Author Robert Lanham talks about hipster life
As the Liars’ album seeps through headphones strapped above his Leche mesh trucker cap, he ambles down the urban streets into thrift shops and vinyl stores, looking to cop some vintage shirts and an indie hip hop record. His girl, sporting Pumas and a copy of David Sedaris’ Naked peeking out from her tri-colored handbag, looks at the giant billboards and chain stores swamped across the city, and sneers at them all, deriding the monopolies of commercial franchises planted in the face of consumers. While drinking latt
Studying a breed of “individuals” -The life of hipsters
‘Canes climb out of cellar with convincing victory
For now, the Hurricanes seem like they are back on track.
Miami steamrolled Virginia Tech 85-65 Tuesday night at the Convocation Center, boosting its record back up to the .500 mark. The ‘Canes (10-10, 3-6 in the Big East) also positioned themselves into a three-way tie with the Hokies and Providence for fifth place in the East Division of the conference. Junior forward Darius Rice led the ‘Canes with 32 points and liked what he saw from both the team and himself.
“I just took what the defense gave me,” Rice said. “Tonight guys stepped up, hit their shots, and gained confidence. That’s all you need.”
The Miami starting lineup looked a little different than usual as head coach Perry Clark inserted two new starters, freshmen Eric Wilkins and Gary Hamilton. Clark was pleased with both players’ effort, especially Wilkins, who scored 13 points.
“I thought both guys gave us a lot of energy,” Clark said. “Eric played loose, aggressively, and with really good poise.”
Four other Hurricanes reached double-digit totals in scoring, as senior James Jones had 16 points and freshman Robert Hite added 11. The ‘Canes also shot 42.4 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line in the first half, and went into the locker room with a four-point lead.
In the second half, Miami racked up 48 points, shooting 63 percent from the field, and converting on nearly 89 percent from the line. The ‘Canes biggest lead of the night came with five minutes left when Rice hit a three-pointer, widening the gap to 24. From there, Clark’s team never looked back.
“Certainly it was a much needed victory,” Clark said. “I was tremendously pleased with the way we responded. It was probably one of our best defensive effort.”
“We had come to a crossroad where we had to step up, and I thought we did that tonight.”
Wilkins was surprised to learn that he was starting, but he felt the decision boosted his game.
“I felt more relaxed,” Wilkins said. “I felt like I was able to control the game, on the defensive end control my man, and create opportunities for [Rice] and [Jones].”
Coming off an overtime loss to Villanova at home Saturday, the ‘Canes knew they had to get themselves together. Clark contends that his coaching staff was able to get the players to regain their confidence.
“I think the staff did a really good job from the Villanova game getting their confidence back and getting them prepared and by the same token motivating them,” Clark said. “I think they understand finally what time of the year it is and what’s ahead of us, that we still have tremendous opportunities.”
The ‘Canes play at Boston College tomorrow afternoon. Miami needs to hold one of the first six spots of the conference’s East Division in order to qualify for the tournament.
“We need to take these next two road games, that’s our next goal,” Rice said. “We’re not jumping around and celebrating. We’ve got a mission to accomplish and that’s what we’re going after right now.”
-Melissa Teich can be reached at melissateich@hotmail.com
Baseball poised for Gators and their fans
Anyone that claims that the Hurricanes three game series against the Florida Gators this weekend is “just another series” needs to do a little research about the history between these two teams.
An in-state rivalry that has been fierce for many years, heated up to a new level after Jim Burt sent the Gators home with a two-out, two-strike double in the ninth inning of last year’s Super Regional. While the Miami coaches and players will enter the series with a business-like attitude, they won’t deny that this weekend means a little more than most series.
“Well, every series is important,” head coach Jim Morris said. “We try to sweep at home and win the series on the road. We know this weekend is big though because Florida is our in-state rival.”
One player is already stressing the importance of the Florida series in determining Miami’s playoff picture.
“This is one of our biggest series that we have this year,” catcher Erick San Pedro said. “Whenever we play there it is like a playoff atmosphere.”
Florida fans are rowdy, said several players, and when in Gainesville the hostile crowd will do anything to get a rise out of a Hurricane player.
