An OU Professor's Balancing Act

Although she considers herself a native to Norman, Alissa Millar was actually born in England where her father worked at the Royal Observatory. They moved to Norman when she was three after her father, the recently retired Dr. David Branch, got a job in OU's Physics Department. "OU was pretty much my playground growing up," says Millar. "I remember running around the North Oval as a child." After attending the University of Oklahoma as an acting major, Millar left Norman as she had always hoped she would and pursued her acting career. After working in Chicago and L.A. she somehow found herself back in Norman where she decided to settle down and start a family. Coming full circle, she is now an acting professor in the School of Drama at OU. "It was incredibly strange at first, as I was walking down the halls I kept seeing ghosts of my classmates and professors" Millar recounts. Now a single Mom, Millar balances the juggling act of a full time job and raising two young boys, while still pursuing her acting career.

Korean Conflict Could Affect Abroad Plans

On November 23^rd, without warning North Korea launched heavy artillery fire at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. The deadly firing killed two South Korean marines, two civilians and injured multiple others—civilians and marines alike. South Korea attempted to return fire as residents of Yeonpyeong sought shelter from the attack.

Later that Tuesday North Korea released an official statement saying their attack was in response to South Korea’s fire. They claimed South Korea was conducting military firing drills into their side of a long disputed maritime border between the two.

The encounter between the two stems from over 60 years of tension: the origin being the Korean War. After World War II Korea was freed from Japanese rule and divided into two countries: a democratic one set up by the United States and a communist one set up by the then Soviet Union. Within five years to two were at war and though an armistice was signed in 1953, the tension between the two has never resolved.

“It’s just tough because I’ve really been wanting to study abroad in Asia and South Korea was definitely one of the places I was looking at because OU has so many programs there,” says OU student Katie Lloyd. “With the recent events there is just a lot more to take into consideration now.”

OU Study Abroad Program offices located in the Beatrice Carr Wallace Old Science Hall

Lloyd, a junior, plans on studying abroad the fall semester of her senior year. Western Carolina University has already reported one of their fall study abroad students returning home early from South Korea’s University in Daejeon. OU’s study abroad advisors were not available for comment on how the conflict will affect the University’s study abroad programs in South Korea. For more information on OU study abroad options visit http://www.ou.edu/ea/home.html.

To hear more of what affect Katie Lloyd believes the events could have on study abroad plans, click here:

Pope Benedict's Change of Heart...Sort Of

On November 20^th, statements from Pope Benedict XVI’s unreleased, book —condoning the use of condoms in Africa—were released to the public. Since then there has been a frenzy of media reaction as people have facebooked, tweeted and and aired the ‘breaking news’, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The announcement comes almost a year after Pope Benedict‘s visit to Africa where he still denounced the use of condoms in the country ravaged by HIV/AIDS. Since then the Pope has acknowledged that the use of a condom is now acceptable “where the condom is understood only as a last resort, when the other two points fail to work.”

The Catholic Church has long supported abstinence until marriage and even after marriage they believe sexual activity should only take place for procreation. Though they still stand by the belief that pre-marital sex and the use of condoms “cheapens sexuality, the media lauds the Pope on this new stance. The Wall Street Journal reports The New York Times referring to it as a “milestone”, while the Associate Press calls it an “important moment”.

“It’s important that Africans practice safe sex because of the AIDs virus; it’s a big problem over there, huge,” says Kelly Tenner, a Catholic student at the University of Oklahoma. “If the Church were to continue to oppose condom use in Africa, how would it be helping that country curb the disease and better understand safe sex, or in the Church’s case abstinence, practices. What kind of message would that send?”

Catholic Church St. Thomas More, located on OU's campus.

The Pope concluded his new stance by saying "[The Church] of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality." To read more excerpts on condom use from Pope Benedict’s new book, Light of the World, visit http://www.catholicworldreport.com/?gclid=CNT6waLZ1aUCFRRKgwodgR7Elg.

To hear more of what Kelly Tenner has to say click below:

UN Women Elections End in Controversy

On November 10^th voting began for the executive board of the newly founded UN Women. After months of campaigning by the U.S. and allies, Iran, was barred from the committee. Saudia Arabia, however, was admitted as one of two ‘donor’ countries—a move that has had women’s activists such as Mona Eltahawy in an uproar.

In July of 2010, after nearly ten years in development, The United Nations created UN Women—the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Since then countries from around the world have been bidding for one of the 41 spots on the committee. Iran’s presence was opposed based on its record of violence against women—including the recent stoning sentence of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani.

