The Age of Inequality

After asking for a moment of silence to acknowledge the recent tragedy in Mumbai, Palagummi Sainath began his lecture by explaining the meaning of pictures that played in a slideshow before he spoke. “They are portraits of farmers who have committed suicide and the families they have left behind.”

The number of audience members far exceeded the number of seats in room 200C of the Geography Building, but those without a seat were content to line the walls or sit on stairways to listen to Sainath speak about the farm and food crisis facing India and the role the media played throughout the turmoil.

Sainath, 2007 winner of the Ramon Magsaysay award for journalism, spoke at the event sponsored by the Geography Department. He has chosen to focus his work on the economically underprivileged of India and had a simple explanation for the resilience of the general population of Mumbai after last week’s terrorist attacks. “For 65% of the population, if you don’t go to work that day, you don’t eat.” That startling statistic, he explained, shows the growing distance between the rich and poor of India.

While the country has the fourth highest number of billionaires according to Forbes magazine, a United Nations survey ranks India at 128th in human development. In fact, India has set the poverty line at 24 cents a day. 200 million Indians no longer seek medical attention of any kind because they cannot afford it. It seems that as the number of billionaires grew, the quality of life for the majority of citizens declined. “There is astonishing disparity,” Sainath explained. “53 people, those Forbes billionaires, make up 31% of India’s GDP.”

Sainath believes that modern governments choose to intervene on behalf of the rich and the elite, citing the Wall Street bailout as evidence of such. “There has been an unprecedented rise of corporate power, and they wield incredible influence.” Using California’s 11 billion dollar deficit as an example, he predicts there will be cuts in social welfare and education among other things. “All across the world there is a transfer of resources from poor to rich, it just happens in different ways.”

Because of the world food price crisis, even middle classes families had to start worrying about food prices for the first time, according to Sainath. He attributes the price increases to corporations overtaking the agricultural industry not only in India but also across the world. He explains this is because corporations have taken control of pesticide and seed sales, and over the past few years companies have increased the price of such goods by as much as 700%.

These price increases have made it very difficult for farmers to make any profit. In the past, the vast majority of Indians made their living off agriculture and food crops. But between 1991 and 2006, 8 million people quit farming. Those who continue farming are incredibly impoverished and often times can’t even get a small crop loan from the bank.

According to Sainath, every 30 minutes another farmer in India commits suicide. In fact, over 166,000 farmers have committed suicide since 1991. “Most of the suicide households are neck-deep in debt and the farmer sees no other way out,” Sainath explained.

“But has the media shown much interest in this?” Sainath asked. He believes they did not. Sainath lamented the media’s lack of interest in such troubling issues and cited them as being part of the problem. “The media has been a part of that incredible rise of corporate power. Where we should have told stories, instead we sold products.”

Georgia Women Speak of Poor Conditions for Kenyan Women

Young girls are married off by the age of 15, many to men almost 30 years their senior. Sixty-nine percent of women are considered literate and less than 12 percent continue their education past eighth grade. Mothers walk up to eight miles per day to retrieve the freshest water for their families from still polluted streams and rivers. The women of the Maasai tribe in Nairobi, Kenya live lives of conflict, hardship, and burden.

Female leaders from around Athens and the University of Georgia led a discussion Tuesday afternoon at the school’s Visual Arts Center concerning life in the Maasai tribe. Sponsored by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government International Center, the discussion focused on a recent two-week trip taken by ten Georgia women to Kenya.

The discussion, titled “Women of the Maasai: Empowerment and Networks,” highlighted the rough cultural expectations and quality of life for a woman in Nairobi. Speakers included the Athens Mayor, Heidi Davison, a Stay Safe activist, Joan Prittie, and Njeri Marekia-Cleaveland, a public service assistant from the Carl Vinson Institute.

Throughout their discussion, many of the women voiced the conflict of changing the Maasai way of life without threatening to change the culture.

“It’s hard to do,” says Marekia-Cleaveland. “They don’t want to change their culture, even if it’s for the betterment of their life.”

Marekia-Cleaveland went on to describe the constant struggle among women within Maasai society. With men “wandering around with their cattle all day”, she says, the women are left with the hardships of caring for the family.

She described chores such as milking cows and creating beadwork. The women will fulfill both chores, but since the man is the one allowed to sell them to factories and markets, he will pocket the money.

In addition, the woman will take care of the land, children, and food—further taxing her and increasing her hardships.

Joan Prittie, who is also a public administration and policy professor at UGA, says that it is hard for many Americans to understand why these women have yet to escape their circumstances. She says that to consider their status, you must also consider their culture.

“There is a certain level of accepted violence,” she says.

Many young girls are subject to early marriage, some as soon as 10 years old, and Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM)—both are illegal in Kenya. The Maasai culture deems a woman pure once she has gone through FGM, a procedure that risks her life and makes childbirth more complex, risking the life of the unborn.

Many members of the 25-person audience gasped and suddenly raised their hands to their mouths in terror. Prittie responded to the shock by claiming, “They either have to face this direct violence or become secondary citizens.”

How African American Women Speak out in Rock Music

ATHENS, Ga - African American hip-hop is a growing sector within American's music scene, however, African American rock-music seems to be hidden, especially women's involvement within Rock-music. 

Dr. Lesley Feracho, whose focus of study are Romance Languages and African American studies, spoke to a crowd of 20 in the African American Center of Memorial Hall on Wednesday. Feracho's lecture entitled, Womanism and Rock-music, focused on the invisibility and empowerment of African American women within the Rock world. 

"A Black woman metal head does not make sense," Feracho said. "For the African American Rock musician, I want their music and message to be heard." 

How do these musicians make a stance within the music industry, when there is a lack of support?

According to Feracho, African American women in the Rock industry have strategies in creating a community and venue to get their music heard. This is where the idea of Womanism comes into play. Certain stereotypes are created when a person thinks of Rock music. An African American women is not one of them. 

Throughout the lecture, Feracho discussed four main African American Rock musicians. Feracho explained how the music created by these women has underlying meanings in the lyrics. 

Cree Summer, who combines Rock aesthetic with Native American influences, was one of the women Feracho discussed. "This song proves history can be erased. The lyrics to this song go all the way back to slavery," Feracho said about Summer's song, 'Curious White Boy.' Feracho pointed out one line of lyrics that read,"Inside the petting zoo, was it good for you?" Feracho believed these words show an objectification of women and stereotyping African American women. The song according to Feracho, "creates a voice for Black women and the awareness of Black history." 

Musician, Tamar-kali, was another African American woman Feracho discussed. Tamar-kali's song, Boot, addresses the social issues of all women. Trina Meade, the lead singer for the band Three 5 Human, sings songs with themes ranging from women's self esteem to women's relationships, according to Feracho. The band title, Three 5 Human, gives reference to the Three Fifths Compromise of 1850, which referenced slaves as being three-fifth human. 

"The Noisettes music is a celebration of the identity that defines the norms for African American women, as a women and also a musician," Feracho explained after playing the tunes of another Rock group. The Noisettes are a Rock-band out of England. According to Feracho, the Noisettes establish a female centered musical, emotional, and spiritual link within their music. "They use music to talk about issues," Feracho said. 

Feracho's dream is for African American women in Rock-music stand out. She concluded the lecture by saying, "hopefully my passion will lead to future projects." 

