffer said. “We wrote down things that were said that day, what the classmates were feeling – it was neat.”

The class returned from their trip to Belize on March 19, and Ashley was already thinking about the next trip.

“On the flight back, I was trying to tell myself to never do this again, and at the same time, I was thinking through the next one,” he said.

Ashley, who follows a three-year trip cycle, alternating locations, said that he would like to plan the next trip for next year.

“There is a camaraderie that develops among the crowd,” said Ashley, who has been taking trips with students for the past 11 years. “It’s always very close. Whenever you have intense interaction between faculty and students outside the typical classroom setting, it ends up being positive.”

Shaffer agreed and said that the trip was much more than what she thought it would be.

“The trip has changed us,” Shaffer said. “I will miss the group; we got really close.” Shaffer said that before the trip, she had a good idea of what she wanted to major in at Western. “I had been looking into marine biology all the time,” she said. “(This trip) was going to make or break my goals.”

She said that going there and having the experience that she did concreted her decision. Shaffer encourages other students interested in participating in a Study Away course to do it if it as all possible.

“Do anything you can to go,” she said. “It was life changing for me, as I had never been out of the county before. The culture was intense. I’d always dreamed of going somewhere like that – not using cars, no traffic – never thought I’d get to do it. Now I have the travel bug, and I am eager to go again.”

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

While in Paris, students visited between two to three different sites every day and were usually done by 3 p.m. This allowed them some free time to explore the city on their own.

Susan Hennessy, associate professor of French at Western, accompanied the 18 students on the trip, which cost $1045 per student, plus tuition fees.

“The nicest thing was that the sites we had studied in class we were able to visit firsthand,” Hennessy said. “Since the students had done presentations and studied the sites, it brought things to life for them.”

Western student Alyssa Smith was able to visit the subject of a presentation she gave for the course, putting the assignment into a new perspective.

“I especially enjoyed visiting the Rodin Museum because I created a presentation on Rodin and Camille Claudel for the colloquium class,” Smith said. “At the museum, I was able to see all of the sculptures that I had studied for class.”

Western student Anthony Egbert studied the work of Haussmann, who helped shape the urban layout of Paris during the mid-to-late nineteenth century.

“I was amazed at how much Paris had still retained many of Haussmann’s innovations and styles,” Egbert said. “It was wonderful to actually be able to go to Paris and actually witness firsthand many of the things that these people had talked about.”

Among Smith’s favorite stops was the Paris Sainte-Chapelle, a Gothic chapel known for its ornate stained glass. Also, she enjoyed the neighborhood of Montmarte, known for its cabaret district, most famously, the Moulin Rouge. She and some of the other students also went to the Catacombs.

“They were tunnels underground that included walls and walls made of human bones,” Smith said. “It was definitely very different, but really interesting.”

The students also visited the Eiffel Tower, a must-see for any visitor to Paris. And Egbert, who visited Notre Dame during Sunday Mass, said it was the closest thing to a spiritual experience he has ever had.

“It was quite humbling to walk around the sanctuary and look at the magnificent vaulted ceilings, the sparkling stained glass windows illuminated by the full morning sun and all the while listen to one of the most beautiful hymns that I have ever heard reverberating throughout la Notre Dame’s sanctuary,” Egbert said.

Regardless of what was visited, Smith said that she thinks the students understand better the history and how important the sites are to the French.

“I think that by experiencing another culture, we also learned more about our own,” she said.

Students were also able to compare French culture with that of the U.S.

“A lot of students were surprised to see how important fashion is in Paris,” said Hennessy, referring to Parisian style. “Men and women alike pay close attention to their appearance, and to the typical American, it can make you feel out of place.”

Smith said she discovered that many of the negative stereotypes about the French were untrue.

“I was surprised by the fact that many of the Parisians that we spoke with in Paris were very nice,” Smith said. “We also met some Parisians that were not as welcoming or willing to help us, but they were outnumbered by the nicer Parisians.”

While the students shared many of the same opinions of the culture clash, not all opinions were universally held by the group.

“Everyone had different ideas about what was strange or unusual,” Hennessy said.