Women’s activists argue Saudi Arabia is considered equally, if not more oppressive—having been brought before a panel in Geneva for violation of women’s rights as recently as 2008. Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi said, prior to the election, the presence of her own country or Saudi Arabia on the committee would “be a joke”

“From my perspective it makes it look like the committee has let them on for reasons other than the fact that they support women’s rights,” says former international relations major Katie Fenwick. “Which of course undermines the whole committee.” Fenwick, who changed majors after realizing that she was preparing to work in a world that didn’t accept her as a woman, says she questions what the committee can actually achieve with Saudi Arabia as a member.

Hester Hall, home of OU's International and Area Studies School, where

Fenwick once took classes before deciding the filed would not welcome her as a woman.

UN Women will work to end violence and oppression against women all over the world, including areas beyond the Middle East. Areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where women are frequently the victims of war rape and other violent crimes, has been a recent interest of the committee as well. For more information on UN Women and to track it’s upcoming proposals visit www.unwomen.org.

To hear more of what Fenwick has to say on Saudi Arabia's membership to UN Women and her decision to change her international relations major click below:

'60 Minutes' Cameraman Speaks to Gaylord Students

On Monday, November 1st, 2010 renowned CBS News cameraman Ray Bribiesca spoke with Gaylord students. Bribiesca, who says he has been with CBS “forever”, is currently a cameraman for the show ’60 Minutes’. His most recent assignment, which aired back in September of this year, took him to a military base along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

Bribiesca gave insight to Gaylord students on the challenges of taking on projects that require you to enter dangerous territory. Students got to see footage Bribiesca took of soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division under terrorist fire. He shared the life and death stakes he encountered in that and other assignments—advising students that they have to cross the line of ‘just journalists’ should they find themselves in dangerous situations.

Bribiesca, a Marine Veteran, began his career in journalism during the Vietnam War, where he captured footage and images of the war from the heart of Vietnam’s jungles. Once he returned home from the war, Bribiesca used his GI Bill to attend Oklahoma City University. After OCU he spent the next three or four years taking courses at the University of Oklahoma until he was offered a job with CBS—where he has remained to this day.

“I’ve been doing this forever. I started out in the Marine Corp when I was 17 as a combat cameraman, and as you all know in the 60’s we were in the Vietnam War. I have always shot combat…I’ve done every war, I’ve been wounded a couple of times, I’ve been taken hostage once. I’ve pretty much done it all so to speak. ”

Bribiesca was scheduled to leave the next day, Tuesday November 2nd, for his final assignment with 60 minutes. Though he is retiring from the show, he assured students he was not retiring from the industry. His final assignment and, according to Bribiesca, arguably his most dangerous takes him to Yemen. To see more of his work and future footage from Yemen visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

'60 Minutes' cameraman Ray Bribiesca speaks to Gaylord students in the Hall of Fame Room

OU May Find Itself in Plan B Debate Soon

Since its approval by the FDA in 1998 Plan B, more commonly known as the ‘morning after pill’, has been a controversial topic—seeing several courtrooms and legislative attempts to ban or restrict it as recently as 2004. Women on the OU campus seeking the pill may run into some controversy of their own since some pharmacists at the Goddard Health Center on campus refuse to dispense any form of Plan B to students.

Oklahoma state laws protect pharmacists’ right to refuse to fill prescriptions; as a result women seeking to protect against pregnancy may find it difficult to get a hold of the pill. Plan B must me taken within 72 hours of intercourse to have the best chance at preventing pregnancy.

The pill—which prevents ovulation, fertilization and the implanting of an egg in the uteran wall—contains a higher dosage of the same hormones found in birth control pills and is 89% effective in preventing pregnancies.

“I have heard that there are pharmacists at Goddard that will refuse to give Plan B, I have it on pretty good authority that they do invoke the conscious clause,” said Stephanie Heck, sponsor of the Center for Social Justice here at OU. “Often students don’t have the means or knowledge of surrounding areas to go elsewhere for their medical needs. They’re kept on campus, they need to be able to see doctors and pharmacists here, which is why we have a health care center on campus. So it can be really harmful to students— especially female students when we’re talking about Plan B.”

Goddard denied having any pharmacists who invoke the Conscience Clause and maintained that as long as students met the state required legal age of 18, and carried a prescription, it would be filled.

Oklahoma is one of 45 states that require a prescription for Plan B, however under the Conscience Clause, an amendment added onto the Oklahoma House Bill 2054, which was passed in 2005, pharmacists have the right to refuse to dispense the drug if it violates their moral or religious beliefs.

