Home Blog Page 1873

Credit card companies soliciting on campus must go

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

When walking through the breezeway on any average weekday at UM, I can be sure that I’ll find some credit card company set up for tabling. These companies are armed with spectacular giveaways and a horde of applications, clipboard attached and ready to be filled out. These credit card companies are nothing more than white-collar loan sharks, praying on the inexperience of our undergraduates. They heavily target college students because they know we make their most profitable customers.

When given a credit card, most college students will quickly rack up heavy debt, and then garner late fees and high interest rates when they inevitably miss a payment. According to a USA Today study in 2001, the average college student owes over $2,500 to credit card companies. Over 70 percent of college students own a credit card, and of those students, one fifth carry a debt in excess of $10,000. Do you want to know the worst part about this whole deal? UM allows, and may even profit from, the credit companies’ predatory presence on our campus.

The effects on college students from credit card debt are serious and horrific. Many employers have begun denying job applications based on bad credit history. Because of bad credit, students are being denied crucial loans after graduation needed to build homes, buy cars and go to graduate school. Students have to drop out of school in order to work enough to manage their credit debt. An administrator at Indiana University stated that IU lost more students in 1998 due to credit debt than they lost due to academic difficulty. And in the most extreme cases, college students have even committed suicide due to the immense pressure of unmanageable credit card debt.

The credit card companies that camp out in UM’s breezeway aren’t there to give away exciting gifts; they’re there to sign up the next batch of college students that will bring them massive profits. They’re profiting at our great expense, and UM is right there with them. The University grants them access to our breezeway and receives profit from the use of our logo on specially designed cards. Most universities even receive kickbacks from the credit card companies for the access provided to their student body.

UM prides itself on being an institution where students can come to learn and grow. The students should be the University’s most prized assets. UM is supposed to be an institution protecting its students and fostering personal and academic growth in them.

In a message from President Shalala posted on www.miami.edu talking about the Momentum campaign, she states: “We [UM] transform lives through the energy and expertise of our graduates, (and) our teacher-scholars…”

There are lives being transformed at UM, but what are they being transformed into? Are they being transformed into the educated leaders of tomorrow, or the debt-riddled statistics you hear about in the news? Sadly, too many of our students will become the latter, and it’s up to the University to see that it stops. Yes, we have the power to walk by those tables in the breezeway, but, more often than not, we lack the life experience to know that we should. Nothing short of UM’s complete disassociation with the credit card wolves will be sufficient to show genuine commitment to the student body of the University of Miami.

(Some facts stated in this article were found on http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/ru-fit/collegestudents.asp)

Don Donelson can be contacted at d.donelson@umiami.edu.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

To the editor:

Being free to say what we want is a beautiful thing. It’s a right that we’re graced with, and it’s something we have abused horribly in the last few years (think FOX, New York Post, etc). It seems that anger and spite have driven much of our reporting as of late, but even that (although I’m against it) falls under the rights granted by freedom of speech.
However, when reporters make incendiary remarks without giving all of the facts or checking their sources, then I have a huge problem with that. If you take the time to write to or for a newspaper, you should feel confident that you either have something valuable or important to say, or that you’re at least qualified to back your comments.
In his latest fragmented article, Don Donelson wrote that France had voted almost unanimously to ban the “head scarf.” A slight detail that Mr. Donelson omitted was that the head scarf was banned from schools only. Schools that also don’t allow the wearing of crosses, yarmulkes or any other sign of religion since there is separation of Church and State. French schools have adhered to laicism for centuries and will continue to do so.
If Mr. Donelson wants to taunt American moral superiority, then he should probably think about such schoolroom traditions as the pledge of allegiance (which public schools play over the PA every morning… “one nation under God”) when the United States also claims separation of Church and State.
So help me God.
France’s and Germany’s opposition to the war in Iraq ultimately proved to be 100 percent correct, and the Bush administration is still struggling to dodge allegations of lying and deceiving the American public. (Let alone dividing the international community.)
Donelson’s article is a typical example of how “news” gets thrown around and turns into entertainment and partisan squabbling.
If you think you’re reporting facts, double-check them. A good thing to do when you write something about people you hate or despise (as it seems Donelson does the Germans and French) it’s best to write your article, take a five-minute break and come back to re-read and re-write it. You’d be amazed at how objective you’ll become. I myself erased several paragraphs where I called Mr. Donelson all sorts of names, and something about a marsupial and a jar of peanut butter, but then I calmed down and stuck to the facts.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Mason

EDITORIAL Much ad-o about something

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Recently, there has been a heated controversy regarding an ad that was submitted, but not published, in The Hurricane. While we’ve had other unpublished ads, this particular one raised enough questions that it led to meetings and debates among the students and administration. The newspaper took part in these deliberations, and several aspects from these discussions need to be addressed.