Gailey Speaks about Contribution of Author to Building Racial Sympathies

"How many of you have heard of Joel Chandler Harris?" asked last Friday's Institute for Women Studies speaker to a room full of 50 students and faculty members. 

 

A few people raised their hands, and Amanda Gailey, a second year assistant professor in the University of Georgia English department, chucked as she recognized that it was only her colleges and own students that were aware of her favorite author.

"Not many," she said as she sipped hot coffee. "Good, I was hoping you wouldn't already know."

However, this lack of knowledge is baffling to Gailey. Only 100 years ago was Harris, better know as Uncle Remus, the second most popular author in America only to his good friend Mark Twain. 

"Both men made outstanding literary careers. But Harris fell to obscurity, while Twain remained popular," said Gailey.

Harris took on many  more risks than Twain, or any other author in his time according to Gailey. Harris's writings promoted domesticity, loyalty to family and gave a sense of humanity to people, including black men and women, which much more closely aligned with what Gailey repeatedly referred to as traditional "women's fiction."

Harris and his son Julian Harris also spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan, a secret society in the South designed to promote white supremacy through violent acts and terrorism towards African Americans and other minorities. These writings caused Julian Harris to not only go bankrupt, but to also win the Pulitzer Prize, said Gailey. 

Harris also took risk by starting the "Uncle Remus Home Magazine." According to Gailey, this risk proved to be a smart one because by the end of the first year Harris's subscriptions had jumped from 100,000 to 240,000 subscribers. 

The magazine itself also was very different and took risks that were aimed at accomplishing Harris's goals of promoting family and "building racial sympathies," said Gailey.

The magazine had a women's section, book reviews- one even under a female pen name, articles by Billy Sanders- Harris's white alter ego, an Uncle Remus tale, and other sections that would be fitting with a domestically centered "Home" magazine in the early 1900s. 

Harris had a strong editorial hand in the magazine, as well as in his books. He strongly believed in showing "dignified pictures of minorities" in order to soften the racial barriers, and refused to work with Edward Kemble in his book "On the Plantation," said Gailey.

Kemble was a renowned illustrator of his time, and worked closely with Twain on several of his works, reported Gailey. 

"Kemble felt the negro to be [his] specialty even though he had never been to the South, and used a white child as his model," said Gailey as her audience laughed at the ludicrous irony of Kemble's beliefs. 

Harris preferred to work with A.B. Frost on illustrations both for his children's books and his magazine. Frost's work showed pictures of a dignified black male, who was normally clothes, and seemed nurturing and approachable. 

These drawings were in direct contrast with the Kemble examples Gailey showed. Gailey pointed out that Kemble depicted African Americans as scary, screaming characters with "monkey-like features," instead of the dignified and "real" pictures Harris required. 

The "Uncle Remus Home magazine" continued for five more years after Harris's death under the supervision of his son Julian Harris.

However, according to Gailey, Julian Harris "did not use the same editorial powers as his father."

Instead he allowed Kemble to submit drawings, and published advertisements featuring African Americans in a derogatory light. Some articles even mocked their religious beliefs and songs.

However, this is not the real Harris and Gailey thinks that people can learn a lot from this once famous author. This is why she has started a project "that keeps growing," in her opinion. 

The project will create an archive that will digitize Uncle Remus books and other Harris writings to make them "searchable."

She believes that not only will this archive help people like the ones in the classroom last Friday learn about Joel Chandler Harris and his contribution to society, but also about other authors who had similar impacts.

The archive has no official scheduled completion date, but will focus on "how adults wanted children to think about race during the Gilded Age (1865-1909)," said Gailey.     

Georgia Native’s Works Soon to be Digitized

ATHENS, GA - Who is Joel Chandler Harris? Between the years 1865-1909, he was the most popular author next to Mark Twain. But no one knows who he is. In a class of about 40 people, mostly women, only a few of them have ever heard of this writer, and that is only because of Amanda Gailey’s class.
As part of the Women’s Studies Friday Speaker Series, Amanda Gailey, an assistant professor of English at the University of Georgia, spoke Friday about her upcoming project. “It is a big project and it just keeps growing!” said Gailey. Gailey specializes in humanities computing and in knowledge of 19th century printing press. She also has a large interest in Whitman and Dickenson and has contributed to both of their digital archives. Gailey took a sip of her Jittery Joes and spoke of the life and times of Harris.
In the times of Joel Chandler Harris, he was overshadowed by author and friend, Mark Twain. In the year of Harris’ death in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt thought Harris should be remembered because he loved the author from Eatonton. Being second to Twain in popularity during that time, Harris’ fame should have lasted, but Twain’s stories have endured time and are a part of most high school curriculums. Huckleberry Finn, though put through much scrutiny in high schools because of the book’s seemingly racist matter, has continued to be a very important part of American literature and has left Harris’ Uncle Remus Tales in the dust.
In Harris’ stories, he took more risks with race than Twain, featuring African Americans as kind and caring as opposed to Twain who had them shown as clowns and inferior. Twain’s stories were about white boy’s fantasy of escaping domesticity, like in Huck Finn, while Harris humanized African Americans to white readers. Harris was shocked to know that Twain’s illustrator had never visited the South and used white boys as a model for his black boy pictures. Meanwhile, Harris’ illustrator, A.B. Frost, had toured around Georgia to see what real African American people looked and acted like.
In 1907, Harris founded the Uncle Remus’ Magazine with his son, Julian. Within its first year, it went from 100,000 to 240,000 subscribers. Harris created male and female, white and black personas in the magazine that wrote monthly articles. Unfortunately, Harris’ untimely death came a year after the magazine started. Julian kept it running for the next five years, to appease his father’s wishes, but it was not the same without Harris. Advertisements featuring African Americans were not portrayed well. They were either seen as very superstitious or as slaves. Harris depicted Black women as caring and nurturing and made seem more Harriett Beacher Stowe and less Mark Twain. He believed that one should embrace family and domesticity and not run away from it.
In this new digital database, Joel Chandler Harris’ stories will be the first and most abundant of the searchable database. Most of the stories feature African dialect that is hard to read and understand. The database will feature regularized spelling searches to find the modern spelling of the word in the story. A question arouse on how children of that time understood the words in the stories. “Reading aloud gave the children the knowledge of the correct accents of words that are so hard to crack now,” said Gailey. There will also be many images in this new database. “We have so many illustrations to upload and they are very difficult to get digitized,” stated Gailey.
Her project is Race and Children’s Literature of the Guilded Age, a digital archive of illustrated American literature published between the end of the Civil War (1865) and the foundation of the NAACP (1913). The archive will start with Joel Chandler Harris, the author of the Uncle Remus Tales, who lived in Eatonton, Georgia. Gailey is working in collaboration with Dr. Gerald Early, Merle King Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University. The professors will use the project to help students and scholars to examine how adults wanted children to think about racial difference during this pivotal period in American history. The project brings together methods in humanities computing, literary criticism, art history, illustration and printing technology to form an interactive database for cross-disciplinary study.

No Challenge too Large for Education

“In a time when the public has lost confidence in many institutions, including our government, American higher education continues to garner praise for its quality, its achievements, and its stature,” Molly Corbett Broad said.

This was the main message that rang through the University of Georgia Chapel at the 20^th annual Louise McBee Lecture on Nov. 14.