Problems arise when women with limited resources, such as college girls without a car or women from very rural areas, cannot obtain the pill and therefore may be forced to deal with an unplanned pregnancy because the pill was withheld from them.
According to a study by the Oklahoma Child Advocacy Institute released in Sept. 2010, Oklahoma is ranked the fifth state with the highest teen pregnancy rate. Amongst 18 and 19 year olds it has the second highest pregnancy rate, following closely behind Mississippi.

“I worry about women in rural communities,” says Kathy Moxely, a representative for OU’s Women’s Outreach Center. “There may be one pharmacist, there may be one option only and if that person decides that they’re not comfortable, what does that do for those community members who need that service?”

Advocates of restricting Plan B oppose it not only because it is, according to right to life groups such as Americans United for Life, a form of abortion, but also because they argue it will increases the risk of promiscuity and unsafe sex practices among teens.

However, two separate studies—one reported by The New York Times in 2004, the other by USA Today in 2005—showed that sex habits of teenagers did not change after the introduction of emergency contraceptives like Plan B.

Both studies, which were published by The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and The Journal of the American Medical Association respectively, concluded that teenagers were no more likely to participate in risky sexual behavior or abandon birth control practices than before the FDA’s approval of Plan B. These studies have since been used by advocates who move to make Plan B an over the counter drug, in hopes of making it more accessible to people who have need, but little means of getting it.

In June of 2005 The New York Times also reported on an Illinois pharmacist who was suing the state for his right to refuse to dispense Plan B because it violated his religious beliefs. Pharmacist Luke Vander Bleek refused to even stock his pharmacies with emergency contraceptives, which violated an order passed by the Illinois governor at the time.

Similarly a nurse was suing Eastern Illinois University at the same time, claiming she was denied a promotion at the university because of her opposition to filling emergency contraceptive prescriptions. In both cases the plaintiffs argued that their right to refuse on an ethical basis was no less than a patients right to a prescription.

“ I feel like if you’re going into the medical field to serve others, you shouldn’t let your own bias get in the way of that,” says Junior Pre-Med student Christine Ariana. “ I think it’s a little ridiculous that we have all the health care measures available, and they’re not available to everyone.”

The debate over availability of emergency contraception on college campuses is not a new one. In early 2004 the United States Senate killed legislation that moved to prohibit the distribution of emergency contraceptives at state funded universities and colleges. The legislation was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives, but the Senate’s Education and Health Committee soundly struck it down 10-4.

The Washington Times attributed Virginia Delegate Robert G. Marshall- R as the legislation’s front-runner, who had pushed similar legislation since 1994 and vowed to continue to do so as long as he was in politics—a promise he has stuck to as recently as 2007.

Julia Earhardt, a Women’s and Gender Studies professor at the University of Oklahoma, who heard about the issue from a student in her class, said she was enraged to hear that some Goddard Pharmacists were refusing to fill Plan B prescriptions.

“As students, you pay a student health fee and the pharmacists at Goddard are supposed to fill your prescriptions,” Erhardt said. “I think that when a doctor writes a young woman a prescription, it is a pharmacist’s responsibility to fill that prescription, no questions asked.”

The debate stems as far back as 1991, when the University of Florida fired one of its pharmacist for refusing to fill a student’s prescription for an emergency contraceptive. Though emergency contraception had not yet received its official blessing from the FDA at the time, it was considered a legal drug. According to the St. Petersburg Times, after attempting multiple compromises with the pharmacist the university finally let him go because the students come first.

Then President John Lombardi was quoted by the Times as saying “the perspective is whether the student is getting reasonable service from the pharmacy. Reasonableness is showing up with a legal prescription and getting it filled in a reasonable time. If the person looking at you from across the counter has a religious problem with filling it, that’s his problem. He does not have the right to impose his religion on you.”

This heated topic has been a sore spot in politics for sometime now, and does not appear to be going away anytime soon. Though OU’s health services claims to put the students before the clause, only time can test that. Eventually OU— and many other universities— may be faced with similar situations to the University of Florida, as legislation continually battles to find a common ground.

“I personally I feel that laws like [the Conscience Clause] are unethical,” Heck says. “I don’t know that it if I were patient who had made a decision with my doctor that a medicine was necessary for me, I don’t know that I would appreciate a pharmacist standing in the way and saying that they felt morally opposed to any medicine that I was choosing to take.”

