"Compassion isn't species specific"

ATHENS, GA—This isn’t an issue about liberals or conservatives. It is an issue about compassion, according to Karen Dawn, who spoke Tuesday night at the University of Georgia’s Miller Learning Center promoting her book, Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals, and animal rights and welfare in general.

Dawn, who has been involved in the animal rights movement for about 10 years, said that animal rights issues go “beyond the common categories of liberal and conservative with a message of compassion that speaks to everyone.” She noted that there tends to be a belief that animal rights and welfare issues are generally a liberal cause and that she eventually hopes it will be “not just a left wing issue.” Dawn added that the San Diego Union-Tribune, normally a “conservative” newspaper, recently endorsed California’s Proposition 2, which would ban gestation and veal crates and battery cages for hens.

Proposition 2 would be “groundbreaking” if passed in next week’s election, according to Dawn. California has one of the largest economies in the world and is also the largest agricultural state in the U.S. The veal, pig, and egg industries have spent millions of dollars fighting this proposition. However, according to a recent Zogby poll, 70 percent of Californians are in favor of the bill. Florida recently passed similar legislation.

Dawn did not grow up an animal rights activist. In fact, she grew up in a “typical family” where not eating meat was thought to not be proper nutrition. One of her step-fathers, who suffered from heart problems, followed a doctor’s advice to limit his meat intake. After her mother modified the family’s diets, Dawn claimed to be a “veggie-ish type of person,” preferring vegetarian dishes to ones containing meat.

It was not until the end of 1997, well after Dawn had graduated from college, that a brochure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) came to her mailbox in New York City. The brochure contained the first chapter of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation. Dawn read the first chapter and proceeded to order and read the book in one week. The book was eye opening to the “institutionalized cruelty” animals endure, according to Dawn. She said, “rather than wallow in my depression…that week, I gave the animals my word.”

And she has done just that.

For the past 10 years, Dawn has made it her calling to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. She founded DawnWatch, a web site that follows animal rights and welfare coverage in the media. She has appeared on MTV, ABC, and NBC as a spokesperson for the rights and welfare of animals. She has also published opinion pieces in publications like the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, New York’s Newsday, and the UK Guardian. She published her book, Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals in the spring of 2008.

Dawn hopes that the book will move the topics of animal rights and welfare and vegetarianism and veganism into general conversations. She aimed the book towards people who are curious and not necessarily for those who are already committed to the cause. Dawn read several excerpts from her book, urging the audience to “raise [their] voices and say that what is happening to animals matters.”

Rae Sikora, founder of Plant Peace Daily, a national organization that promotes ethical consumerism, was a member of the audience Tuesday night. Even though Sikora is an active and prominent figure in the animal rights community and has been vegan for over 30 years, she had never heard Dawn speak. Sikora said, “She was very real and down to earth. I expected more Hollywood glitz.” She also added that she rarely bought someone’s book after a speech, but said she was going to buy Dawn’s.

Dawn urged everyone in the audience to act because she believes that once one person acts, others will follow. She encouraged those who are part of or are planning to become a part of the animal rights movement to “speak with laughter and love so others will listen.”

ATHENS, GA. -- One of the foremost activists in animal rights and welfare spoke yesterday evening to promote her new book, which she described as an attempt to “dispel the myth that animal activism is radical and unreasonable.”

Karen Dawn, founder of DawnWatch.com, an e-mail list that alerts subscribers to animal rights and welfare coverage in the media, gave the lecture to a group of about 40 in room 248 of the Zell B. Miller Learning Center. Dawn’s first solo book, “Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals,” makes numerous appeals to engender a greater understanding of animal activism and attempts to better inform those not committed to the cause about the reasons activists pursue the goals they do.

Dawn said that one of the truly distinctive aspects of her book compared to other animal activism literature is the type of appeal used. “It doesn’t yell at you to go vegan,” Dawn explained. She stated that it is not some manifesto intended to make non-followers of the animal activism doctrine seem like evil people who act to the detriment of the planet. Dawn believes that kind of endeavor is ultimately fruitless. “If people change just because they’re scared, they will change back,” she said.

Dawn would begin with an address of the question she claimed is asked far too often to animal rights activists, namely “Why worry about animal rights when there is so much human suffering in the world?” Dawn argued that this question is asked only because society has established a faulty standard that prioritizes human suffering over that of animals. “Compassion isn’t species-specific,” she said; therefore, it is only logical to care for animals the same way one cares for humans. Additionally, Dawn would contend that this question is based on the flawed premise that there is somehow only a finite amount of compassion. Dawn instead chose to define compassion as “a habit we get better as we practice.”

Major components of her argument against the misconception of animal activism’s radical and unreasonable nature were the various notable experiences that drove her to the cause. She said that her hope was for others to understand how such events could have such a powerful impact on the way she viewed the world. First among these examples was the way she was inspired to become an activist. She recalled how about 12 years ago, upon returning home to her New York City apartment, she found a flier in her mailbox. The flier contained images of sows in gestation cages, cramped pens in which the animals spent their entire lives without even enough room to turn around. Dawn said that at first, her response was one of shock and horror, followed by “instant denial.” She convinced herself that this practice was relegated to a single ranch and that this flier was merely sensationalized propaganda, a conclusion, she said, that is probably not unlike the opinion of many of the naysayers of animal activism.