“In cities across the country including, of course, Athens, Ga., local institutions of higher education are the economic and cultural bedrock that determine the quality of life in their communities,” Broad said.

“Colleges and universities continue to be seen as credible institutions, places of opportunity and big ideas; institutions that are here to serve others, to teach, to empower, to mentor, to solve problems,” Broad said.

Broad stressed that this is crucial at a time when resources are dwindling; public trust and support for the future determines available sources for colleges and universities.

Broad addressed that today’s economy has placed strain on the university system, its students, and their families. Universities are facing budget cuts and reductions in donations and investments. Faculties have fewer resources and face cutbacks; there are declining numbers of tenured professors and more part time staff in the university system.

Students are being offered less assistance and fewer resources yet having to find ways to pay rising tuition as college savings accounts’ values decrease and student loans become harder to obtain.

Students’ families are dealing with job losses and decreasing values of homes, freezing their line of credit.

Economic changes challenge universities to develop individual and resourceful leaders. They are needed to “question our nation’s capacity to build social and cultural consensus and form new compacts between higher education and government,” said Broad.

The economic landscape that universities are functioning in has changed drastically. Globalization has changed our economic geography in the past few decades. The fall of the Berlin Wall and creation of independent states from the Soviet Union caused trade barriers to fall in addition to diminishing trade barriers in China and elsewhere. These occurrences added 3 billion consumers to the world trade market Broad quoted from reports.

The population and reach of universities is also globalizing. Student mobility has increased and programs and institutions are building overseas, especially in Asia and the Middle East. The change that this international mobility has sparked is important in a broader context, said Broad.

Broad cited the most powerful force in the economy today is human capital. The economy of the mid 20^th century was 65% low skill jobs; today’s economy is composed of 65% high skill jobs. This supports the growing dependency on human intellectual capital as America’s dependency on natural resources and manufacturing vanishes.

Broad wants people to frame higher education as a long term investment. She gave statistical evidence to prove the rate of return on higher education is significantly high and enough to cancel than the opportunity cost of wages earned in addition to dependency cost while in college.

“No one moves up from the loading deck to the corner office anymore,” Broad said quoting a fellow education academic, “educational attainment determines access to learning and technology on the job.” There is a direct correlation between education and life long learning or educational access.

In 1967, 70% of those with a high school diploma were part of the middle class; in 2005, 50% were in the middle class with the other 20% dropping to lower income classes according to statistics Broad cited. In America today more than 40% of the population does not have any post-secondary education. The demand for educated employees must be met to prevent further hollowing out of America’s middle class.

To increase the number of college educated employees, the discrepancy of educational attainment by class and race must be solved. With whites projected to be a minority of the U.S. population in the coming years it is important to begin a trend in the Hispanic and black communities of higher educational obtainment.

Colleges and universities are also going to have to find ways to educate a growing population of grey-hairs at a time when college age students’ numbers are stagnant. It is beneficial to encourage those not wanting to retire at 56 to maintain or gain education and continue productivity in a workforce that is seeking skilled employees said Broad.

Broad stressed the critical situation Americans face today; the American Dream is in danger of being lost. “The American Dream, in which each generation will be better off than the generation of its parents is at its tipping point,” Broad said, “we now risk older generations having higher level of educational obtainment than younger generations.”

Though the speech took place on a dreary morning, it seemed miles away from the bright crowd joined in the Chapel. Before and after the speech the crowd bustled about reuniting with old friends and colleagues. Many handshakes and hugs were shared and introductions extended. It was a joining of like minds, not to be disconnected from the speaker and current UGA President.

“We will have no discussion as to whether the University of Georgia or the University of North Carolina was the first public university,” Broad said, after praising University of Georgia President Michael Adams and thanking him for an impressive introduction

President Adams gave an honorable introduction before Broad walked to the podium. They were acquainted from Broad’s 25 years at the University of Georgia and position as a Georgia Representative, chairing the House Higher Education Committee. “She has served on virtually every board and commission for higher education,” Adams said.

Broad is the president of The American Council on Education, and served 9 years as the president of the 16-campus University of North Carolina. She also held positions in the California University System and Arizona University Systems. She served the New York State Commission on the Future of Postsecondary Education, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the International Council for Distance Education.

The Louise McBee Lecture is an annual event in honor of Dr. M. Louise McBee, vice president for academic affairs emerita of the University of Georgia. This year marked the 20^th anniversary of the annual lecture which is one of few in the United States to focus solely on higher education. Broad, as each lecturer in this series, visited the University campus to deliver lectures, conduct seminars, and take part in the life of the University.

By: Katherine Durham

Joel Chandler Harris defies racial tensions in Jim Crow south

ATHENS, Ga. -- Brer Rabbit plots his revenge on Brer Bear and the other forest creatures, changes racial relations in the south, and puts a cap on stereotypes all before bedtime.
Assistant English professor Amanda Gailey’s speech “Race and Gender in Children’s Literature of the Gilded Age (1865-1909)” Friday afternoon compared the works of Mark Twain and Joel Chandler Harris, exploring the racial and gender-bent implications of both authors’ works and their relationships with their illustrators. While Harris has all but disappeared from the literature studied in schools across America, his bravery in resisting the mob-terrorism implemented by whites across the country shortly after the Civil War exhibits his open-mindedness and respect for those of all colors and creeds, even in a Jim Crow middle Georgia.
“We are not proud of this legacy, but, arguably, that’s why we need to study it,” the Oklahoma native said while sipping her hot coffee.
Joel Chandler Harris was deemed a racist by his critics, while Mark Twain was given the benefit of the doubt, with scholars deeming his works as “sophisticated critique of racism.” Twain’s tales of young white boys going out on endless adventures, escaping the domesticity and femininity of home do not serve as brave an attack on racism as Harris, according to Gailey. In fact, Harris’ embrace of the home-life lifestyle and his humanization of black characters in his stories offered him the chance to develop a platform of tolerance and respect between the races.
Gailey cites Harris’ magazine Uncle Remus Home Magazine as another source for Harris’ heroic efforts to curb racism in the Jim Crow south. Using A.B. Frost as his illustrator over renowned E.W. Kemble, illustrator of Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Harris was able to soften racial stereotypes of African Americans. While Kemble’s illustrations were those of opossum hunts and blacks with enlarged lips and eyes, Frost used a more dignified approach to his illustrations, giving African Americans subtle features and making them seem more realistic than Kemble. Kemble’s blatant racism is prevalent in his illustrations, and Harris’ choice of Frost gave African Americans a distinguished picture in society, which Harris hoped would improve race relations within his reader base.
Harris’ feministic and domestic approach to his stories, magazine, and illustrations are, according to Gailey, why so few Americans recognize this author’s contribution to society. His welcoming and nurturing style attempts to limit the loss of “social alternatives to etiquette” that happened to children as they grew up in this period. The love for an African American caregiver quickly faded in the forthcoming years as children began to be taught by their parents who to respect, and who not to respect.
“Man has no business to outlive his youth,” Gailey explains. “The retention of youth is key for possibility.”
So maybe next time you curl up to read your children their bedtime stories, you can let imaginations run in Technicolor, instead of black and white.

Emerging Issues in the Consumer World

Searching the Athens Yellow Pages for restaurants will result in approximately 350 options. But how well does a consumer know what they in fact consume? Oscar Garrison, of the GA department of Agriculture, questions.