The problem of whether to publish the ad was poorly handled by all the parties involved – the students, the administration, and The Hurricane itself. We were all unaware of the correct policy and procedures to follow, which led to confusion and unrest among the students, contradictory feedback from the administration and pressure on the newspaper and its staff.

In retrospect, many things could have been done differently: fewer people could have been informed about the ad, a final decision could have been made before bringing in the student organizations and, of course, the Student Publications Board Policies and Procedures Manual should have been more thoroughly consulted before letting this issue get out of hand.

Yet, this controversy managed to unite the students rather than divide them. Several student organizations came together with similar opinions, and their voice was strong enough that it was heard throughout the administration and, in the end, influenced their final decision to not run the ad. It remains unpublished not because of a liberal media conspiracy, but because the students vehemently expressed their opinions and, ultimately, prevailed.

Still, we should keep in mind that it’s not unusual for these debates to arise in dealing with highly controversial issues. And, with the Presidential Debate coming to UM in the fall, we can expect more of this intense discussion to affect our campus.

Now, the million-dollar question: Should the ad have run?

There is no obvious correct answer.

Groups like the ACLU advocate that a university’s “mission is to facilitate learning through open debate and study,” which can be achieved, in their opinion, with as much speech as possible: “When hate is out in the open, people can see the problem. Then they can organize effectively to counter bad attitudes, possibly change them, and forge solidarity against the forces of intolerance.”

Nevertheless, we’re a publication in a private institution, and our job is to serve the students. We must abide by a set of guidelines and take into account student input. So, regardless of whether we believe at this point that the ad should be published or not, the decision has been made, and it was made in accordance with the Student Publications Board Policies and Procedures Manual. We need to let this issue lie and move on.

However, there should be no pointing of fingers, no attempt to find someone to blame for this controversy being mishandled. This isn’t a battle between the administration and the students, between the administration and the newspaper or between the students and the newspaper. We’re all in this together, and we’ve learned our lesson.

POLICE BEAT

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Pick up the paper every Friday to read the Public Safety call log and learn ways to protect yourself and your belongings.

TUESDAY MARCH 27
3:11 a.m. 1231 Dickinson Dr. Theft
3:53 p.m. 1228 Dickinson Dr. Theft
4:59 p.m. 5638 Merrick St. Theft
5:09 p.m. 1231 Dickinson Dr. Theft

THURSDAY MARCH 29

2:37 p.m. 5801 San Amaro Dr. Theft
6:00 p.m. 1211 Dickinson Dr. Theft
8:27 p.m. 1257 Memorial Dr. Theft

FRIDAY MARCH 30

10:30 a.m. 5850 San Amaro Dr. Theft

For more information on crimes and crime prevention, contact Public Safety at 305-284-6666.

Venezuelans & Cubans protest in Little Havana

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Last Saturday, several hundred Venezuelan and Cuban protesters marched in Little Havana, on Calle Ocho, to protest President Hugo Chavez’s government in Venezuela and Fidel Castro’s rule in Cuba. They also denounced terrorism, particularly the March 11 attacks in Spain. The march was organized by the Venezuelan opposition and Cuban exile groups in Miami, groups that equate Chavez and Castro to dictatorial rulers who pose a terrorist threat to the United States and the rest of the world.

Decked out in yellow, blue and red – the colors of the Venezuelan flag – and the red, white and blue of the Cuban and American flags, the protesters shouted chants well known in Venezuela, such as “Urgent, urgent, a new president!”

Another chant, “I wasn’t paid; I came because I wanted to,” was a reference to the government allegedly paying people to attend its marches in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

Protesters carried banging pots, whistles and posters, in both English and Spanish, that read everything from “Chavez: Big fat liar” to “Bush, you’ve got a fire in your backyard.”