Hennessy has seen that since the group has returned from Paris, learning about French culture through the trip compared to in the classroom has made all the difference.

“I think it just makes everything real, to be able to get within six inches of artwork you’ve studied in books or seen on a computer screen makes it so much more real,” Hennessy said. “It’s very hard to appreciate something from a distance, I think. That is the heart of applied learning.”

*Accompanying this article is a Flash slideshow.

That is the short version of a possible scenario posed by assistant professor of political science Dan Cox, based on one political science theory.

Cox and four other Western professors led a multidisciplinary panel on the war in Iraq last Thursday, which was sponsored by the Alpha Chi Honor Society, with about 70 people in attendance.

“Hopefully, I’m completely wrong,” Cox said later. “Most political theories are wrong,”

However, Cox did remain the lone gun in his convictions about which direction the U.S. will take with regard to Iraq and the Middle East.

“I see Iraq and our involvement in the Middle East differently probably than just about anyone,” Cox said. “I see what we are doing right now – I see it expanding over time. I think it’s unfortunate, but I think it’s almost certain we are going to expand into Iran.” He said he believes that expansion includes the bombing of Iran.

Associate professor of sociology Ali Kamali, who was born in Iran but has lived in the U.S. for decades, said he holds out optimism that bombing Iran will not happen. He also shared his views on how the war in Iraq has been bungled.

“It doesn’t take an intelligent person to see that the current policies of the current administration are inoperative and not working; however, think about who is taking advantage of the situation,” Kamali said. “There is no denying or lack of information that Dick Cheney, President Bush and a couple others actually own and are running oil companies in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

Professor of philosophy Phil Mullins agreed that oil has always been in mind with U.S. policy.

“I’m not sure that our policy ever had any very good, sensible roots…arrogance in recent times,” Mullins said. “But it does seem to me that now we’re in a real pickle.”

And that “real pickle” is something that history professor Dan Trifan feels needs clarification.

“One must differentiate between military invasion and occupancy,” Trifan said. “[This] has changed to occupation.”

Economics professor Reza Hamzaee, who was also born in Iran but has been in the U.S. for over 32 years, spoke about the economic cost of war in terms of missed opportunities in the U.S.: poverty, education, social security, health care and the shrinking size of the middle-class.

“These are all opportunities we are losing because we are putting so much into war,” Hamzaee said. He said that the industries of defense and oil are booming while others suffer.

Kamali also said that there is another important factor in the region’s stability that the U.S. Administration largely dismisses with names like renegades or thugs.

“One of the unspoken factors in international politics is non-governmental key players who make major decisions,” Kamali said. “We have to take them seriously.”

Any discussion about Iraq and the Middle East will inevitably turn to religion, and this panel was no exception.

“My general view is that American policy as a whole has not done a good job of taking into account religious dynamics,” Mullins said. And then there is the Israel factor.

Student Government Association Vice-President Luke Herrington, who is a history/government double major, attended the panel discussion and later gave his opinion about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

“As an ally of Israel, we will do what we need to,” he said. “Israel feels threatened, surrounded by a sea of anger.”

Yet, with so many countries in the region – including Israel, Pakistan and India – in possession of nuclear weapons, Iranians also feel threatened, Hamzaee and Kamali said.

All the while, the U.S. possesses over half of the world’s nuclear weapons. It is also the only country ever to use such a weapon against another nation.

Following the discussion, the panel took questions from the audience. Many people stayed after to talk more about the multi-faceted subject of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

“I think you have to go after if with an interdisciplinary approach,” said senior Kasi Norris, a government major. “There is not only one view.”

Elizabeth Sawin, professor of English and director of the Honors Program said that perhaps there should be more panel discussions on this subject in the future.

“It is the responsibility and the privilege of the university to give students and the community breadth and depth of understanding multi-disciplinary points of view,” Sawin said.

Those different perspectives were the purpose of the Alpha Chi Honor Society bringing together a multi-disciplinary panel of Western professors on Thursday to discuss the war, the region and the future.