Around two years later, however, Dawn would come across another piece of literature that would change her worldview forever. When she returned to her apartment this time, she discovered a brochure from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, one of the leading animal rights organizations in the world. The brochure contained the first chapter of 1975’s “Animal Liberation” by Peter Singer. This offering enticed Dawn to order the entire book, which she read during the period between Christmas and New Year’s. She described that time as “the most depressing Christmas and New Year’s ever.” Following the initial disheartenment was inspiration, and so she decided to “speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Dawn said that she became an activist strictly out of a desire to promote the greatest happiness for all living things, a goal, she said, that can hardly seem radical or unreasonable to anyone.

Another of these experiences is detailed in a chapter from the book entitled “Thanking the Turkey that Changed Thanksgiving.” The heroine of this story is a turkey, which Dawn named “Olivia.” Dawn first met Olivia in 2000 during a tour of a sanctuary farm, a place where animals mistreated at other various slaughterhouses, farms, and ranches are taken and given more humane treatment. Olivia had been living in Florida until Hurricane Floyd wiped out the turkey farm in which she was living. Dawn described how Olivia “hobbled” because her previous owners had cut off the tips of her toes--as well as the tip of her beak--so that the birds would not harm each other in their cramped pens. Dawn reached out to pet the bird and noticed something extraordinary about the her feathers. “I had only felt that kind of down in luxury pillows and marveled at the fact that it was on a living thing,” she described. Olivia then proceeded to curl herself up in Dawn’s arms and fell asleep, her head resting in the crook of Dawn’s elbow. Dawn eventually adopted the turkey and began placing its picture at the center of the table during every Thanksgiving dinner, always a completely vegetarian meal. Dawn said she hopes people will understand the powerful, life-changing qualities of experiences such as this one which maintain her passion to this cause.

Another idea Dawn wished to address was the belief that animal activism is somehow part of only a liberal agenda. She said that this misconception highly hampers the cause: “If we want to make a difference for animals, we can’t have only half the population caring about them.” She stated that there are many conservatives who also support this agenda too. For Dawn, most notable of these is Matthew Scully, a Republican speechwriter for such prominent officials as President George W. Bush and current Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Dawn cited Scully’s 2003 work, titled “Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy,” as a perfect example of a conservative appeal for animal rights and welfare. The book earned Scully a designation from Natalie Angier of The New York Times as a “defender of animals against the depredations of profit-driven corporations, swaggering, gun-loving hunters, proponents of renewed 'harvesting' of whales and elephants and others who insist that all of nature is humanity's romper room, to play with, rearrange and plunder at will.” Scully even offered immense praise for Dawn’s work: “Dawn goes beyond the common categories of liberal and conservative with a message of compassion that speaks to everyone.” Dawn said she is most proud of the way her message transcends political dichotomy and makes the issue important to all.

Dawn’s sentiments struck a chord with virtually all in attendance, perhaps most notably so with Rae Sikora, a 30-year veteran of animal, environmental, and human rights activism and co-founder of Plant Peace Daily, a non-profit organization that promotes what she calls “ethical consumerism.” Sikora said Plant Peace Daily forces people to think about “who and what you care about and how it’s effected in your choices.” Such a goal obviously bears at least passing resemblance to the awareness of animal treatment often promoted by animal activists. Sikora mentioned how it was inspiring to her to see people of significance such as Dawn espousing animal rights. “I used to know everyone associated with this cause,” she said. “Now, it’s exciting to discover all kinds of new people working towards it.”

The power of Blackberry

ATHENS, GA— As she sits in the front row in the University of Georgia’s Chapel before the 2^nd Annual Peabody-Smithgall Lecture, Pat Mitchell types away on her Blackberry. Mitchell, a university alumna, was the featured speaker on Thursday and, ironically, addressed the audience about the media saturated world we live in today.

Mitchell spoke about the power of cell phones in the “media aided” world in which we live. According to Mitchell, cell phones cannot be censored by the government or password protected like the internet. She drew on examples from China, Afghanistan, and India, where cell phones are not an everyday practice.

Mitchell drew on an experience she had in China where the government was trying to keep citizens away from a gathering in which she and other members of the media were speaking. The Chinese government monitors the internet, but there is no way that they can possibly intercept millions of texts. The citizens had used Twitter, an online social networking and texting service, to send text messages to inform each other of the event.

According to Mitchell, the Afghani government used cell phones to urge citizens to register and to vote in a presidential election. They also used them to disseminate health information to women. Because of this digital campaign, 40 percent more women registered and voted and the childbirth death rate fell.

In India, Hindus are sending prayers via text messages. This practice has reduced the number of stampedes and mobs, according to Mitchell.

On U.S. soil, cell phones are an entirely different phenomena. Mitchell drew on personal experiences, like lying in bed with her husband while they are both simultaneously replying to emails on their Blackberrys. She also pointed out that 680 million text messaged votes were sent in for American Idol-type shows this past season alone. She cited the power cell phones had in this year’s U.S. Presidential election. According to Mitchell, 46 percent of Americans have used the internet and/or cell phones for campaign information. And, one cannot forget about candidate Obama’s use of text messages to reveal his vice presidential pick.

Mitchell is currently the president and CEO for the Paley Center for Media in New York. She was formally the president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). She has won several awards and was just inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame Tuesday night. Her love for media and her optimism for its future was a major theme of her speech.