Garrison is the Assistant Commissioner of Consumer Protection for the Agriculture Department. On Thursday, he gave a speech on the emerging issues in agriculture and food defense in the Auditorium of the Ecology building.

“This is your issue.” Garrison said,”At some point it becomes the consumers’ job to help themselves.”

According to a recent CDC study, every year 1-in-4 Americans get sick with a food-borne illness. In addition, 325,000 people are hospitalized and 5,000 Americans per year die of a food related illness.

People in many cases aren’t aware of what they consume. Bacteria, viruses and parasites can be introduced to an innocent person’s food directly or by association and can be intentional or accidental. “Although there are many rules and regulations at this point, it still isn’t enough” Garrison clarified. There are simply not modern means to completely protect the consumer. To explain the difficulty of locating one bacterium in 25 grams of food, he used the analogy of locating a golf ball in 25 cubic miles of garbage. Again he explained that although he and his associates do their job as best they can, the food industry and agriculture will never be completely safe.

America, although not completely safe, is still better off than many places world wide. Garrison recalled a visit to Shanghai, China in which he witnessed unregulated open-air and wet markets where conditions were completely unsafe and unsanitary. Cultural differences and customs make things such as lack of temperature regulations, lack of toilets and no facilities acceptable there.

In a diverse location like Atlanta, many things can still ‘slip through the cracks’ Garrison explained. In the last year alone, the Agriculture Department has shut down distributors on Buford Highway for attempting to sell skinned dogs, guinea pigs and illegally-imported clams for consumption.

Not only are small personal trade products getting into the country without notice, but a recent issue with counterfeit products and melamine-contaminated products has arisen. Melamine is an organic base, that when consumed in small doses is not harmful, but it is still toxic and in certain situations can cause fatal kidney stones.

In addition to the melamine products, in the summer of 2007, a Chinese company imported pre-packaged fish labeled as ‘grouper’ which actually turned out to be Asian catfish. Catfish is a farm-raised fish which is full of hormones and antibiotics. This fish passed through customs without testing because of the deceptive labeling.

Garrison points out that even American farmers can be deceptive for their own profit. This past year’s tomato scare ended in thousands of tomatoes going to waste and hundreds of farmers losing money. There were actually no contaminated tomatoes at all, but in fact the scare resulted from a Florida farmer importing Mexican peppers, repackaging them and reselling them for over double the price he paid.

The United States Department of Agriculture recently gave the University of Georgia a grant to write guidelines for GA food producers, transporters and distributors. Garrison was a key participant in the award of the grant and hopes to use it to further protect consumers.

“The speech was sort of scary” said 21-year-old Jenna Porto “It really opened my eyes to risks I didn’t know existed. I definitely plan on being more careful in the future.”

Being careful is about the only thing a consumer can do in present day according to the speech. “You have to stop, look, ask and know.” Garrison said. He reiterated, “This is your issue.”

Walk the Road to Peace

By: Tina Romero

ATHENS, GA—Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a perfect peaceful world where war and destruction did not exist? Unfortunately, our world is engaged in hundreds of active wars, children are dying of starvation on a daily basis, there are thousands of nuclear weapons and we are allowing our planet to rush toward destruction with global warming.

Rev. John Dear, spoke at the University of Georgia’s Catholic Center last night and urged his audience to “walk the road to peace.”  

Rev. John Dear is a Jesuit priest, pastor, peace activist, organizer, lecturer, retreat leader, and the author of 25 books on peace and justice. Along with the fact that he is Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, John Dear has been arrested more than 75 times. He has spent more than a year of his life in jail. He has been mocked by armed U.S. soldiers standing outside the doors to his New Mexico parish. All this because he so fervently believes in peace.

During his speech, John Dear encouraged people to think about their life journey and how to contribute to a peaceful future.  By sharing many of his life stories, it is easy to see why Rev. Dear is such an activist. 

He left his Jesuit high school and attended Duke University where he joined a fraternity, and in turn dropped all belief in God.  He told the audience how he heard a story about a Professor that gave out A’s if the students participated in a community service project. It was then that he had his “life changing” moment.

For the community service, Dear traveled out to the boondocks in N.C. to visit an isolated prison where the men were locked up for life.  After speaking and visiting with the prisoners several times, Dear said he saw their true pain and suffering.  It was then that he started to believe in God again.

With his great enthusiasm and sense of humor, Dear joked that his parents were horrified when he told them he was going to become a Jesuit at the mere age of 21.  But that did not stop him. With his new conversion to Christianity, he decided to live out the Beatitudes of the nonviolent Jesus in every dimension of his life. 

Dear’s beliefs are very similar to those of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.  He urged the audience to use non-violence as a method for social change and to consider every human as his or her own sister or brother.  He said, “Do not live passively, but actively love and persistently reconcile with everyone you meet.” Dear then proceeded to make it known that war does not work and it solves nothing.

Even if you are not a Christian and if you support war, Rev. Dear’s life story is very inspiring and convincing.  He truly follows the teachings of God and is committed to his peaceful lifestyle.  One story that Dear spoke about was his involvement after the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11^th.

He began volunteering as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the whole chaplain program. He worked with about 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.

After all of his radical peace movements and after finally being off the watch of the government, Dear now lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country.  He is currently promoting his autobiography titled A Persistent Peace, which he said his family made fun of him for publishing due to the fact that he is only 49 years old.

Rev. Dear graciously thanked the audience for attending his speech and left them with this quote, “Love your enemies, don’t nuke ‘em.”  

Potential of Indigenous Studies

After over 22 years of heated debate, The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007.

“Prior to that, we were simply accidents of history,” Dr. Roger Maaka explained as he spoke to an audience of over 50 students in the Miller Learning Center on Wednesday, detailing the struggles of keeping Native American Studies curriculum relevant in today’s educational system and explaining the importance of the emergence of Indigenous Studies. “As a scholar and indigenous person, there are intellectual and social challenges about what makes our field relevant to all people.”

Maaka, a Maori scholar and a professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, was invited to speak at the event sponsored by the Institute of Native American Studies.

Maaka described how the consequences of imperialism in earlier centuries led to the creation of what are now the indigenous people of the world. One of the effects of that expansion was to push those people into geographically marginal locations that were unappealing at the time. Ironically, however, these are the areas that have become prime resource sites. They are also prime conservation sites. “That means whether states like it or not, they have to engage with those populations,” Maaka explained.

Because of global issues including the energy crisis and conservation of resources, Maaka believes indigenous people will certainly remain relevant rather than simply political fare. “We’re right in the middle of all of this. You cannot discuss such global issues without talking about indigenous people and their rights.”

While Maaka described the challenges that face indigenous people, he also addressed the hurdles his field faces in the academic arena. Maaka explained that while most fields can trace their genealogies back hundreds of years, the field of indigenous studies is just under 40 years old, years he labels as the formative era.

“40 years is not a long time to build up a faculty. The founding professors have now all retired, and there may be a few survivors, but they are certainly not publishing. Most have been preoccupied with survival, not advancement.” This, he believes, has had serious implications. It affects the volume of publications, not only in depth but the breadth as well.

Maaka believes those in his field have two choices. The first is to accept the status quo and an undetermined future. The second is to create a distinctive intellectual identity that has relevance to academic institutions and the indigenous worlds. Clearly preferring the latter option, Maaka said, “I would argue that this is incredibly important for our respective peoples. That we not only remain in the public eye and academic structure but we should also become a major intellectual force.”