Students seeking alternative places to obtain emergency contraception may have more success at Planned Parenthood, whose Norman location is 2100 W. Lindsey St. They house another location in Oklahoma City at 619 NW 23rd Street. For more information on hours, costs and services visit www.ppcok.org or call them at (405)-360-1556

To hear more of what Professor Julia Erhardt and Women’s Outreach Center representative Kathy Moxely have to say; as well as further insight from Pre-Med student Christine Ariana , who is also a student employee at the Goddard Health Center, check out the clip below:

OU May Find Itself in Plan B Debate Soon

Since its approval by the FDA in 1998 Plan B, more commonly known as the ‘morning after pill’, has been a controversial topic—seeing several courtrooms and legislative attempts to ban or restrict it as recently as 2004. Women on the OU campus seeking the pill may run into some controversy of their own since some pharmacists at the Goddard Health Center on campus refuse to dispense any form of Plan B to students.

Oklahoma state laws protect pharmacists’ right to refuse to fill prescriptions; as a result women seeking to protect against pregnancy may find it difficult to get a hold of the pill. Plan B must me taken within 72 hours of intercourse to have the best chance at preventing pregnancy.

The pill—which prevents ovulation, fertilization and the implanting of an egg in the uteran wall—contains a higher dosage of the same hormones found in birth control pills and is 89% effective in preventing pregnancies.

“I have heard that there are pharmacists at Goddard that will refuse to give Plan B, I have it on pretty good authority that they do invoke the conscious clause,” said Stephanie Heck, sponsor of the Center for Social Justice here at OU. “Often students don’t have the means or knowledge of surrounding areas to go elsewhere for their medical needs. They’re kept on campus, they need to be able to see doctors and pharmacists here, which is why we have a health care center on campus. So it can be really harmful to students— especially female students when we’re talking about Plan B.”

Goddard denied having any pharmacists who invoke the Conscience Clause and maintained that as long as students met the state required legal age of 18, and carried a prescription, it would be filled.

Oklahoma is one of 45 states that require a prescription for Plan B, however under the Conscience Clause, an amendment added onto the Oklahoma House Bill 2054, which was passed in 2005, pharmacists have the right to refuse to dispense the drug if it violates their moral or religious beliefs.

Problems arise when women with limited resources, such as college girls without a car or women from very rural areas, cannot obtain the pill and therefore may be forced to deal with an unplanned pregnancy because the pill was withheld from them.
According to a study by the Oklahoma Child Advocacy Institute released in Sept. 2010, Oklahoma is ranked the fifth state with the highest teen pregnancy rate. Amongst 18 and 19 year olds it has the second highest pregnancy rate, following closely behind Mississippi.

“I worry about women in rural communities,” says Kathy Moxely, a representative for OU’s Women’s Outreach Center. “There may be one pharmacist, there may be one option only and if that person decides that they’re not comfortable, what does that do for those community members who need that service?”

Advocates of restricting Plan B oppose it not only because it is, according to right to life groups such as Americans United for Life, a form of abortion, but also because they argue it will increases the risk of promiscuity and unsafe sex practices among teens.

However, two separate studies—one reported by The New York Times in 2004, the other by USA Today in 2005—showed that sex habits of teenagers did not change after the introduction of emergency contraceptives like Plan B.

Both studies, which were published by The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and The Journal of the American Medical Association respectively, concluded that teenagers were no more likely to participate in risky sexual behavior or abandon birth control practices than before the FDA’s approval of Plan B. These studies have since been used by advocates who move to make Plan B an over the counter drug, in hopes of making it more accessible to people who have need, but little means of getting it.

In June of 2005 The New York Times also reported on an Illinois pharmacist who was suing the state for his right to refuse to dispense Plan B because it violated his religious beliefs. Pharmacist Luke Vander Bleek refused to even stock his pharmacies with emergency contraceptives, which violated an order passed by the Illinois governor at the time.

Similarly a nurse was suing Eastern Illinois University at the same time, claiming she was denied a promotion at the university because of her opposition to filling emergency contraceptive prescriptions. In both cases the plaintiffs argued that their right to refuse on an ethical basis was no less than a patients right to a prescription.

“ I feel like if you’re going into the medical field to serve others, you shouldn’t let your own bias get in the way of that,” says Junior Pre-Medical student Christine Ariana. “ I think it’s a little ridiculous that we have all the health care measures available, and they’re not available to everyone.”

The debate over availability of emergency contraception on college campuses is not a new one. In early 2004 the United States Senate killed legislation that moved to prohibit the distribution of emergency contraceptives at state funded universities and colleges. The legislation was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives, but the Senate’s Education and Health Committee soundly struck it down 10-4.