“I would say they have the worst fans of anyone that we’ve faced,” San Pedro said. “They yell at us, curse at us, and if you show any emotion at all they will get on your case right away.”
The ‘Canes will attempt to build on some of the positives shown in last weekend’s series against the Campbell Camels, where the starting pitching shined and the offense produced 32 runs.
“I think we showed some great defense in the Campbell series,” Morris said. “We were swinging the bat well and our starting pitching has been good thus far.”
One area of the Hurricanes’ game that struggled in Saturday’s loss was the bullpen. None of the ‘Canes coaches and players are overly concerned with the lack of production they have been getting from the relievers, at least not right now.
“We do need to win when ahead in the late innings, and that is where the bullpen comes in,” Morris said. “Until [George] Huguet comes back we’ll have J.D. Cockroft and Tom King hold down the closer role.”
The Gators are led by junior Ben Harrison, a power hitting outfielder, and freshman infielder Stephen Barton. They outscored Mercer 37-4 in their two game series.
“Florida has a real good player in Ben Harrison,” Morris said. “They also have good catching. Overall they’re a real solid team.”
The veterans on the Miami roster feel that the younger players might not know what to expect from their first trip to Gainesville.
“The younger players haven’t been involved with a crowd like this before,” pitcher Shawn Valdes-Fauli said. “I think it will be a great experience for them.”
San Pedro hopes to be one of the Hurricanes that has a huge series against the Gators. The sophomore catcher broke out of a minor slump on Saturday with a big three-run double.
“The last Campbell game was big for me,” San Pedro said. “I was 0 for 2 in the game and I was a bit angry and I was able to take it out on the pitching. When you’re struggling you look for one pitch to drive and I was able to get it.”
If Miami wants to have a chance to repeat last season’s performance, the players know they will have to raise the level of their play.
“We understand that we have to play like we’re expected to play,” Valdes-Fauli said. “To beat Florida we have to play like we’re the number one team in the nation.”
-Eric Kalis can be reached at elk777bc@hotmail.com
Three has been a magic number for Darius Rice
His favorite movie is Rush Hour. The San Francisco 49ers are his favorite sports team. In his spare time, he enjoys working on his computer and playing chess. His preferred food of choice is red beans and rice, with candied yams; typically classified as a southern meal. Does this mean that Mississippi native Darius Rice could be a NASCAR fan as well?
One thing is certain, the 6-10 junior forward has been one of the huge assets to the University of Miami basketball team his past three years in college. This season has been no different, as Rice enters Satuday afternoon’s game against Boston College leading Miami with a 20.2 points per game scoring average.
Rice, who has missed just one start in his three years as a Hurricane, already has 15 double doubles on the season, including a 32-point, 10 rebound effort against Virginia Tech Tuesday night. Anyone in the Big East can associate Rice as a powerful offensive player, and he has continued to add new aspects to his game, as his 39. 6 percent rate from three-point range ranks among the conference leaders.
However, those in attendance at the Convocation Center Tuesday saw new trait of Rice’s that cannot be found in the stat sheet. Rice was spotted wearing a red wristband on his elbow during the game, with a white number three in the center. After viewing the wristband, several interpretations could be drawn.
Some observers felt that he was a fan of Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson and instead of copying the popular trend of wearing replica jerseys, Rice was instead starting his own trend with the wristband. Other people figured that the three on his wristband signified Rice’s success from behind the arc.
However, a third possibility came into play regarding the meaning behind the wristband. NASCAR’s most prestigious race, the Daytona 500, takes place this Sunday. That day also marks the two-year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s death. Does this prove that Rice is in fact a NASCAR fan, and that the wristband served as a tribute to the famous driver.
Well, not exactly. In fact, the explanation behind the number three is one that probably wouldn’t excite very many people.
“It actually is just a wristband company name,” Rice said. “Those are pretty good scenarios that you all thought up.”
However, that doesn’t exclude the possibility that Rice wants to, in some way, pay tribute to Earnhadt.
“Dale Earnhardt was one of my favorites,” Rice said “He is one of the most respected drivers in that league, and I miss watching him race. As you figured, growing up in the south, you have to at least follow NASCAR.”