While he believes his field is in a much different place from where Native American studies first started, Maaka still believes there is much progress to be made. “We’re not limited by the bounds of any academic discipline, what we’re limited by is actually the living communities,” he says. “Where they go, we must go. If we do not do that, we are no different that the very forces that marginalized our people in the first place.”

On the other hand, Maaka is proud of the progress that has been made. After the United Nation’s accepted the Indigenous People’s Declaration of Rights, Maaka is certain that decision changed many people’s perceptions of indigenous people and made them more relevant in today’s culture. “After a 40 year formative era, I believe we can and will accept whatever challenges come our way.”

How Black Female Rockers 'Kick Open' The Door To Music

Mental images evoked from the sounds of Rock-music typically don't embody a Woman.

Nor an African American Woman.

These words were lyrical symbolism to Dr. Lesley Feracho's lecture as she spoke to an audience of 20 about her interest between women and Rock-music. Sponsored by and held in the African American Cultural Center, Feracho's expertise in Romance Languages and African American Studies was the perfect ending note to the Apero Africana Brown Bag Lecture.

Approximately lasting the length of a C.D., Feracho's lecture expressed the idea of womanism and a woman's place in rock-music. She focused on three social change perspectives rooted in black women: anti-oppressionists, vernacular, and communitarian.

"These three aspects are used to emphasize the idea of unity within a community, the every day use of music, and oppose different types of strategies," said Feracho as she kicked open the doors of acceptance -- particularly involving female African American musicians -- to her audience.

Feracho used biographical information and audio clips from African American Rock-artist Cree Summer and Trina Meade, lead singer of Three 5 Human. These two women encountered a lifestyle full of racial discrimination and sexism. Two elements that made it difficult for them to prosper in the music industry. And even more difficult for them to make it in the Rock-music world.

"The theme present in these artist's songs is the celebration of an identity that played with, defined, and subverted norms for black women and musicians," said Feracho.

The songs "Curious White Boy" and "Boots" by Cree Summer were chosen by Feracho to aid her analysis. These two songs address social issues of not just black women, but women of all color. According to Feracho, the lyrics of these songs were written based on Summer's personal experiences alluding to the idea of "voice" and communication.

"The idea of the voice enhances the idea of the autobiographical mind and connects the listener to the speaker due to subjectivity," stated Feracho. Her focus on these two songs by Cree Summer was to portray the strength of optimism African American Rock-musicians possess due to the historical lack of racial neutrality.

Accompanying Cree Summer, Trina Meade and her Rock-group Three 5 Human also play a loud role in the Rock-music scene. Their name itself strives for the ending of racism while their band composition unifies sexes. Named after the Three Fifths Compromise of 1850, Three 5 Human is made up of two African American men and one African American woman who, together, unmask the idea of previous social image assumptions.

"Three 5 Human's song 'Jenny' uses the concept of naming and brings to life the topic of sexual abuse and dehumanization of a being," said Feracho. The lyrics in "Jenny" tell a story from an outsider's perspective of a young girl in need of a new start. The repetition of the word "run" in this song depicts the mentality of Three 5 Human and how they seek to continue "running" and working hard to break the norm and get their voices heard while unifying all.

Feracho's lecture was far from a "one-hit wonder" and left an overall positive affect of her audience. Ending with an informal conversation over snacks and refreshments, Feracho encouraged her audience to seek "different ways to break down the doors."

No longer Rock 'n Roll, follow African American women musicians and Rock 'n Kick down the doors to music equality.

Internationally Acclaimed Scholar Bridges Generation Gap and Explains ‘The Way We Have Become’

“John Nash,” Ihab Hassan said to a silent and captivated room, “He is the guy Russell Crowe played in A Beautiful Mind.” A sigh of understanding swept over the auditorium.

The 84-year-old scholar managed to communicate his thoughts quite artfully to the young University crowd. Mainly he was able to explain the vain world he believes society exists in today.

His lecture, entitled The Way We Have Become, focused on modern society’s obsession with perception and appearance. Hassan discussed, “How everything in America now must seem or appear, not be.”

He explained in terms of metaphors and relations to pop culture and the recent election.

Hassan described America’s mantra as ‘appearance is everything’ which is, according to him, echoed in everything around us. Appearance is everything in politics, economics, and even the arts.

He proposed that the United States has become a cultural mistrust; that its citizens thrive on scandals, scandals of church, state, celebrity, etcetera. “Have Americans really lost the will to believe?” he asked the 75 students and faculty in the Park Hall auditorium Wednesday.

“I thought the lecture was amazing.” said Justin Smith, a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Georgia. “He really made his complex concept understandable. I thought it was extremely interesting and I’m glad I came.”

Hassan was visiting the University of Georgia as a Wilson Center Artist. Betty Jean Craig, director of the Wilson Center, described him as a personal ‘intellectual hero’. The Wilson Center Artist is an honor of intellectuals, artists and scholars in which its recipients are nominated and voted on by faculty.

This year, Stephen Corey, editor of the Georgia Review nominated Hassan. Corey described Hassan’s works as groundbreaking and inspirational and introduced him saying “I have known him for 40 years, and yesterday, we met.”

The Cairo-born literary theorist’s concept of postmodernism is internationally renowned. He simply wants society to return to a time of trust, truth and hope.

The lecture’s attendees were nothing but respectful and receptive to his speech. During a question and answer session after the lecture, one attendee inquired “But, how do we get away from this reliance on perception?” “Like this” Hassan replied.

Scholar Says Everything Is Not What It Seems

In a world in which marketing determines appearance, Ihab Hassan questions what is real about a person and what is just perception.

Hassan, a literary theorist born in Egypt, spoke in front of a crowd of more than 70 people in Park Hall on Tuesday about the importance of maintaining a sense of individuality in a society based on buying and selling.

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, an organization that invites distinguished lecturers to speak every fall at the University about scholarly and creative issues, sponsored the event.

Hassan was nominated by Stephen Corey, the editor of the The Georgia Review literary journal, to speak about the current issues facing a modern society.

According to Hassan, one of the main problems that Americans face is the people’s dependence upon perception, which is not truth but a “surfeit of seeming” instead.

“My concern here is the thinning of the self when perception defines reality, when mirrors line the walls,” Hassan said.

Hassan questioned who people really are as individuals and what people believe in a world where the appearances of things are more important than they actually are.

“I think there’s an urge for truth and a longing for trust,” Hassan said. “We have perceptions all the time but without substance. We love ourselves with the mantra ‘appearance is everything.’”

Hassan believes that people betray their inner self when they view themselves and others as what they seem rather than what they actually are.

According to Hassan, marketing is the main force in America today that drives people to focus on appearances rather than truth.

“We even sell by pretending not to sell,” Hassan said. “It’s called marketing and we buy in a trance.”

He believes that society the way it is today uses advertising to sell things to people that they don’t need by making it appear like something that it isn’t.

“Nothing comes out of nothing,” Hassan said. “That is the language of marketing.”

Companies will try to market their product in any way possible to their advertising audience through phone calls, internet pop-ups, and unsolicited e-mails, according to Hassan.

“Spam is a corruption of marketing, and marketing a corruption of giving and taking.” Hassan said. “They both undermine trust.”

When all relations are based on buying and selling, something is wrong, said Hassan.