Venezuelan students from UM’s large Venezuelan student population enthusiastically participated in the march.

“It’s great that the community comes out to the streets [to support] democracy,” said Fabiana Paolini, sophomore and president of the newly established Venezuelan students organization, UNIVEN.

Other UNIVEN members were quick to agree.

“[The march] is excellent,” said Daniel Ochoa, sophomore, wearing a large Venezuelan flag as a cape. “Just excellent!”

“It’s really good that Venezuelans and Cubans living abroad are protesting and exercising their rights of free speech,” Andreina Castillo, freshman, said. “Even though this march is not as big as the ones in Venezuela, it’s important that we keep having them, because slowly more and more people will come. Venezuelans around the world should be able to express their discontent with the government.”

Venezuelan and Miami leaders spoke at the podium at the end of the march. Miami Mayor Manny Diaz congratulated the protesters and reminded them that it was the one-year anniversary of 75 journalists getting imprisoned in Cuba. Carlos Fernandez and Carlos Ortega, Venezuelan opposition members in exile, called out to the international community to become more aware of the situation in Venezuela.

“It’s not enough for a leader to be democratically elected,” Fernandez said, referring to the justification many international governments have given to Chavez’s rule. “[A leader] must remain within democratic parameters during his rule as well.”

Patricia Mazzei can be contacted at p.mazzei@umiami.edu.

CALENDAR

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

TODAY

Come down to the Rat at 7 p.m. and join Delta Phi Epsilon for their competitive philanthropy event to benefit The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

MONDAY
Stop by the Wellness Center between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. to donate blood. For more information on donating blood, visit the South Florida Blood Banks website at www.sfbb.org.

WEDNESDAY
The Cinematic Arts Commission presents The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King at the Cosford Cinema at 8 and 11:30 p.m. Admission is free with ‘Cane Card.

THURSDAY
The Yellow Rose Society presents Genesis: Love & Life, a yearly production about women’s issues. Admission is free! For more information, please contact Jendayi Muntu at jendayee@hotmail.com.

FRIDAY
Come join Intervarsity for their Rap and Poetry Slam featuring DJ Obadiah at 7:30 p.m. at the Rat. For more information, contact Patrick Clements at 305-302-1980 or at Ibisfan33@yahoo.com.

Hit songwriter gives UM students a chance to shine in musical

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Approximately 50 hand-selected UM music students auditioned Tuesday for a role in a new musical by renowned songwriter and producer Desmond Child.

Child has written and produced more than forty hit songs by artists including Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Ricky Martin and Clay Aiken.

Now Child has decided to tackle the Broadway stage with his new musical JazzAge.

The musical is co-written with author Davitt Sigerson, whose novel Faithful was recently released by Random House.

Child and Sigerson were looking for talented jazz singers to perform in the preliminary stages of the show, including the read-through and workshopping of JazzAge.

Those auditioning gathered to listen to Child and Sigerson speak about the show and what they were looking for and were then sent outside to wait for their turn to sing. For the audition, performers, decked out in jazzy 1920s-style outfits, were required to sing a standard jazz song in the swing style.

Child, a native of Miami, has been so impressed with UM music students in the past that he decided to hold the only audition for JazzAge at UM.

“We’re looking forward to workshopping [JazzAge],” Sigerson said. “It will help us see the weaknesses and strengths of the show and identify problems to be worked out. Like the saying goes, ‘Musicals aren’t written; they’re rewritten.'”

“We basically took three days of every month and called them sacred, just to be used for working on the musical,” Child said.

“We wanted to write a rollicking, old-style, rich musical with a love story,” Sigerson said.

Set in a 1920s Paris expatriate community, JazzAge is based on historic characters such as painter Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein, the first known openly lesbian woman in the world.

Also included in the cast are fictional characters such as Joe, an American who comes to Paris to paint, and Martina, Picasso’s model and mistress.

“This show makes sense because jazz is a predecessor of musical theater,” Ashley Atkins, senior musical theater major, said. “I chose to sing ‘Angel Eyes’ because it shows both the jazz style and my own personality. I’m excited to do this audition because jazz has always been my favorite genre of music.”

“We listen to lots of musical styles in the musical theater program. It’s nice to get to sing in some of those different styles for auditioners,” said musical theater major Ashley Chambers, who sang “Hit Me with a Hot Note.”