Mitchell spoke of the “generational divide” she sees between “digital natives,” who are those “born with a cell phone in their hand” and “digital immigrants,” who are never going to be as good at multi-tasking and cling to linear thinking. She is optimistic that both digital natives and digital immigrants can live side by side, however.

She urged the next generation to open their minds and feel comfortable with the media and realize that “there is no such thing as a U.S. community.” The power of the internet, television, and cell phones has made the dissemination of cultures more feasible, according to Mitchell. She pointed out websites like Youtube.com, a site where a user can post and view videos and that did not exist two years ago, now receives 240 million hits per day. She also said that by the end of the year, people will spend 11 hours of everyday with some kind of media.

Mitchell sees a weakening in journalism, especially in the lack of investigative reporting. She is also disappointed that Americans are less informed than ever before. However, she is optimistic that media will never take over or replace community. She said, “We need community. We want to experience media together still.”

Peabody-Smithgall Lecturer Finds the Good in Media Saturation

ATHENS, GA_ When President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, Pat Mitchell, lies down to sleep at night, she and her husband hide their BlackBerries under the covers so they can continue to send emails without the other knowing. As the speaker at the second annual Peabody-Smithgall Lecture today, Mitchell used anecdotes such as this to communicate to the audience how technology has aided media in consuming our lives.

The Peabody-Smithgall Lecture is held to honor Lessie and Charles Smithgall for their contributions to the University of Georgia and is sponsored by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Mitchell, a UGA alumna, has personally had a great deal of experience with media. Starting as a network correspondent and moving her way up the ranks to becoming the first ever female president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Mitchell has seen how technology has developed and transformed media and the public square over the years.

“I think of us as living in a completely media-saturated world,” Mitchell told the audience of approximately 75 in the University of Georgia Chapel this afternoon.

According to Mitchell, the internet and other technological developments have enlarged the public square, or the reach of the media, to a global scale. She joked that if the public square had been as big as it is today while she was in college, the audience would be much more aware of her college escapades.

“Media has created a very different public square,” Mitchell said, “Our whole lives have turned into a public square.”

When Mitchell asked the audience if anyone had “Googled" her in an effort to emphasize the growth of the public square, many hands were raised. She attributed the difference between those who raised their hands and those who didn’t to the fact that she considers there to be two different kinds of people in the world: digital natives and digital immigrants.

“Digital natives were born with a mobile phone in their hand,” Mitchell said. Digital immigrants, though, are “just never going to be as good at multitasking”.

Despite the differences between the two groups in their abilities to operate technology, the groups still have equal access to the media. “Digital natives and digital immigrants live side by side,” Mitchell said, “all of us with equal access.”

It is this equal access, Mitchell told the audience, that brings our country closer to perfect democracy.

Equal access is not the only positive outcome of technology enlarging the public square. Observations of other countries around the world have revealed to Mitchell that although technology has flooded media into almost every aspect of our lives, it has also aided society.

According to Mitchell, in India, people are now actually texting prayers rather than venturing out into dangerously large crowds surrounding temples. Some cell phones in Japan are beginning to include breathalyzers to help keep drunk drivers off of the roads. In Afghanistan, 40 percent more women voted in their last election after their government used cell phones to encourage voting.

Mitchell believes that technology enhancing media and enlarging the public square can positively affect society, but she worries about if people are using the enhanced media to access the right kind of information or using it to its fullest potential.

“More Americans between ages 18 and 25 voted for their favorite American Idol than have ever voted in a presidential election,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell does not necessarily enjoy all of the ways technology has helped in creating a media-saturated world, but she understands how helpful this abundance of media is and could be to society. “It can be just as powerful for changing things for the good,” Mitchell said.

ACLU Attempts to Combat Immigrant Injustice

by: Katie Williamson

Stewart Detention Center

ATHENS, Ga. – Watching five year olds playing tag during recess would seem like a normal playtime activity. What is not normal is that these toddlers are required to wear bright orange prison jumpsuits. These are the children of undocumented immigrants who have been sent to detention centers across the southeast United States. According to Azadeh Shahshahani, an expert from the ACLU, putting these children in jumpsuits is an everyday occurrence at immigrant detention centers.

On Thursday, the Muslim Law Students Association brought in Azadeh Shahshahani from the American Civil Liberties Union to speak on the erosion of civil rights and social injustices to immigrants in Georgia in a post 9/11 environment.

Shahshahani is the project director of a new program the Georgia chapter of the ACLU. This project is known as the National Security/Immigrants Rights Project. She noted that this project aims at advocating the rights of undocumented immigrants and educating Georgia citizens about the treatment these families are receiving, both in society and in detention centers.

“We want to bring the treatment of all immigrants in Georgia into compliance with human rights standards,” said Shahshahani.

Shahshahani pointed out that one of the main problems in Georgia is that civil rights cases are being dismissed by the courts before they have a chance to go to trial. “A lot of the present cases that we deal with have the potential to change to face of law, but are being dismissed on the basis that they will endanger national security,” Shahshahani said.

Another issue that many immigrants are facing is the unfair treatment given to them by local law enforcers. The National Security/Immigrants’ Rights committee will focus on encouraging Georgia counties to allow the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Immigration and Custom Enforcement to deal with immigration detainment.

Shahshahani believes that if local police officers are allowed to monitor immigrants it will create unsafe communities for us all. “This practice leads to erosion of trust between local communities and law enforcement,” she said.