The Washington Times attributed Virginia Delegate Robert G. Marshall- R as the legislation’s front-runner, who had pushed similar legislation since 1994 and vowed to continue to do so as long as he was in politics—a promise he has stuck to as recently as 2007.

Julia Earhardt, a Women’s and Gender Studies professor at the University of Oklahoma, who heard about the issue from a student in her class, said she was enraged to hear that some Goddard Pharmacists were refusing to fill Plan B prescriptions.
“As students, you may a student health fee and the pharmacists at Goddard are supposed to fill your prescriptions,” Erhardt said. “I think that when a doctor writes a young woman a prescription, it is a pharmacist’s responsibility to fill that prescription, no questions asked.”

The debate stems as far back as 1991, when the University of Florida fired one of its pharmacist for refusing to fill a student’s prescription for an emergency contraceptive. Though emergency contraception had not yet received its official blessing from the FDA at the time, it was considered a legal drug. According to the St. Petersburg Times, after attempting multiple compromises with the pharmacist the university finally let him go because the students come first.

Then President John Lombardi was quoted by the Times as saying “the perspective is whether the student is getting reasonable service from the pharmacy. Reasonableness is showing up with a legal prescription and getting it filled in a reasonable time. If the person looking at you from across the counter has a religious problem with filling it, that’s his problem. He does not have the right to impose his religion on you.”

This heated topic has been a sore spot in politics for sometime now, and does not appear to be going away anytime soon. Though OU’s health services claims to put the students before the clause, only time can test that. Eventually OU— and many other universities— may be faced with similar situations to the University of Florida, as legislation continually battles to find a common ground.

“I personally I feel that laws like [the Conscience Clause] are unethical,” Heck says. “I don’t know that it if I were patient who had made a decision with my doctor that a medicine was necessary for me, I don’t know that I would appreciate a pharmacist standing in the way and saying that they felt morally opposed to any medicine that I was choosing to take.”

Students seeking alternative places to obtain emergency contraception may have more success at Planned Parenthood, whose Norman location is 2100 W. Lindsey St. They house another location in Oklahoma City at 619 NW 23rd Street. For more information on hours, costs and services visit www.ppcok.org or call them at (405)-360-1556

To hear more of what Professor Julia Erhardt and Women’s Outreach Center representative Kathy Moxely have to say; as well as further insight from Pre-Med student Christine Ariana , who is also a student employee at the Goddard Health Center, check out the clip below:

Practice Video

Protesting Military Funerals Becomes a First Amendment Debate

On Wednesday Oct. 6, 2010 the Supreme Court began the first hearings in Snyder v. Phelps. The case will determine whether or not protesting a military funeral is protected by the First Amendment. This case has attracted huge publicity around the nation because it will set a precedent for future rulings of this nature.

The case was originally argued in a civil court, according to a PBS article, by Albert Snyder. Snyder's son, a U.S. Marine, was killed in combat in 2006. After the Westboro Baptist Church protested his son's funeral and condemned him and his son on their website, Snyder successfully sued them for 11 million dollars. He contended that they had intentionally cause him sever emotional distress.

The ruling was overturned by a Federal Appeals Court who argued that the actions of the Phelps family-- the primary make-up of Westboro Baptist Church-- was protected by the First Amendment. Many people, such as renowned CBS writer/anchor Bob Scheifer, are torn between this ruling because the topic is so emotionally charged: they don't want their freedom of speech infringed, but believe there must be exceptions. This is the argument OU junior Adam Endres makes.

"I think it's like going into a movie theatre and yelling 'fire!'-- you can't do it. So therefore there has to be other exemptions where the freedom of speech doesn't apply, and I think that this should be one of them," says Endres, a junior in the Army ROTC Officer Program here at OU. "People have died for our country and they should be given their final respects, and not have their families go through the hardship of having people there to protest their sacrifice for their country."

Endres does say he is on the fence about the issue because while he bases that argument emotionally, politically he has to concede that it is their right under the First Amendment to protest and express themselves. Endres' sentiments have been echoed by Gov. Deval Patrick-Dof Massachusetts, and the topic has been brought up in several campaign debates. To follow the story visit www.cbs.com.

Junior Army ROTC Officer Program student Adam Endres

To hear more of what Endres had to say listen to the clip below.

Colbert's Congressional Testimony: Mockery or Advocacy?