Hassan also mentioned that social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, also encourage people to focus more on appearances and perceptions rather than truth.

“I think it just kind of articulated things that are already kind of obvious to people around America today,” Meg Souza, a 20-year-old from California who attended the event, said.

Souza, whose road trip with friend Jeff Grandinetti led her to Athens, said that she heard about the lecture from a campus magazine and thought it sounded interesting.

“It was just nice to hear someone say what you’ve thought about for a while,” Grandinetti said. “Hearing him describe the way everything is bought and sold, it’s just such a weird world that we live in.”

While the two were surprised that Hassan did not speak more directly about capitalism and were a little confused by the lecturer’s choice of words, they appreciated his insight.

Corey, who was more familiar with the lecturer’s speaking style than others, had read many of Hassan’s books on postmodernism and human perception when he was younger and knew that he would not be disappointed by the lecture.

“There’s no such thing as an idea too large for Ihab Hassan,” Corey said, as he introduced the speaker, “and that’s one of the great things about his ideas and his writings. He takes on everything.”

Others appreciated the lecturer’s visit as well.

“I learned about postmodernism from his books, so I’m really excited he’s accepted our invitation to come here,” Betty Jean Craige, the director of the Willson Center, said.

Hassan is currently a professor at the University of Wisconsin and has written many books on postmodernism, such as “Radical Innocence: The Contemporary American Novel,” “The Postmodern Turn: Essays in Postmodern Theory and Culture,” and “Selves at Risk: Patterns of Quest in Contemporary American Letters.”

The Way We Have Become

Against a background of a white marker board with nothing written on it in Park Hall, Professor Ihab Hassan explained how American culture has become a culture of nothingness, yet a nothing is always a something.

In other, more intellectual words- “If you look at the number 0 you see nothing. But look through it & you will see the world,” Hassan said, “How many of us can see the world through nothing?”

Ihab Hassan is a literary scholar. Hassan’s lecture, entitled The Way We Have Become, was sponsored by the Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts. He is a Wilson Center visiting artist, an honor voted for every year by faculty regarding the most creative and widely appealing scholar.

Steve Corey of The Georgia Review nominated Hassan and, during his introduction, told the audience of about 70 students and teachers: “his [Hassan’s] three books were groundbreaking works, examinations of new writings.”

Hassan began his speech by warning his examination of America and its “tyranny of appearances” might be harsh, but that “themes have hummed and buzzed in my mind lately, like bees…[but] bees buzz and also sting.”

Among those stinging bees is Hassan’s concern that America seems to only be interested in the shallow truths, and will most often settle for lies in exchange for the laziness accommodating a people with no will to examine themselves. “We have perceptions all the time but without substance,” he said.

Without such substance, Hassan believes the media is free to play any role in our lives they wish, marketing our “own” beliefs, politics, and tastes directly to us.

In fact, Hassan stated there is a large discrepancy between whom we should trust and whom we do trust. According to Hassan, “We credit what demands nothing from us. We trust those who can empty themselves of their needs…you trust the person who wants nothing from you.”

Yet in addition to trusting those who have nothing to gain from assisting us, a large portion of Americans trust the media. In Hassan’s opinion, politics is not so much about the issues between the candidates as it is about the issues of perception.

“State craft is stage craft,” Hassan said, meaning that politics is nothing more than a dramatic play set on a national stage. “Perception is all and the method is magic,” he said, “practiced at the cutting edge of technology.”

“I thought his views on politics were very interesting, especially coming off such a heated and historical election,” said Lauren Andrews, a senior history major, “there is no denying that both candidates tried to play to the cynicism of the voters. I think it is an issue that will be studied for awhile.”

Technology is another huge aspect of American culture that has turned America into shallow, cynical beings. With the introduction of social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace the need to get out and socialize gave way to the need to stay in and socialize. “On these sites a person of any age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or class can have not ten but one hundred friends,” said Hassan. Such an opportunity has flung open many doors but in the process it has slammed the important ones as well.

Hassan stated a worry for the absence of time a person spends along, reflecting. A relationship with the self is vital to a person’s identity and understanding, yet today one can have constant companionship in a number of different formats.

“The urge to socialize becomes the urge to be perceived to be socializing,” he said, “and in the process you alienate yourself from yourself.”

Hassan said that technology will continue to be a powerful tool in our ever-changing culture, “The internet is here. It will not just stay, it will evolve.”

With no true identity or sense of self, what do today’s Americans have to instill in tomorrow’s Americans? Hassan said that societies only survive by transmitting its values from one generation to the next. So, for the continued success of American society, today’s generation must decide what is important to their own lives in order to encourage such behaviors in future generations.

One such value important to Hassan, an immigrant originally from Egypt, can be found in The Constitution. It is more important to him than the typical American dream of money or fame. Yet it reflects an ideal that is quintessentially American. “I believe in the pursuit of happiness...richer, stronger than the dream of riches,” he said.


America has faced many challenges and changes throughout its history. Hassan is unsure about the future of American culture. However, his view on change did hint he has not entirely given up on the American innocence of the past or of the notion that all changes America is undergoing are bad. That maybe the change is just a way of sorting out what America actually needs from all the choices it has.

“Meaningful change,” Hassan said, “always preserves as it destroys.”

Scholar Speaks of The Way We Have Become

ATHENS- Ihab Hassan, a post-modernism scholar, spoke to a crowd of 70 professors and students in Park Hall on Tuesday afternoon about “the way we, as Americans, have become in this current age. The way that things must seem, not be.” Sponsored by the Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts, this American literary theorist offered his deep, intellectual criticism of the current conception of truth, American politics, economics, celebrities, the mind, and the arts.

Hassan has written numerous books on the idea of truth and post-modernism, and is a very prolific critic. Born in Egypt, Hassan made his way to the United States and became incredibly successful as a writer and scholar. His works include “A Plague of Mendacity: A Plea for Truth, Trust, Altruism,” “From Postmodernism to Postmodernity: the Local/Global Context,” and “The Eagle, the Olive Branch, and the Dream: Changing Perceptions of America in the World.”

Steve Corey, a professor in English at the University, introduced the speaker. “I have known Hassan for forty years, and just met him today,” said Corey. Corey highlighted some of Hassan’s accomplishments and ended his introduction by stating, “There is no such thing as an idea too large.”

Dressed nicely in a suit and tie, Hassan took the stage and began his lecture by comparing his feelings about the world to the “incessant buzzing of bees.” He forwarded the speech by stating that this was a work of testimony and personal criticism.

Trust, Hassan said, has deep historical roots. It relates back to the great philosophers such as Locke, Hume, and Kant, who had a benevolent view of trust, with regards to human sympathy. Truth in the past was considered a leap of faith, something spiritual. Yet today, the definition of truth has changed.
To Hassan, “Truth is now cognitive dissonance. We credit what demands nothing of us.”

“We have perceptions all of the time, but without substance,” said Hassan. He then went on to expand on this idea by focusing on different aspects of society today.
First, he discussed politics and economics. “Stagecraft is stagecraft,” he said, with regards to politics. He then went on to theorize that we perceive merely through appearance. “If appearances is all there are to see why speak at all?”
Marketing is now, as he refers to it, “the grip of an insidious hand outstretched.” He theorized that we even “sell by pretending not to sell.” He highlighted the fact that spam and the web have transformed marketing.

