Student Government (SG) is accepting applications for seats in the Senate. Positions open include commuter senator, fraternity row senator, Stanford Residential College senator and two seats for junior senator. All students are encouraged to apply. Applications can be found in the SG office, and on the SG website (www.miami.edu/sg) and are due by Thursday, April 13 at 5 p.m. in Speaker Paty Escuder’s mailbox.

(U-WIRE) CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- Pillow fighting is traditionally reserved for slumber parties, but the University of Illinois Pillowfighting Club wants to take the slumber party out of pillow fights and bring the fights outdoors and break the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest pillow fight.

“In an ideal situation, we would want over 3,000 people to show up,” Emma O’Brien, junior in communications, said.

According to the Guinness website, the current world record for the largest pillow fight is 2,773 people. It was set on Sept. 8, 2004, by the employees of a Land’s End factory in Dodgeville, Wis.

“I think that people will want to come because it’ll be fun and they’ll be a part of history, for a little while anyway,” said Jerrod Marten, a sophomore who is one of the founding members of the Pillowfighting Club. “It’ll be a story to tell your friends and maybe, one day, your kids about.”

The idea to try and break the world’s record for largest pillow fight was Marten’s.

“At the time the, record was rather small,” Marten said. “We thought that it would be something that people would rally behind and come and participate in.”

The UM Model United Nations (MUN) team made up of 22 students won the top award, Outstanding Delegation, as Amnesty International, and the second-highest award, Distinguished Delegation, as Tonga at the National MUN conference in New York City from March 21 to 26. More than 3,200 college students from around the world participated in the conference. Last year, the team won Outstanding Delegation as Cyprus.

UM was alive with vibrant jackets and ritual drum beating throughout the day and night last Thursday for the spring tapping of Iron Arrow, the highest honor attained at UM. Thirty-six members of the UM community were surprised in the morning, their foreheads marked with orange, white and green stripes because they best exemplify the five qualities of Iron Arrow: love of alma mater, character, leadership, scholarship and humility. Initiation will take place April 16.

Discover cultures, new languages and diversity. The 38th annual International Week (I-Week), sponsored by the Council of International Students and Organizations (COISO), kicked off last Friday with opening ceremonies. This year’s theme, “Discover,” will showcase different cultures from all over the globe.

“We wanted to have a broader theme,” Gayle Mendoza, I-Week chair, said. “Discover culture and traditions. All the hard work will pay off-I expect everything to go extremely well.”

The UC Patio was center stage for the opening ceremonies that began with Asia Day and One Night of Asia, with displays by the various international organizations, including the Korean Student Association and the Indian Student Association (ISA).

“It helps students see other parts of the world,” Aditi Kothekar, junior and ISA member, said. “This is accessible to them, and it brings students together.”

The mood was festive and energetic as students walked through the patio, full of flags representing various countries and people dancing to upbeat music. Those in attendance were treated to Indian food, handcrafts from Thailand and Korea, and even palm reading.

“This was my first time attending I-Week at UM because I just transferred,” Vicky Rodriguez, junior, said. “I really like that the school has something like this because I’ve never seen it before. I especially like that the days were organized around themes like Asia Day.”

Mr. and Ms. International, Gianluca Matulli and Shana Valliani, also joined opening ceremonies.

“I wanted to represent my background and meet people from different cultures,” Valliani said. “Events like this are important so we can be aware of other cultures and learn about them.”

Students who attend all events can enter a raffle with a grand prize of a 300-dollar travel voucher for anywhere in the world.

Despite the heat, the turnout of students on Friday was high.

“Every year it gets bigger and better,” Ciara Mohamed, COISO president, said. “I’m impressed and excited-it can only get better.”

I-Week will conclude on Saturday with the COISO Feast of Nations banquet. Tickets can be purchased at any of the I-Week events.

Vanessa Krause can be contacted at v.krause@umiami.edu.

When students walked into the seminar room at the Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic studies on Tuesday, they knew class was going to be a little different than usual. Professors Sherri Porcelain and Miriam Klein Kassenoff had combined their classes and moved them to a different location, and there were cameras all over the room when students took their seats.

But when 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel walked in, the collective “Oooh!” displayed the awe and shock of the students sitting in the room.

“The class before we were talking about his book Night [Wiesel’s autobiographical novel about his experiences during the Holocaust] and all of a sudden he just walks in there,” Rajiv Nijhawan, sophomore, said. “It was totally unexpected.”

Wiesel’s visit was arranged by and taped for the mtvU series Stand-in, in which celebrities make a surprise appearance and take the place of the professor for the class.

Wiesel focused on the worldwide indifference toward the mass genocides occurring in Sudan and Rwanda, relating them to his experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.

“The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference,” Wiesel said. “An ethical person is one who is not indifferent.”

He talked about suffering through the Nazi regime and finding out that the world was aware of what was happening.

“When we learned that people knew, it was easy to give up on humanity,” Wiesel said.

Many are unaware of the crisis facing Sudan today. Darfur, in western Sudan, has been in conflict since February 2003, with civilians’ human rights being taken away by Janjaweed militias-Arab fighters backed by the Sudanese government. In this ethnic cleansing, more than 200,000 people have died and two million have been displaced.