One of the main priorities the project is trying to pass a piece of legislature that will combat the current detainment system. With this new system, undocumented immigrants will be interrogated only by officers that have been trained by the Department of Customs and Immigration. Shahshahani said they expect the legislation to be brought up in the next session of the Georgia House of Representatives.

The third main focus of this new project is the process of immigrant detention and the facilities these people are being held. On October 12, more than 30 employees from the ACLU visited Stewart Detention Center located on the Georgia Alabama state line in Stewart County. “The most egregious violation these people are facing is the long period of detention and isolation these detainees face,” said Shahshahani.

The committee aims to bring the living conditions of the detainment centers into compliance with the international human rights standards. They also hope to halt the expansion of the immigration detention industrial complexes, a booming business according to Shahshahani. She said that private companies seek out rural areas, such as Stewart County, and offer to build holding centers. The counties comply because it is a good source of jobs and income for areas that otherwise struggle economically.

Shahshahani notes that until people are made aware of the current situation, they will not sympathize with the deplorable conditions these people are put in. She also encouraged students to get involved locally and begin a human rights coalition in Athens to draw awareness and light to the families facing unjust treatment. While this is a slow moving process, Shahshahani believes that this project is the first step in the right direction.

Producer of "The Dark Knight" Urges Students to Follow Dreams

Athens Ga.--“Forget about the numbers,” said Executive Producer Michael Uslan, in reference to the millions of dollars that “The Dark Night” grossed in theaters, “it’s all about the dream.” Michael Uslan, most well known for his work on all of the modern Batman movies, dating back to the 1989 Tim Burton film, gave a speech Tuesday night at the University of Georgia’s Tate Theatre. Uslan spoke to approximately 250 audience members about his remarkable career path and encouraged students to never give up on their dreams.

“I decided what my dream was when I was eight years old,” Uslan said. Growing up in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, Uslan discovered his love for comic books at an early age, collecting nearly 30,000 issues by the time he graduated high school. Out of all of the superheroes he read about, he figured that he was most similar to Batman because “his greatest superpower was his humanity.” With that, eight-year-old Michael Uslan made the decision that his dream was to write the script for a Batman comic. That’s exactly what he did, a little over a decade later.

Uslan said, “The only thing I can absolutely guarantee all of you is that doors will be slammed in your face.” He then acknowledged that “you can cry about it or wipe off the dust, go back and knock on the door until your knuckles bleed.”

While attending Indiana University, Uslan compared comic books to “mythology and folklore,” when given the opportunity to pitch an idea for a new course that - if given accreditation - he would be able to teach. The audience laughed as Uslan described his appearance at the meeting including “long hair, a Spiderman t-shirt, and love beads.” At first, the Dean of College Arts and Sciences rejected Uslan’s theory. However, after Uslan impressed the Dean by detailing the similarities in the mythologies of Moses and Superman, he was given instant accreditation.

Once he became the first college educator on comic books, he immediately made an anonymous call to a newspaper complaining about “tax dollars being spent on teaching kids at Indiana University about comic books.” By taking the initiative, the story was written and published in newspapers across the country. “I never taught a single lecture without the presence of reporters and cameras.” “Get your foot in the door. Try to get your goal piece by piece,” urged Uslan. This publicity tactic landed Uslan a job working at D.C. Comics, and enabled him to fulfill his dream. “Bringing a dark, serious Batman to the movies,” would be his next project.

Michael Uslan attended law school and became a motion picture production attorney. “If there’s nothing else I can tell you today, always have a plan B.” With the security of falling back on his law degree, Uslan took a calculated risk, moved to Los Angeles, and bought the rights to Batman. After ten years of rejection, movie production for Batman began. Throughout his discussion about his role in the production of the Batman films, Uslan praised others in the film industry, specifically Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan.

UGA freshman, Cody Houseman, who is going dressed as Batman villains for Halloween with his friends, very much enjoyed the speech because of the “background information on Uslan’s career and his life inspiration”. Uslan closed his speech with an excerpt from Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, and stayed after for nearly an hour answering questions from audience members.

Batman Producer Explains Journey From the Shadows to the Spotlight

“Doors are going to slam in your face”—an absolute guarantee from DC Comics writer and movie producer Michael Uslan as he gave a lecture at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night at the Tate Center Theater.

No doubt this has been a reality in Uslan’s life as he suffered many rejections from Hollywood studios for his silver screen interpretation of the Batman comic. But the slamming doors did not deter him from coming back and knocking over and over again until his dream was realized, a characteristic he urged the audience to adopt for their own dreams.

“You have to knock on the door until your knuckles bleed,” he advised. While his perseverance eventually led to grossing more than $1 billion in the worldwide theatrical box office with the latest Batman installment, The Dark Knight, Uslan emphasized that it should be all about the dream and not the numbers.

He cited that his father—a mason worker in New Jersey—always loved his job, but Uslan never found a passion for the craft. “I had to figure out what my bricks and stones were,” Uslan said. Without sounding overly nerdy, Uslan proudly stated his were comic books and movies.

By the time Uslan was in college, he boasted a collection of 30,000 comic books. Out of all the characters within those comic book pages, it was Batman and his humanity that intrigued him the most.

This obsession with comic books was what ultimately got his foot in the door with making a movie out of the Batman story. When the opportunity came up at Indiana University in the early 1970s for experimental curriculum courses, Uslan cleverly convinced a panel of deans and professors for the College of Arts and Sciences to accredit a course in comic books folklore.