Facebook and MySpace are new innovative social media tactics used by many people today. Yet with reference to the mind, Hassan questioned the quality of the friendships based on these sites, and if this was a redefinition of self.
“The urge to socialize becomes the urge to be perceived as socialized. You alienate yourself in yourself,” said Hassan.

With more regards to Facebook and MySpace, Hassan expressed a concern: “The concern is thinning of self when perception becomes reality.” He offers the idea that this may be a generation of change, but also highlights that despite this, a society that cannot transmit values ceases to exist. Meaning, the generation is lost.

The “missing beam” in America for Hassan is the Arts. He made a point to distinguish the “American popular arts that are the gold utensil of entertainment” with literature, to which he attributed much greater a value. Hassan stressed that one should “trust the novel, not the novelist.” He also quoted C.S. Lewis, with which he once said “My own eyes are not enough for me.” Meaning, to see is to see through the eyes of other people. This is an “imaginative” trust.

Hassan made a true statement in his speech, which is that America has lost its sense of reality, truth, and the importance of true literature.

“Nothing is the best way to look at things,” said Hassan. “Like 30 spokes that share a wheel’s hub, but it is the hole that provides the usefulness.”

“Naked we see the reality at last.” He concluded.

University of Georgia English student, Jackie Daane, attended the lecture. Her reaction to the speech was that it provided her with insight that she had not thought about before. “I had never really considered my definition of truth and my perception of it,” Jackie said. “He presented a very interesting point when he wrote about how Facebook thins a person’s sense of self. We all use this social network too often, diminishing the foundation of what a true friendship is.”

According to the English department, a version of Hassan’s work will be published in The Georgia Review sometime in 2009, the ninth of his essays to appear in the journal during the past three decades.

World Renowned Artist Speaks to Students in the New Art School

ATHENS, Ga - "I am now sensitive to light because I work with it daily," Spencer Finch said after speaking at the Lamar Dodd School of Arts, Tuesday. Finch, an American artist whose work has been exhibited in museums world wide, said he gets his artistic influence from the sun. 

More than 100 people, including art students, professors, and local Athen's residents, gathered Tuesday night to hear Finch's explanations of his unusual works of art. Notebooks in hand, the crowd was prepared to marvel over the artists work. Finch presented a number of his works from past years, and explained how the masterpieces were created and the meanings behind them. 

"Of course it makes sense to me, but I have some thought you all might need some help," Finch said as he presented his first piece. 

Finch explained that artists should ask themselves, "What is the point and why am I doing this?" For Finch, the questions were easy to answer. Light is his primary focus in his art. Finch is interested in the conscious and the way viewers see his work. Finch uses different mediums but his favorite is light. 

The audience gasped as Finch showed a picture of his 2003 work titled, Paris/Texas. The sculpture consisted of stained glass, which filtered the summer light of Texas at midday to recreate the exact light of Paris. While in France, Finch had to measure the exact wavelengths within the light by using a "fancy art tool," then recreating that same light in the studio. Finch's big projects focus mainly on measuring light by using different mediums to portray the light in his exhibits. For example, Finch set up nine synchronized TV monitors facing a blank wall. These monitors were set to resemble the sunset in Finch's hotel room in Monument Valley. The audience was amazed at his creations. 

"I feel so lucky because the range I have with my art. Some ideas good and some not so good," Finch explains as he flipped to another instillation. 

Color was another point Finch discussed in his lecture. An instillation titled, Colors from My Dreams, portrayed the many colors Finch saw in dreams. "I began to keep a dream book of all the colors I saw. Sometimes I would even wake myself up during a dream because I saw a cool color," Finch said. A main point Finch focused on was how color always comes from the brain. Finch wanted to see how the conscious life could interfere with the unconscious life by trying to interpret why he saw the colors. Finch wanted the viewers to have their own interpretation of the colors. 

Sky, Finch's 2004 instillation at Miami Beach, took the aspect of color even farther by using balloons to precisely match the color of the sky over Coney Island. "I bet nobody knew you could blow up one balloon inside another to get a different color," Finch laughed. That was exactly what he did. Finch used violet balloons inflated inside cobalt balloons to create the color of the sky over Coney Island. "I was amazed this is even possible," senior art student Abby Jones said after Finch's explanation. 

"I like his (Finch) work because I think I might understand it," Jones explained. "I can not wait to see what he is going to come up with next." 

Finch's ongoing project is with the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. With a crew of architects, Finch is currently building a stain glass design, which covers the entire side of the hospital. "My fear is getting sick in Baltimore and the doctors won't treat me because they hate my work," Finch jokes. 

As soon as Finch was done discussing his art, students were eagerly waiting to ask questions. "Have you always worn glasses and does it effect the light," Laura Mason, a freshman art student asked. Finch laughed and responded by saying he sees better with his glasses on. 

Finch concluded the lecture by saying, "my dream is for people to be as sensitive to color of light like they are to images." 

High School Dropout Rate and Other Challenges to the Higher Education System

      Currently 39 million adult Americans are without a high school diploma and 40 percent have no education past high school, said Molly Broad during her speech as the twentieth annual Louise McBee lecturer last Friday.

     Broad is the first woman to be president of the American Council on Education (ACE) since its founding in 1918. Since taking the position, she has spearheaded an effort to change this shameful statistic. 

      Broad is working on marketing the General Education Development (GED) exam, a high school equivalency test, in an effort to make it more readily available to Americans who, according to Broad, are in desperate need of this level of education to secure a job. 

      Broad often referred back to Tony Cavoli's vision that education determines how far you can move up the social and corporate ladders. Broad also notes houw our world is shifting to one that holds greater importance on higher education. In 1967, Broad reports that 70 percent of Americans with only a high school degree were a part of the middle class. According to Broad's research this statistic no longer holds true, and even some with a high school degree are often part of the lower class in America. 

An extension of Broad's initial project as ACE president would be to create a "GED with honors," that would deem a person "college ready." This idea proved to be very popular with the crowd full of educators, especially after they viewed Broad's graphs showing the benefits of higher education. 

           Broad wants people to think of investing in higher education the way they think of investing in a home. According to her research, both increase a person's wealth and are a great asset. 

          According to her statistics, Broad's comparison rings true. Broad showed a graph that visually represented the strong correlation between education level and income. The median household income for a person with a Bachelor's degree is around $80,000 a year, while someone with a high school diploma makes only around the mid $30,000 mark. Broad expressed concern for the 39 million Americans without a high school diploma who are statistically only making $20,000 a year, which is below the poverty line if this income is supporting a family. 

          Broad also cited several social benefits of attaining higher education. Those with higher degrees are statistically less likely to be unemployed, and are also less likely to be incarcerated. Additionally, they are more likely to vote, have reduced chances of smoking and generally have better health, and are even more likely to volunteer, said Broad. 

          It is for all these reasons that Broad believed the higher education system needs to find a better way to serve not only their current students, but nontraditional students as well. Nontraditional students include adults 65 and over, individuals returning from war, displaced workers as well as the large amounts of high school dropouts. 

         When referring to adults over 65, Broad is speaking more of  a continuing education. 

"Although they're generally well educated historically speaking, we need to find ways to serve those who still wish to remain active in the workforce past age 65."

Broad also considers people returning from war as a type of nontraditional student that the higher education system especially needs to reach out to. Broad believes  educating these individuals is a great way for them to step back into the work force, and even American society. 