As for the number three, Rice has been very successful with that particular shot, wristband or not this season, especially in late game situations. The Hurricanes were down 72-69 to Florida Dec. 21 when Rice hit a three-pointer from the right corner with 26 seconds remaining, which would eventually force overtime. On Jan. 4 against North Carolina, Rice knocked down another three from the right corner, tying the score at 60.
In Miami’s first meeting with Connecticut Jan.11, Rice sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer from the top of the key. Nine days later he won the ‘Canes second meeting with the Huskies on a trifecta with half a second left.
Along with 30 others, Rice is one of the midseason finalists for the 2002-03 John R. Wooden Award. The Wooden Award, presented April 1 in Los Angeles, is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball and is presented to the nation’s college baketball player.
Not only does the winner have to excel on the court, but in the classroom as well. According to Rice, understanding the importance of a college education has been one of the easier parts of his career at the University of Miami.
“You have to make academics a priority,” Rice said. “A degree in education is very important, no one can take that from you. If I was not playing basketball, I would definitely pursue a career in computer engineering or designing software for video games.”
Whether the wristband was a fashion statement, a good luck charm, or a tribute to an admired athlete, Rice has aided the Hurricanes in nearly every one of the team’s victories this season. Interpret the number three in any manner, but the southern athlete apparently admires former and present number threes in a variety of sports, and most importantly, continues to rack up three-pointers for the Miami Hurricanes.
-Dana Strokovsky can be reached at SportsJunkie525@aol.com
Regrouping after Fiesta Bowl
Can you remember where you were or what you were doing on September 9, 2000? Most of us can’t even remember what we had for lunch yesterday; let alone what our lives were like two-and-a-half years ago.
Well, let’s look at what’s happened in that two and a half year span. Back then, Osama Bin-Laden was thought to be a spicy Indian dish, the Spice Girls were in, Jennifer Lopez and Puff Daddy were an item, our president was named Clinton, and, oh yeah, the University of Miami football team came up five points short (34-29), at Washington on an overcast Saturday afternoon.
Since then however, Mr. Bin-Laden has become public enemy No.1, the Spice Girls have fallen off the radar, Puffy became a court defendant and emerged as P. Diddy, and J-Lo (formerly Jennifer Lopez) has pinballed from P. Diddy to a background dancer to Ben Affleck. And we have a new president…at least South Florida election officials hope so.
So where does the University of Miami football program fit into this equation? The Hurricanes reeled off 34 consecutive wins, three conference titles and a national championship during that span, completing college football’s most impressive run over the last half century. They have been one of the few sure things; at least until Jan. 3, when they suffered a double overtime loss at the hands of Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.
So where do they go from here?
The task at hand for next year’s Hurricanes is a daunting one, said likely starting quarterback Brock Berlin.
“We have a great challenge ahead of us,” Berlin said.
The challenge Berlin refers to involves replacing key veterans from a national championship caliber team while not missing a step, all while partaking in one of the nation’s toughest schedules.
Even when faced with these obstacles, the Hurricanes still feel confident.
“We’re still a very good team,” offensive lineman Brad Kunz said. “We plan on rallying around each other and not missing a step.”
However, before the Hurricanes can begin to spin off another ridiculous winning streak, they must recommit themselves to accepting nothing short of perfection.
“The most important thing is to sit down as a team and talk,” Berlin said. “We have to develop a new attitude, set new goals for ourselves and not quit until we reach them.”
There is no question that the ‘Canes face an uphill battle, but compared to last off-season, the team actually has fewer holes to fill. Coming into the 2002 campaign, the Hurricanes were forced to replace 12 starters, including the entire offensive and defensive backfields. In comparison, only nine starters will not return from a team that came within inches of repeating as national champions.
Still, critics point to tough road trips to Florida State, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Pittsburgh, as well as home dates against Tennessee and Florida as too much for the defending Big East champions to overcome.
But these Hurricanes remain focused.
“We won’t settle for second place again,” offensive lineman Chris Myers said. “No one’s going to give it to us. We got to take it.”
Nonetheless, players remain determined and poised for another run. Returning players hit the ground running when they returned to daily off-season lifting and conditioning drills to prepare for upcoming spring practice. Eager to get back to work, the players want to erase the Fiesta Bowl loss from their memories.