He did this—of course—while donning long hair, wearing a Spiderman t-shirt and love beads, and forcing one particular dean to see a parallel between the story of Superman and the biblical story of Moses as reason to accept his proposal.

Uslan then became the first college professor of comic books, which garnered media attention from the likes of CBS and NBC. In turn, this caught the attention of comic book gurus from Marvel and DC Comics, eventually landing Uslan a position as “junior woodchuck”—also known as intern—under Saul Harrison at DC Comics.

After writing for the comic Shadow at DC Comics, Uslan found himself listening to Julie Schwartz say the words he had been waiting to hear his entire life: “How about writing for Batman?”

In 1989 Tim Burton’s Batman was released, marking the first of many Batman projects of which Uslan would be an instrumental part.

Other bumps along the road to Batman included sending out 372 cover letters typed from a typewriter, giving up his career as a lawyer, and humbly asking his father-in-law to help pay the bills while he was waiting for his big break.

He wanted the audience to understand if you truly want to reach your goals, you have to have a high threshold for frustration and you cannot be afraid to get up and make something happen.

Uslan’s newest film, The Spirit, will be in theaters Dec. 25.

The lecture was sponsored by the University Union’s Ideas and Issues Committee. According to ticket sales representative Heather Pederson, 224 people attended the lecture.

The Man Behind Batman Teaches Students How to Reach Their Goals and Beyond

Athens, GA--When Bruce Wayne, Batman’s secret identify, witnessed the murder of his parents when he was a child, he swore on their grave that he would forever fight for justice and peace in Gotham City. Batman realizes that one person can make all the difference in the world, and so does Michael Uslan, the Executive Producer of the Batman movie series.

Packed with over 250 people at The University of Georgia Tate Center Theater on Tues. Oct. 21, students learned not only the adventures of how Batman got on the big screen from Uslan himself, but also life lessons about how people can reach their personal goals and beyond.

Born into a blue collar family in New Jersey, Uslan’s dad was a passionate craftsman with bricks who loved his job and encouraged his children to find what they love. Uslan found his bricks in the form of comic books when he was 8-years-old.

“I loved comic books, especially Batman! I could relate to him because his greatest superpower was humanity. I realized that if I study hard, work hard and get a cool car, I could be this guy,” said Uslan.

Uslan did study and work real hard. He attended Indiana University where he successfully created and taught the world’s first college course on comic books. After received approval of his class, Uslan described how he purposefully called up the local media station and screamed, “How are our tax dollars going to a comic book class at a Universtiy!”

Media frenzy ensued and soon every major news network, including NBC and CBS, wanted to interview him and sit in on his lectures. Even

“I knew that getting the opportunity to teach the first ever comic book class was a big deal, but it was just my first step. I needed to market myself and how you market yourself is extremely important,” advised Uslan.

The media attention gave several opportunities for Uslan including dream jobs at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, as well as helping him secure film rights for Batman. After getting a job from DC Comics, he jumped at opportunities to do screen writing. This is where he says he first started the idea to get the dark, serious side of Batman on the big screen. After pitching his idea of a Batman movie to DC Comic executives, Uslan said he was advised to get more credentials.

He described how he went back to the drawing board. At first unsure of what to do, he decided to go to law school and become a motion picture attorney to get experience and learn the movie production business. He soon became an attorney for United Artist and after four years working there he pitched his idea of a serious, dark Batman to producers—over 300 to be exact. All of them rejected his idea and told him he was crazy.

“I can absolutely guarantee that in life, doors will slam in your face. You have two options, go home and cry, or you can dust yourself off and go back and knock on the door, knock on that door until your knuckles bleed,” said Uslan.

Uslan’s knuckles must have been bloody because he described in detail the ten year battle that went into getting all the Batman movies on the big screen.

“Do not believe them when they tell you that you are mad or crazy, and do not believe them when they tell you that you are great, all you need to do is believe in yourself and you will accomplish your goals,” said Uslan.

From Tim Burten’s first 1989 Batman film, to Batman Returns and Batman Forever, Uslan believes all his hard work in producing these films led to a serious, dark version of Batman in 2008’s The Dark Knight. The movie grossed over 527 million in the US, one billion world wide, broke several box office records and proved his belief that a person’s dream, with hard work, can come true.

“Get up and make opportunities for yourself. Be passionate, market yourself, always have a “plan B” and always take calculated risks. That is how one person can be successful and make all the difference,” said Uslan.

Currently, Uslan lives with his wife in New Jersey. He has a son and his daughter is a graduate from UGA. He is working on several movies including The Shadow and The Spirit.

Junior UGA student, Viva Chavez, who attended the lecture said, “I came in expecting to hear all about Batman and get some insight in video production, but I took away a lesson to market myself in the business world and how to persevere through the tough times, even if those tough times go on for ten years. It is incredible what Uslan accomplished by sticking to his own advice.”

Batman Exec says, "Dreams More Important Than Box Office"

The self-proclaimed comic nerd did not dwell on his obvious success, apparent with his most recent film, which grossed more than $1 billion in the worldwide theatrical box office. Instead, the comic book writer put to use his well-honed story telling skills and his own life story to show his audience just how far “getting your foot in the door” can get you.

Executive Producer of the Batman movies and DC Comics writer, Michael Uslan, spoke Tuesday night at the University of Georgia’s Tate Student Center, presented by the University Union’s Ideas and Issues committee.