“Secretly I always wanted to be a jazz singer,” Omar Lopez-Cepero, another JazzAge hopeful, said. “You know what? Sometimes I scat in the shower.”

Unfortunately for the UM students who auditioned, the show has only nine roles and a small ensemble to be cast.

Ironically, most of UM’s jazz music majors were not invited to audition.

Child and Sigerson claimed to have read over 200 books in preparation for writing this musical.

“Much of the dialogue was written by brilliant people, who weren’t us,” Sigerson said. “We took a lot of the text from memoirs and other historical sources.”

The first table reading of JazzAge is slated for May 19.

Jaclyn Lisenby can be contacted at j.lisenby@umiami.edu

CHILD’S HIT SONGLIST

NEWS BRIEFS

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Lowe receives art donation

The Lowe Art Museum at UM has received a major boost to its compilation of ethnic and non-Western art, as well as to what was formerly a tiny collection of studio glass. Coral Gables collectors Alan and Claudia Potamkin and UM alumni Sheldon and Myrna Palley have donated an extensive collection of artwork to add to the diverse assortment on display at the museum.
Utah State student tries out life as a ‘Martianaut’
U-WIRE- Utah
Utah State University student Jamon Nielson spent two weeks experiencing the life of a “Martianaut” and conducted research with USU technology while living in the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah. During the two weeks, the six-member crew lived in an eight-meter cylindrical shelter, leaving only in space suits to conduct experiments and record data.
“In some sense you are cut off from your environment. I was like bubble boy,” Nielson said, adding it was weird not to be able to feel the wind or touch the things around him.
“I liked the whole environment, the whole simulations of what an astronaut would really go through,” he said.

University of Maryland gets OK to ban profane behavior by fans
U-WIRE- Maryland
A policy prohibiting profanity at the Comcast Center, home to a host of University of Maryland athletic teams, would not violate the First Amendment, Maryland’s assistant attorney general ruled last week, giving the green light for university officials and a student committee to discuss banning profane chants and T-shirts at Terrapin men’s basketball home games.

AD-VERSE REACTION

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Controversial ad about Middle East conflict stirs dialogue on campus
Dr. Whitely makes final decision not to run ad in The Hurricane
David Horowitz, head of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, recently submitted an ad to The Hurricane that presented his view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, opening the floodgates for student groups to unite and discuss the issue.
This is not the first time Horowitz has done this. Most recently, in 2001, he submitted an anti-slavery reparation ad to 72 universities, sparking immense debate and controversy. It led to theft of newspapers that chose to run the ad as well as intense protests.
During the past week, representatives from OASIS, the Jewish Student Organization [JSO], Islamic Society of UM [ISUM] and Hillel met with administration, Student Government [SG] President Vance Aloupis and The Hurricane’s Editor in Chief Leigha Taber to express their thoughts on the contents of the ad and whether it should run in the paper. The outcome: a resounding “No.”
“The past few weeks has shown unity among many of the different cultural, religious and minority groups on campus, and this seems to be continuing that trend,” said Minal Ahson, president of the Council of International Student Organizations.
Dr. Pat Whitely, vice president for student affairs, made the final decision not to run the ad because it violated the newspaper’s advertising policies.
Lourdes La Paz, deputy general council for UM, attended most of the meetings regarding the ad and gave Whitely legal advice regarding the issue.
La Paz agrees with the final decision.
“I respect and understand her decision – it was consistent with the Student Publications Board Policies and Procedures Manual and done in the utmost good faith,” La Paz said.
Gilbert Arias, assistant vice president for student affairs directly responsible for student media, says he is in full support of UM’s advertising policies and Whitely’s decision.
“The purpose of the advertising standards is to maintain advertising integrity and quality and to prevent false and misleading advertising that is unacceptably repugnant and adversely affects the integrity and credibility of student publications as sources of truthful and accurate information or that is in conflict with the basic educational mission of the University,” Arias said.
Vance Aloupis, new SG president, agrees with Arias.
“Anything that would upset or put down students at UM is unacceptable,” Aloupis said.
In 1994, The Hurricane published an ad that denied that the Holocaust actually occurred, which proved to have immense consequences for the University. A donor withheld a $2 million donation to UM, while thousands of students rallied against the ad. As a result, the UM Board of Trustees ordered the newspaper to prohibit all ads deemed “hateful or misleading.”
Dr. Pete Moore, assistant professor for the political science department, distributed copies of the ad to his students after receiving a copy from a concerned student leader who wanted his reaction to the situation.
Moore says his students generally found the ad to be offensive.
“I think these types of issues are healthy because it encourages academic debate on campus,” Moore said. “By handing out the ad, I publicized what was going on far beyond the discussions at the meetings with administrators and student leaders.”
According to the Student Press Law Center, political ads receive more First Amendment protection than commercial ads because they sell an idea rather than a product or service. However, a student newspaper staff has the right to reject any ad.