Sept. 24, 2010 renowned comedian and TV personality Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central’s ‘The Colbert Report’, appeared before a House Judiciary subcommittee to testify on immigration reform and the conditions of migrant workers.

Colbert was invited to testify by subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren. His presence was almost immediately contested by Rep. John Conyers-D, who initially asked for Colbert to simply submit a statement and leave before the hearing started. This request was withdrawn after strong groans from the hearing’s audience, according to one ABC News account.

Last summer, Colbert was one of 16 people who participated in the UFW “Take Our Jobs” campaign, where he took the place of an immigrant worker on a farm for one day. His presence was a heated topic amongst both parties. Rep. Jason Chaffetz-R shared Conyers sentiments, alluding to the hearing as ‘fake’ according to a CBS News report. Others such as Nancy Pelosi-D welcomed Lofgren’s invitation to the Comedy Central host.

“It’s difficult to say why Congress invited Colbert to testify,” said political science junior Madison Niederhauser. “These people in mainstream media do use politics for comedic effect, but it does educate people. I think in Congress’ mind, if they got someone like Colbert to testify rather than some senator, they would get more viewers and therefore more notoriety for the issues.”

Madison Niederhauser reads articles over Colbert’s recent testimony

While the comedic forum of shows like Colbert’s serve as a launch pad for issues, they’re satire can be dangerous if people misinterpret it Niederhauser said. To watch clips from the hearing visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwIL3Tr3N9Y

What's Next for American Hikers?

In July of 2009, three American hikers were captured in Iran and accused of being spies. On Sept. 14, after over a year of imprisonment in Iran, one of the hikers was released. 32 year-old Sarah Shourd is the first of the hikers to be released after Swiss negotiation officials paid a $500,000 bail.

The question on everyone’s mind now is: what about the other two hikers? Shane Baur and Josh Fattal, both 28 years old, remain in Iranian custody. At the U.N. Assembly the week of Sept. 20 Iranian President Mahmound Ahmadinejad refused to promise the release of the American men, citing the release of Shourd as a “huge humanitarian gesture” already.

The imprisonment of the Americans came shortly after the re-election of Ahmadinejad back in 2009, whose re-election was fraught with accusations of fraud. Tensions over the accusations heightened anti-American sentiments in the country.

“[Iran is] trying to create a favorable environment and a trading environment for themselves and to point out that they don’t like things that America does,” says Josh Landis, Director for Middle Eastern Studies. “ And if you are bad to us we can be bad to you, but we also have mercy and we can be good to you if you are good to us.”

Landis believes it is all an effort to push Ahmadinejad’s ‘we can have a dialogue’ proposition to the United States. While negotiators are working on the release of Baur and Fattal, it appears the Iranian government wants a deal similar to the release of Shourd for each American. For more information and to track the story visit www.freethehikers.org.

Blogger Advocates Social Change

On Wednesday, Sept. 15 students from a variety of majors flocked to the Regents Room in the Memorial Union to hear renowned blogger Mona Eltahawy speak on the concept of blogging for social change. Eltahawy, a Muslim-American journalist, is the first Activist-in-Residence brought to OU this year by the Center for Social Justice. Her most recent blog post “Hey America: I’m Muslim, Let’s Talk”, explores the strained relationship between America and the Muslim culture.

“This idea of creating a blog so you could tell the world about how you feel was practically nonexistent.” Eltahawy says of her beginnings as a blogger post 9/11. “Blogging back then for me was like opinion pieces, so I started writing opinion pieces sharing the ‘I’, and I think that’s the most important factor when you blog or when you go on social media. It’s about the ‘I’.”

With the recent debate over plans to build an Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero and religious groups across the nation burning the Quran, Eltahawy’s speech comes at a time when anti-Muslim sentiment is higher than ever. Eltahawy describes how blogging led her to physical activism in an effort to educate people on the true nature of Islam.

Mona Eltahawy speaking to students at her “Blogging for Social Change” symposium

Eltahawy emphasized the reality of blogging to students—change does not come over night. However, she maintains the awareness created by blogs is a powerful force against dictatorships and oppression. Eltahawy hopes to bring awareness to Americans on the true values of Islam. Her blog posts can be followed at http://www.monaeltahawy.com/.

Taking the Plunge

This post marks the beginning of a blog that will center around the controversial politics in our world. Here I will delve into the who's and what's behind the hot topics you see on your television every day. Whether you have a strong set of beliefs already and are looking to broaden your perspectives, or don't know how to feel about what-- this blog will give you political insight from your own generation. It should be an interesting ride!

--R