Uslan explained that fulfilling your dream, not breaking box office records, counted the most. He said that calculating your risks, rolling the dice, always having a Plan B—and sometimes a Plan C—and having a high threshold for frustration could only produce success.

He realized his dream as a young boy on a sticky, humid New Jersey afternoon when he was helping his father with masonry work.

“I had to figure out what my brick and stone was.” Looking over his glasses and clutching the lectern, Uslan shrugged unapologetically and said, “Mine was comics.”

Owning over 30,000 comic books before college, Uslan told his captive 224-person audience that his favorite was always Batman.

“He had the greatest superpower—humanity,” Uslan said. “I could relate to that…I thought I really could be this guy.”

Even at 8-years-old, this future comic revolutionist knew that one day he had to fulfill his own dream of writing for the Batman comic books. Eventually, Uslan would go on to succeed in his dream and more, owning rights to the second most profitable film ever produced.

By convincing the dean of Indiana University that comic books were comparable to contemporary mythology—and even going so far as to compare comic book Superman with the Biblical Moses—Uslan became the first credited college professor of comic books in the early 1970’s.

He soon after earned an internship at DC Comics under Saul Harrison where he had the opportunity to write for a comic called Shadow. When Julie Schwartz, “probably the most important comic editor of all time,” he remembered aloud, “said that ‘it didn’t stink,’” Uslan finally landed his dream job: writing for Batman.

Uslan did not sugarcoat his journey to success for his collegiate audience. He mentioned the 20,000 comic books he would have to sell for him to pay for his wedding rings as well as for law school.

He included grim statistics of receiving only two phone calls after he sent out 372 cover letters to entertainment agencies for a job after college.

He even acknowledged his “guardian angel,” who came in the shape of his surgeon father-in-law who paid his bills for five months while a television series contract was put on hold.

“I’ve been in the trenches battling for 32 years,” he said. “Doors will slam in your face. It happened to me regularly. But you have to knock and knock and knock until your knuckles bleed.”

Comic Book Dreams to Box Office Gold

ATHENS, GA – With hopes of becoming Batman at age 8 and a collection of 30,000 comic books by high school graduation, Micheal Uslan would seem to be your average nerd. But this nerd has become much more than the standard comic collector. As the executive producer of all of the Batman movies, including the second highest grossing film of all time, The Dark Knight, Uslan has taken his childhood dreams and made them a reality.
Wearing a Spiderman tie, Uslan found that his comic books came to more uses than one. After meeting his wife on the first week of school at Indiana University, his senior year, he sold 20,000 of his comic books to buy her engagement ring, their wedding rings, a honeymoon and 3 years of law school to follow. “Thank God I didn’t go into real estate,” Uslan joked. His daughter also followed in his footsteps, meeting her husband the same exact way at UGA. “My daughter was so jealous of me getting to come here today. Go Dawgs!” Growing up, Uslan’s father was a welder, loved his job and would make amazing things with bricks and stones, but welding was not Uslan’s favorite thing. “My mom told me to get out there and find out what my bricks and stones were. They were comic books and movies.”
It was a long road to get to that first movie in 1989. Indiana University made a proposition one year that if someone had an idea for a course and could convince the dean to accredit it, then they could teach the course. Uslan decided to take his chances with making a class about what he knows best, comic books. He believes that comics are just modern-day Greek mythology. “Greek gods still exist, only now they wear spandex and capes,” said Uslan. After five minutes, the dean stopped Uslan in the middle of his proposal and asked him if anyone really thinks that he would have a class about comic books at his University. Uslan then asked him if he knew the story of Moses, once answered he asked the dean if he knew the story of Superman, both stories posses eerily similar descriptions. The dean stopped mid-Superman story and told Uslan the class was his. He became the first college professor of comic books.
From then on, Uslan’s plans started to look possible. With calls from newspapers, NBC and CBS news, Uslan never taught a class without television cameras. He then had his “burning bush” moment when he received calls from Marvel and DC comics. Uslan was flown up to New York and went to “intern” in DC. After making up an idea for The Shadow and pulling an all-nighter to finish the script about Niagara Falls and drug smuggling, his foot in the door was a step in the right direction. He was told “It didn’t stink. How would you like to write Batman?” This was his chance to bring his dream of a dark, serious version of Batman to the screen.
Still in school, Uslan balanced law school with writing comic books. Every Friday, Uslan would read Variety magazine and write down film executives’ names and eventually accumulated 372 names to send resumes and ideas to. After typewriting 372 different cover letters, only 2 responses came back, both included getting coffee and making copies, none of which interested him. “Always have a Plan B,” said Uslan. For Uslan, his Plan B was going to law school and becoming a film lawyer. This gave him opportunities to tend to legal issues for two Rocky movies, Black Stallion, and Apocalypse Now. After 4 years, Uslan decided to take a big leap and quit his job, buy the rights to Batman and further pursue his plan for a Batman movie. Although, he was turned down and told he was insane by every studio in Los Angeles, he refused to be trapped as a lawyer for the rest of his life.
Finally, after 10 years of trials and tribulations, Uslan paired up with Director Tim Burton, one of the geniuses he has worked with in his life, in 1986 to make Batman. The other, Anton Furst, also assisted in making the 1989 Batman won an Oscar for designing the Batmobile and the nightmare version of Gotham City. Furst described his rendition of Gotham City “as if Hell has erupted from the earth.” In addition to casting Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton, Batman was a great success and started an era of great films. With the addition of Christopher Nolan, the third genius, now directing Batman Begins and the record breaking Dark Knight, Batman movies are bigger and better than ever.
When asked about whom best portrayed Batman throughout the movie’s legacy, Uslan said that it is not about the Batman, but who best depicted Bruce Wayne, and Christain Bale “is it.” A few questions were asked about the sensitive subject of Heath Ledger and Uslan calmly said that Ledger was a great actor and that he sympathized with his family and friends and that he would leave it at that.
With all that Uslan has been through he has learned never to give up on his dreams. “If you just believe in yourself and your work, you’ll be just fine,” he said. He has been rejected many times over, but that has never stopped him get where he wanted to go. “Doors will slam, and you can either go home and cry or you and dust off, pick yourself and knock on the door, knock on the door until your knuckles bleed.” Uslan ended with the last verse from his favorite poem by Robert Frost that accurately describes his life. “…And I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