Jorge Arauz can be contacted at j.arauz@umiami.edu.

HOROWITZ’S LAST AD

“Censorship Scorecard” from Horowitz’s anti-reparations ad campaign

College papers receiving the ad: 72
College papers rejecting the ad: 44
College papers printing the ad: 28
College papers printing the ad without
apology or incident: 20
College papers printing the ad but
apologizing for running it: 3
College papers that have rejected the ad
but have previously printed an ad that
denied the Holocaust ever took place: 3

BOOK REVIEW This Book Will Change Your Life might not really, but it will provide some laughs

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

“Self-improvement,” “meaning of nothingness,” “breakdowns of meaning,” all words that plaster the front cover of a three hundred and sixty five page book titled, This Book Will Change Your Life. At first glance, the blindingly yellow book grabs attention, luring readers to flip through its ridiculous pages. Written by Benrik, supposed, “authors of works of literary distinction at commonsense prices,” the concept of the book is that by following each days instructions, at the end of one year a reader’s life will be completely changed. Starting from page one, the book is filled to the brim with ridiculous antics and even funnier drawings and comments to accompany the practically ludicrous instructions for the days. Summarized as “part instruction manual, part therapy, part religious cult, part sheer anarchy,” the book is all consuming, taking up at least five minutes of each day to make note of the day’s “change your life” activity. Activities include advocating sunbathing topless, staring at everyone as if they are the love of your life, and eating nothing but red meat for a day. As part of the absurdity of the book, each day has a box for notes, so that essentially the book becomes an activity and readers participate. One can only think that it would be quite humorous to look back through the pages and view one’s thoughts as each activity or day’s events are recorded.

Point being, whether readers buy This Book Will Change Your Life, because they are gullible enough to believe that the book will really influence life events or they just want a few laughs, this 300-something page book is down right hysterical. Pick up a copy for some light-hearted laughter and easy entertainment.

Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.Davila1@umiami.edu.

THE WRAP

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

Another reason why Miami is just better…
So sad for New Yorkers, the Taxi and Limosuine Comission recently increased the Taxi fare by $.26. The change will take effect May 1.

Everyone loves…
So everyone loves Urban Outfitters, correct? Well recently, the “everyone loves” line of tees that practically every cheeky fashionista has been sporting as of late have been deemed racist.

Keeping UM Wet…
To abstain from specifically naming a certain group on campus, rumors have been flying that a particular auction that took place on campus turned in a bad rendition of Girls Gone Wild. And these ladies wonder why they have a stereotype. Enough said.

CD REVIEWS LouQuo says something far from so long

The Miami Hurricane
-
0

From the first chords of the first track, “Perique,” louque, pronounced “Luke,” makes a sultry statement. The debut album of louque, named for frontman Dustan Louque, is a mesmerizing mix of hypnotizing beats and soothing vocals. Using leading man Dustan Louque’s Cajun background, the record utilizes influences from folk, soul, electronic, and raw piano, creating a unique and addicting sound in and of it’s own. Featuring a mix of slow, soul infused songs, the album called So Long consists of nine rhythmical tracks, including a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Cry Cry.” Much like falling in love, the album is a blur of stories and moving lyrics, swaying the body to a sensual beat, providing the perfect soundtrack for a small festivity, a serene evening, or a whimsical romp with a special someone.

The record begs to be played over and over, serving as a staple in any technology meant to deliver music. However, listeners are to be cautioned, as a sense of nostalgia does ensue after listening to such songs as “Time Will Take” and piano filled “Art.” Either way, louque delivers, and keeps delivering even after the play button has been worn down.

Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.davila1@umiami.edu.

1...1,8721,8731,874...2,128Page 1,873 of 2,128