Wiesel’s advice to college students was simple.

“When you read about an injustice, always take the side of the victims,” he said. “Your silence or indifference will never hurt the killer, only the victim.”

MtvU has called for students across the nation to raise awareness and make a difference in the Sudan crisis. During STANDfast on April 7, it is asking students to give up something like cigarettes or chocolate and donate the money they would have spent to a relief organization for Sudan. Approximately 150 universities around the nation, including UM, are registered to participate in STANDfast this Thursday.

Shawn Rosen-Holtzman, a student in Porcelain’s class, was inspired by Wiesel’s words and took immediate action to make a difference. She wrote a letter to the Miami Herald about the situation in Sudan and the experience with Wiesel, and it was published in its entirety that week.

Wiesel hopes that students can combat the indifference toward injustice, and believes that they can spark change through their actions.

“Remember one thing. The century is not mine. It’s yours,” Wiesel said.

The UM Stand-in episode airs April 7 on mtvU as part of STANDfast.

For more information visit www.mtvU.com.

Megha Garg can be contacted at m.garg2@umiami.edu.

In an effort to raise awareness of world issues surrounding the coffee trade, Students Towards A New Democracy (S.T.A.N.D.), GreenpeaceUM and Amnesty International hosted Javapalooza, a concert aimed to benefit fair trade coffee and the genocide in Sudan, Friday night at the Wesley Center. Featuring the Awesome New Republic, Dead Hookers’ Bridge Club, Fifth Quarter All-Star and Nick Kruge, the packed church relished in good old hard rock and some R&B.

Seeking greater equity in international and domestic trade, S.T.A.N.D. and Oxfam International, a group of organizations that work to find solutions to social issues around the world, advocated for the sustainable development of secure rights and better working conditions for marginalized workers and producers.

“As a project of Oxfam International, fair trade is a movement that supports moral and just trade, not just trade based on the laws of supply and demand,” Patrick Walsh, co-founder of S.T.A.N.D., said.

The concerts sought to bring to light the issues caused by the deregulation of the coffee market. As the price of coffee rises, the monies paid to the farmers significantly decrease, causing undernourishment and a reduction in the ability of farmers to provide adequate healthcare and education for their children.

“Fair trade coffee ensures that the farmers in West Africa and South American countries are given a fair market value for the products they produce. Fair trade coffee is a movement for worker’s rights, a movement to give them a reasonable standard of living,” Carol Vaughan, senior, said.

In addition to the campaign for fair-trade coffee, Javapalooza and Amnesty International aimed to raise awareness of the Sudanese conflict.

“[There is] a genocide in Northern Africa where fighting and violence between the Sudanese government (Arab minority) and civilian black African-American majority has caused massive displacement and death,” Vikash Parikh, Emory University graduate and Paperclips for Peace founder, said.

With the movement towards youth activism on campus, the concert represented the unifying interest of UM students to gradually begin to reshape the world. “Approximately 400,000 people have died since the conflict began. The movement is now to help these Sudanese people,” Trishul Siddharthan, co-founder of Amnesty International, said.

S.T.A.N.D., GreenpeaceUM and People for the American Way (PFAW) will be hosting a Poetry Slam this Friday, at 7 p.m. at the Rathskellar, featuring professional poets from Washington, D.C. – Sekou “tha Misfit’ Andrews and Steve Connell. All poets and topics are welcome. S.T.A.N.D. and PFAW will also be hosting a half-day leadership summit on Saturday, April 9 at the UC Ballroom. Guest speakers will be discussing “Youth Empowerment,” “How to Run and Win Issue Campaigns” and “The Importance of Transnational Advocacy Groups.”

Shelly Garg can be contacted at s.garg@umiami.edu

TODAY -April 5

COISO’s International Week continues with Middle Eastern Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Middle Eastern Night at 7 p.m., both on the UC Patio.

The Sexual Assault Response Team’s (SART) End Sexual Violence Week continues with a self-defense demonstration from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the Rock. For more information, contact Danielle Hadeed at 305-284-5511.

WEDNESDAY – April 6

Join SART for Take Back the Night, beginning on the Rock, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event is part of End Sexual Violence Week. For more information, contact Danielle Hadeed at 305-284-5511.

European Day will be on the UC Patio from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. as part of COISO’s International Week.

THURSDAY – April 7

The Yellow Rose Society will perform its annual production of GENESIS in the UC I-Lounge at 7 p.m. The performance, written and performed by students, will focus on the issue of sexual assault against women, with the theme “It’s Not Your Fault.” Admission is free.

As part of National Alcohol Screening Day, Pier 21: Center for Alcohol and Drug Education and the Counseling Center will provide free screening tests in the UC Breezeway from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Howard Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, LLC and Mohamed El-Erian, managing director at PIMCO will speak at the UM School of Business’ 2005 Investment Manager Roundtable, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Storer Auditorium. The topic of the roundtable, which is free and open to the public, is “Is a Global Credit Crisis on the Horizon?”