“It is the responsibility and the privilege of the university to give students and the community breadth and depth of understanding multi-disciplinary points of view,” said Elizabeth Sawin, professor of English and director of the Honors Program.

The five panelists who addressed about 70 students, faculty and community members were history professor Dan Trifan, economics professor Reza Hamzaee, assistant professor of political science Dan Cox, associate professor of sociology Ali Kamali and professor of philosophy Phil Mullins.

Trifan started the discussion by clarifying the current U.S. role in Iraq.

“One must differentiate between military invasion and occupancy,” Trifan said. “It has changed to occupation.”

Despite varying disciplines, one message was consistent among the panelists: there is no easy way out for the U.S.

“Will our getting out cause a bloodbath?” Mullins said. “It might. Will our staying in cause a bloodbath. Yes.”

Cox said he does not see the U.S. getting out of Iraq, but rather an expansion involving Iran.

“I see Iraq and our involvement in the Middle East differently probably than just about anyone,” Cox said. “I see what we are doing right now – I see it expanding over time. I think it’s unfortunate, but I think it’s almost certain we are going to expand into Iran.” He said he believes that expansion includes the bombing of Iran. “Hopefully, I’m completely wrong.”

Kamali, who was born in Iran but has lived in the U.S. for decades, said he holds out optimism that bombing Iran will not happen.

“It doesn’t take an intelligent person to see that the current policies of the current administration are inoperative and not working; however, think about who is taking advantage of the situation,” Kamali said. “There is no denying or lack of information that Dick Cheney, President Bush and a couple others actually own and are running oil companies in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

Mullins, agreed that oil has always been in mind with U.S. policy.

“I’m not sure that our policy ever had any very good, sensible roots…arrogance in recent times,” Mullins said. “But it does seem to me that now we’re in a real pickle.”

Hamazaee, who was also born in Iran but has been in the U.S. for over 32 years, spoke about the economic cost of war in terms of missed opportunities: poverty, education, social security, health care and the shrinking size of the middle-class.

“These are all opportunities we are losing because we are putting so much into war,” Hamazaee said. He said that the industries of defense and oil are booming while others suffer.

Any discussion about Iraq and the Middle East will inevitably include religion, and this panel was no exception.

“My general view is that American policy as a whole has not done a good job of taking into account religious dynamics,” Mullins said.

And Kamali pointed out an important factor in the region’s stability that is largely dismissed by the U.S. Administration as renegades or thugs.

“One of the unspoken factors in international politics is non-governmental key players who make major decisions,” Kamali said. “We have to take them seriously.”

Following the panel discussion, audience members asked questions, and the subject of Israel came up.

Student Government Association Vice-President Luke Herrington, who is a history/government double-major junior, was present at the panel discussion. He weighed in with his opinion on the relationship the U.S. has with Israel.

“As an ally of Israel, we will do what we need to,” he said. “Israel feels threatened, surrounded by a sea of anger.”

Yet, with so many countries in the region with nuclear weapons, including Israel, Iranians also feel threatened, Hamazaee and Kamali said.

Many people stayed after the discussion had concluded to talk more about the complicated subject of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Sawin said that perhaps there should be more panel discussions in the future.

“I think you have to go after if with an interdisciplinary approach,” said senior Kasi Norris, a government major. “There is not only one view.”

When the subject of terrorism is brought up, the common focus is on the Middle East. Cox took researching terrorism a little further and expanded the focus to 76 nations in Asia and Africa in the last 29 years. Cox’s research touches on all of the nations in Asia and Africa besides those with a population fewer than 1 million or completely closed societies such as North Korea.

His research is not just for recreation. Cox is co-authoring a book provisionally titled, “Terrorism and Instability in Asia and Africa” with Maj. Brian Stackhouse, a military science instructor at Western, and Dr. John Falconer of the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

“We’ve always been interested in political violence and what causes violence,” Cox said of his decision to perform his research.

There is a popular belief that democratic countries are less likely to experience terrorism, considering that two democratic nations haven’t engaged in war since the War of 1812. However, Cox’s research shows that democratic societies’ chances are slightly higher. Japan, a democratic entity, has an average of 3.3 incidents of domestic terrorism per year, whereas China, with a communist government, experiences only 1.33.