         Broad is confident that she is well on her way to helping serve high school dropouts by getting them "college ready" with her "GED with Honors" program, a project many attendees expressed interest in and talked about after Broad's speech.

         Broad's speech also touched on other challenges to the higher education system in America including the global economy, demographics and educational disparities, the cost and revenue structure of higher education, as well as the importance of public goodwill. 

         Although Broad notes the importance of facing these challenges and adjusting to overcome them, she still believes that students are the most important part of educators' jobs. 

         Colleges "must be seen as credible, a place of opportunity, a place to teach, a place to mentor, and a place to solve problems," said Broad. "Even with America at a crossroads, it is important for the higher education system to remain true to our values." 

Broad Addresses Changing Trends in Higher Education

A former president of the University of North Carolina spoke Friday morning about the changing trends that have challenged American higher education as part of the annual Louise McBee lecture series.

Molly Corbett Broad, the current and first woman president of the American Council on Education, named the global economy, investment in higher education, and the cost and revenue structure of higher education as some of the biggest issues and tied together the current state of the global economy and access to higher education, calling it the “great differentiator” when it comes to wages and the hollowing out of the middle class.

“The new currency of the global economy is going to be and already is knowledge,” Broad said, speaking in front of a capacity crowd of educators and doctoral students. Broad was referring to a statistic that showed that over 14,000 jobs were outsourced last year because there was not enough of a workforce with higher levels of education.

            Broad identified the significant issues here to be the changing trends in state budgets for public institutions of higher education and the fact that a person is more likely to go to college if they come from a high income family, calling it, “something that must be addressed.”

            Broad referenced how the significant increase in expenditures per student at private universities has caused them to have little motivation to expand enrollment because they are spending almost twice as much as new students are bringing in for tuition. This, according to Broad, inhibits more people from obtaining higher education and shows the catch-22-like issue between spending in our current poor economy and making higher education accessible to more people.

            Still, Broad urged people to go out and do what they have to do to obtain higher education, calling it the, “most important thing you can do for yourself and for the nation.”

            Broad supported this by also pointing out the greatly reduced likelihood of employment and incarceration for those people who hold a college degree.

            Broad noted that in many cases these institutions of higher learning are the “economic and cultural bedrock” in their communities and actually do a lot when it comes to determining the quality of life in their respective areas.

Because of this, Broad said, the challenge for leaders is to, “remain adaptable and resourceful while not losing the values on which their institutions were founded.”

Broad’s lecture was held at the University Chapel and was sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education and the Louise McBee Lecture, which is held annually in honor of Dr. M. Louise McBee, vice president for academic affairs emerita of The University of Georgia. The McBee Lecture is characterized by distinctiveness, and it is one of only a few annual lecture series in the United States that focuses solely on higher education. 

I-69 Encourages Exploration of Gender Roles in Activism

An associate professor in the Department of Geography spoke Friday afternoon on how gender plays a role in the process of social movements and activism.

            Dr. Nik Heynen, who is also affiliated with the Department of Women’s Studies, discussed gender roles more specifically in relation to an activist group based out of Indiana called Roadblock Earth First. The mission of Roadblock Earth First is to stop the construction of I-69, a “NAFTA superhighway already constructed from Canada to Indianapolis and projected to extend down into Mexico.”

The construction of I-69 has caused many disputes in the state of Indiana, and Roadblock Earth First has included several women in leadership positions in their organization, which has caused even more tension within the group and when dealing with government officials.

Heynen noted how our society is ruled by “domination, aggression, and exploitation.” Because of this, people did not think that the women of Indiana were capable of holding ranks within the organization. This state of mind has created, according to Heynen, the beginnings of a “complete radical environment,” who spoke in front of an audience of about 50 people.

In his research, Heynen spoke with a woman named Sandra who refused to sell her property and will one day have part of I-69 running straight through her front yard.

Her statements solidified Heynen’s take on the mindset of the government officials of Indiana when she said, “The policy of Daniels’ administration is to intimidate. It’s like. I’m bigger than you, I got a big stick, shut up and go away,” referring to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ support of I-69 and methods used to deter activists groups.

Heynen perceived these tactics to be the result of Daniels’ not taking the groups seriously because of female leadership and spoke out against them.

            “Let everyone speak up,” Heynen said.

            Heynen mentioned several famous women’s studies leaders of the past and noted that all of these people had gotten things done through direct action.

            “Every person who ever had a plan to do anything and went and did it, or who laid his plan before others, and won their cooperation to do it with him, without going to external authorities to please do the thing for them, was a direct action,” Heynen said.

            Heynen in closing challenged women to speak up in a “modern society dominated by men” and to not be deterred by those trying to stop them.

            Heynen received his doctorate degree from the University of Indiana in 2002 and has published three books. His research focuses on urban political ecology and inequality in social movements.

Heynen spoke in the Miller Learning Center as part of the Institute of Women’s Studies’ Friday Speaker Series. The weekly series brings in speakers from different departments in the University to speak on past and present issues in the area of women’s studies.

Amanda Gailey, who is an assistant professor of English in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, will give the next lecture on Friday, Nov. 21. 

"Broad Speaks On Issues Facing Higher Education

ATHENS – The President of the American Council of Education addressed university faculty and students on a rainy Friday morning about issues providing challenges for higher education in the United States.

Molly Corbett Broad provided a variety of viewpoints on issues that are plaguing the higher education system in the United States in front of a crowd of approximately 125 people in the University of Georgia Chapel for the 20th annual Louise McBee Lecture.

Broad, a former president of the University of North Carolina, claimed that many issues are reasons for worry, but she ended her lecture on a high note: public goodwill. Broad claimed that although universities have more students and fewer resources, they still have the public’s trust.

“While America is at a crossroads,” Broad said,” we continue to stand tall among Americans’ (opinions).”

She also cited a study where they surveyed Americans to see if they thought Universities were in a better, same, or worse state than they were 10 years ago, and 75 percent of respondents said that they believed it was at least the same or better.

Although Broad ended on a good note, she left room for a good amount of worry by highlighting many problems facing the universities in America today, many of which tied into the state of the U.S. economy. She noted that times are hard, with the unemployment rate higher than usual, and with foreign economies growing faster than the U.S. economy. She also mentioned that because of other growing economies, many universities are building overseas now instead of in the U.S. She said that because of these reasons and more, the “American dream” could be at risk

“We are approaching a tipping point of the American dream,” Broad said, “where each generation is no longer better off than the previous one.”

This was just what some audience members suspected, and raised apprehension in some.

“I’m looking at the future for my grandchildren.” Joyce Placek, a retired faculty member from the University said, “ It makes me want to go tell them to study harder and for myself to start saving more for them.”

Along with the economy, Broad also noted that many people’s savings for college aren’t what they used to be worth due to the financial crisis that is plaguing the United States. She hopes that people will begin to save more and be wise, because it is of crucial importance.

“The most important thing you can do for yourself and your nation is to get higher education,” Broad said.

After ending on the note of public goodwill, Broad fielded a few questions from the audience before the lecture was concluded. Notable guests were present at the lecture, including University of Georgia President Michael Adams and Louise McBee, the former GA House Representative for whom the lecture was named. The Louise McBee Lecture is an annual event that is sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education (IHE) and the College of Education at the University of Georgia. It is one of a few lecture series that focuses primarily on the topic of higher education.