Women Help Build a "Nirvana"

ATHENS, GA. -- A doctoral student in the Program of Adult Education at the University of Georgia sought to bring to light the vital role women played in the social advocacy endeavors of one of America’s top adult education organizations.

In her lecture--the fourth program in the Weaving the Threads of Justice series--to a group of 18 at 3 p.m. Sunday in Demosthenian Hall, Colleen McDermott emphasized the exploits of a select group of women who helped the Highlander Research and Education Center become what Tom Valentine, Professor at the UGA College of Education, dubbed “the Nirvana of adult education.”

McDermott’s lecture consisted of her commentary to the documentary Highlander Research and Justice Center: 75 Years of Fighting for Justice. McDermott paused the video at various intervals and pointed out various women who she felt had particularly major impact in Highlander’s accomplishments in the field of social advocacy.

McDermott stressed how all these women perceived their endeavors in “mountain time.” They understood monumental achievements--whether it be social justice or scaling a mountain--required an exorbitant amount of time and effort, and all of them willingly committed both to what they believed in.

The first woman highlighted was Zilphia Horton, who became a labor organizer after unionizing the workers at her father’s coal mine, eventually joining Highlander after a workshop in 1936. McDermott described how Horton’s most significant contribution was her advocacy for hospitality within the organization. McDermott recounted how legendary civil rights activist Rosa Parks, in awe of the harmony in which African-Americans and whites worked and lived together in the school, remarked during her visit to Highlander in the summer of 1955 that this would be the place where change would begin. This peaceful coexistence, McDermott claimed, was a result of the enthusiasm Horton showed for accepting new members at any time.

Estelle Thompson was next in the spotlight. First hired by Highlander as a cook, she would ascend to prominence in 1947 when Highlander was building a daycare center and a library. Thompson was able to read the blueprints and aided in the construction of these buildings. Soon thereafter, she became one of the first women admitted to the Yale School of Architecture. McDermott said this was one of the best examples of how women from Highlander advanced to prestigious futures, even when their origins were humble.

Following would be the woman who McDermott admitted was her favorite subject, Bernice Robinson. During the 1950s, African-Americans in the South were required to pass a literacy test if they wished to become eligible voters. Esau Jenkins, resident of Johns Island, then an impoverished African-American community in the South Carolina Sea, suggested the founding of Citizenship Schools, which would teach impoverished African-Americans in the region the necessary skills to pass the literacy test. What set Robinson apart from all the other teachers, McDermott explained, was the fact that she was not a teacher by trade, but a beautician. Robinson learned alongside her students, McDermott said, and this helped the students overcome their reservations about the school setting, in which they had had unpleasant experiences earlier in their lives. Highlander’s Citizenship School spurred the movement for establishment of various other institutes of education in the South. By 1973, approximately a million African-Americans had been registered to vote.

The final woman discussed was Pam McMichael, current Highlander Director. McDermott discussed McMichael’s ability to unify people of various backgrounds and worldviews for the purpose of achieving on common goal, an aptitude most likely acquired, McDermott said, from her work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual people in Appalachia. The best example of this attribute was on display in the early 1990s when the North American Free Trade Agreement prompted numerous textile factories and mills to shut down in the South and move to Mexico. Highlander traveled to Mexico and observed the horrible working conditions in the factories there. McMichael organized a group of former factory employees from Tennessee who lost their jobs when their workplaces moved to Mexico and employees from factories in Mexico to testify against NAFTA.

The feedback for McDermott’s offering was positive overall. Davy McKie, a 19-year-old UGA student from Commerce, Ga., said he had always known that women were sometimes written out of history and always appreciates when someone like McDermott illuminates their contributions. Samantha Plotino, a 19-year-old UGA student from New Milford, N.J., said she was most encouraged to hear that women played and continue to play a noteworthy part in the struggle for civil rights for all people.

Why wheat costs so darn much

By Lauren Montero

“Is it a crisis?” Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen asked in reference to the rising food prices at the 2008 J.W. Fanning Lecture on Friday. “Depends on how you look at it, some consider it a crisis, some an opportunity.”

Pinstrup-Anderson spoke at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education to a crowd of students, businesspeople, and professors about the reasons for global food crisis and why he feels the price increase is reasonable.

Per Pinstrup-Andersen is an expert in agricultural economics. Among other things he served as past president of the American Agricultural Economics Association and he was the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Director General for ten years.