Some interesting findings were that if a country has two or less religions or ethnicities, the probability of terrorism is greatly increased.

Michelle Dittemore, a student looking for a degree in nursing, was in attendance for the revealing of Cox’s findings.

“I found it interesting; I didn’t realize there was that much terrorism in Asia and Africa,” Dittemore said.

India has the most recorded number of domestic terrorism in the last 29 years, reaching 303. Pakistan, a nation that Dr. Cox said is more of a danger to the U.S. than Iran, has experienced 188 incidents of international terrorism and 273 incidents of domestic terrorism in the last 29 years.

Cox’s presentation last Tuesday was part of the university’s lecture series of faculty members who received research grants last summer from the Western Institute.

Cox said that the major cost of the grant was paying students to labor over the data sets. Not all of the data was free of charge either.

The book is an academic book, but Cox would like for his findings to open the eyes of some people in Washington. Eventually, Cox would like to expand his research and examine the terrorism throughout the entire world.

ST. LOUIS – “We’d Rather Be Naked Than Wear Sweatshop Clothing,” was the message presented in a publicity photo shoot held Tuesday by United Students Against Sweatshops.

Krispie Kreme donuts and music with a beat set the scene as 26 students gathered — wearing shorts, tank tops and underwear but baring their legs and shoulders — in front of the cameras.

The semi-nude photographs were taken as part of the organization’s rally to draw attention to the problem of sweatshop labor and how it could affect Saint Louis University.

Before the photos were taken, students listened as John Carroll, a USAS coordinator, said that several pieces of apparel sold in the University bookstore might be manufactured by underpaid workers in the deplorable working conditions in sweatshop factories.

Although the sources of all of the clothing are not known, Carroll said later, the bookstore is unable to claim that all of its apparel is made outside of sweatshops — so far.

The goal of USAS, presenters at the rally announced, has been to encourage SLU to affiliate itself with the Workers’ Rights Consortium, an independent group that works with laborers at identified sweatshop factories to better their working conditions.

If SLU does become affiliated with the organization, Carroll said, the WRC would help to ensure that none of the companies that produce SLU apparel do so with sweatshop labor.

Carroll described a picture of the inside of one of the factories he visited in the Dominican Republic earlier this year: “You can tell this is not a sweatshop because it’s brightly lit, and two people have a lot of space in which to work and they were playing nice music in the background.”

At a sweatshop factory, “I was not allowed to take pictures,” Carroll said. “[It was] darker, smaller; there were more people and they were making swimsuits for Wal-mart.”

More than 40 students listened to the presentation, then some created posters using facts and quotes, provided by USAS, about sweatshop labor around the world. Later, interested students stripped down to their boxers, tank tops and swimsuits and stood behind the posters to create the look of nudity for the publicity photographs.

“It’s a way of getting people’s attention and a way of getting people to open their eyes,” said freshman participant Laura Brandstetter. “It’s important that USAS is trying to get SLU to join [the WRC] that checks up on clothing companies I think we’re really behind the times on that.”

According to the USAS presentation, 163 colleges and universities are affiliated with the WRC. Some participating schools are Boston College, Georgetown University, Tulane University and Loyola University Chicago.

“The cost to SLU will be $1,000, exactly, to affiliate with the Workers’ Rights Consortium,” Carroll said during the presentation. He said that the group had been waiting for a specific number with which they could go forward in promoting the affiliation.

The SLU bookstore is already affiliated with another workers’ rights group, the Fair Labor Association, said Kathryn Jonas, another USAS coordinator. USAS appreciates that the bookstore is associated with the FLA, said Jonas. Still, “just the FLA isn’t comprehensive enough,” she said.

The FLA does its work through corporations, said Jonas, so it is funded by the corporations when it takes action to protect those corporations’ laborers.

“This often presents a conflict of interests,” said Jonas. “But the WRC is funded completely by grants [such as SLU would pay],” she said, because it has “no corporation involvement.”