Sponsored by The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, the J.W. Fanning Lecture features national and international leaders in agricultural economics.

During his talk Pinstrup-Andersen repeatedly noted the global food crisis was only a crisis for the poor, specifically in developing countries, because the poor spend a large amount of their income on the raw commodities.

Although the food shortages and increases were only a crisis for some, it was an opportunity for all to examine why it happened.
Pinstrup-Andersen cited government subsidies, droughts, and biofuels as some of the factors that contributed to the global food crisis.

While prices for other goods were rising, food prices were decreasing because farmers received government subsidies. Pinstrup-Andersen told the audience that even though the price of commodities like wheat and corn seem high, the price is basically equal to the production costs of the farms. In the past government subsidies hindered such an economic balance.

Biofuels are problematic because the governments in the United States and European Union subsidize biofuels which increases the demand for wheat and soybeans.

“It’s a wonderful idea at the absolute worst time. This set of activities in my opinion should be postponed” Pinstrup-Anderson said.

The last reason he cited for the crisis was the droughts that plagued many wheat producing areas. Pinstrup-Andersen joked that the media referred to this as climate change, “but maybe it’s just a drought” he said to a laughing audience. Food stocks were already low when the drought occurred. Combined with the increased demand for wheat for biofuels a shortage ensued.

Overall Per Pinstrup-Andersen’s lecture was well received. The audience enthusiastically applauded him after he finished speaking.

An uninformed public is more dangerous than war zone reporting

"Please don't abandon it," implored Hannah Allam when speaking to Grady students about the future of foreign reporting.

Allam spoke to students, faculty, and visiting reporters at this year's annual McGill lecture about her experience as the 25-year-old Chief of the Baghdad Bureau for Knight Ridder--later to become McClatchy.

Allam worked alongside Grady graduate Tom Lassiter whom she called a "tenacious, fearless reporter." She held training sessions for her sixteen staff members on how to treat others punctured lungs, and checked for car bombs on a daily basis along with doing her job, according to Janice Hume in her introduction.

Allam stressed the importance of reporting the facts rather than the political spin in foreign reporting. She was thankful that her editors put more faith in her observations than in generals' briefs. 

"This is the time for more eyes," Allam said, in reference to journalists' job as watchdogs.

Allam acknowledged that newspapers were cutting back their foreign reporting in order to cut costs, but she felt it was important to give papers a choice beyond the Associated Press. Foreign reporters have had to adapt and do several extra tasks including blogging and taking pictures with the photojournalist has been fired.

Allam wrote about humanity in her war zones, covering topics like the life of an Iraqi fashion model, the opening of a new opera house, and the amount of women with breast implants. Allam hopes to return to her bureau abroad after her time at Harvard, as long as that bureau still exists. 

McGill lecturer supports vitality of newspapers and importance of foreign reporting

By: Ashley Quick

Eight simple words forever changed the life of Hannah Allam. A reporter for Knight Ridder, now McClatchy, Allam’s editor in 2003 asked her, “How would you like to go to Baghdad,” and nothing has been the same ever since.

An audience of around 175 gathered at the 30^th McGill lecture to listen to Allam, a member of the Middle East Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers, give her speech entitled “Bullets, Budget Cuts, and Why We Must Preserve Foreign Reporting,” Wednesday at the Miller Learning Center.

Focusing mostly on the importance of foreign reporting, Allam said, “The world is more interconnected than ever before.” She described the responsibility of the foreign correspondents to show the public how global occurrences affect their daily lives. Allam also identified the two roles of foreign journalists as equal parts watchdog and interpreter.

“The public loses without accurate information,” Allam stated. The watchdog role of a reporter is to keep the Executive branch of the U.S. government in check, while truthfully informing the public of the state of the war. According to Allam, a journalist has a responsibility to ask the hard questions and report the truth, which unfortunately is sometimes unpopular with the general public. We offer the alternative to the official version,” Allam said. She spoke on the importance of reporting the actual truth, not what the U.S. government says is the truth. “This is not always popular or safe, but it’s necessary,” said Allam.

Despite, the lack of funding, Allam said that now is the time to have more journalists watching what is happening in the Middle East. She described the importance of reporting the manner in which the new elected president will handle the way the United States “untangles from Iraq and what kind of country we leave behind.”

“It’s simply condescending for news executives to assume people under the age of 37 do not care about what’s going on in the world,” Allam said. After divulging her guilty pleasure she said, “Even Perez Hilton is posting about more than just hem lines.” According to Allam, foreign reporters have a duty to help American readers understand what happens outside U.S. borders. Thus, the “interpreter” role of the journalist encompasses more than just linguistics, but also helping the public understand what is happening in the world, because people are clearly interested.

Beginning at age 25, Allam has helped transform foreign journalism. She is fluent in English, French, and Arabic. During the question and answer section, Allam admitted that being a female actually worked to her advantage, despite the unfair restrictions women experience in the Middle East, because she played on the stereotypes of women in those countries. She said she was seen as less threatening and actually received good information from sources because she was not suspected as being a spy.

Allam, now taking a break to study at Harvard, said she plans to return as long as her bureau remains after a year. She also said she would prefer to work in a well-funded second tier news organization versus a less funded top tier newspaper, because her belief in the significance of foreign reporting. When discussing the importance of newspapers and especially foreign reporting, Allam said, “The business we love is still there, and it’s still necessary.”