“I have had a bad taste in my mouth since the loss,” Myers said.
On the other hand, some players see the loss as a blessing in disguise for the program.
“In a way we might have needed to lose,” Kunz said. “The lessons we learn from it are going to help us in the long run.”
“We learned a lot through our last loss at Washington and those lessons carried us through the streak. We might have needed to learn some fresh lessons.”
The players are ready to do whatever is necessary to return to their winning ways and bring home a sixth national championship to Coral Gables. Myers might have summed up the entire outlook and attitude of the team when he said, “we won’t settle for second place again.” Or maybe Berlin said it better when he noted, “it’s a new team for a new streak.”
One thing is for sure, if the Hurricanes were able to run off 34 consecutive wins and a national championship after the Washington defeat, which they only had two weeks to reflect on, then the rest of college football better look out after they have an entire eight months to ponder their latest loss.
-Joel Rodriguez is a sophomore and a candidate to take over the starting center job next season. Joel is also a journalism major.
Intramural Scores
You think you can shoot the rock? Can you drain a shot from downtown? How about hitting the trifecta with pressure? Here is your chance to prove you got game during the 3-point shootout contest at the Wellness Center. On February 18-20, the Intramural Department will conduct the preliminary rounds of the 3-point shootout where the finalists will compete at a UM varsity basketball game at the Convocation Center!
Anyone interested in Volleyball? Officials or to play it is just around the corner. Officials training is February 17 and 18 at 5pm at the Wellness Center and the entry deadline is February 19 by 5pm! The deadline to enter Volleyball is next Wednesday, February 19 by 5pm at the Wellness Center.
Basketball
Floor 1 Ballers – 49
Lambda Chi B – 47
D League – 58
The Ben-jaimins – 23
Ballers – 50
Floor 1 Ballers – 40
D League – 45
Lambda Chi B – 34
12 Angry Men – 39
Elbows – 25
Up In Smoke – 57
Griswalds – 26
The Team – 46
We Suck – 31
UBS Girls – 20
Women Gunners – 16
Big Daddy Abraham – 32
!Robbed! – 16
Famous Guys – 33
Primetime – 31
Team Cubano – 52
Pimps and Gigilos – 23
OJU Top Shottas – 52
Miami Hurrigangstars – 32
Team Highlight – 52
SBA – 43
Pi Kappa Alpha – 72
Phi Delta Theta – 25
Alpha Epsilon Pi – 61
Alpha Sigma Phi – 57
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 40
Sigma Chi – 13
Kappa Sigma – 26
Sigma Alpha Mu – 25
Casador de Pajaro – 41
Walsh 7 – 12
Relentless – 58
Got It Locked – 38
GBSA – 33
Punishers – 31
Rythym Method – 46
Sons of – 32
Fuzzy Furze – 49
Gunners – 35
Complete – 53
Club Med – 28
Above the Rim – 61
The Squad – 43
Donkey – 38
Night Riders – 36
Co-Fuzzy Furze – 36
Chicks N Sticks – 24
And 1 Ballers – 43
Below the Rim – 41
Wagon Mound 3 – 41
The Boodroskis – 20
2L Scrubs – 66
Downtown – 41
Delta Phi Epsilon – 53
Delta Gamma – 3
Diaper Dandies – 61
Knights – 15
Get Money – 46
All-Stars – 39
Mongooses – 41
Ruff Ryders – 39
Penthouse All-Stars – 52
Party House Ponce – 29
Benevento All-Stars – 46
Penthouse All-Stars 2 -20
Team Racquetball Playoffs
Lambda Chi Alpha – 3
Sigma Chi – 0 (FFT)
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 2
Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 1
Kappa Sigma – 1
Sigma Alpha Mu – 0
Success for track team in Gainesville
Junior Matt Mulvaney finished second in the 5,000-meters with a Big East indoor qualifying mark of 14:54 to highlight Sunday’s action at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, FL. The Hurricanes’ Glenn Sharpe recorded a time of 22.09 in the 200-meters and also qualified for the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships, February 22-23, in Syracuse, NY. Senior Jabari Ennis, currently ranked No. 1 in the Big East in the pole vault, recorded a mark of 16-05.00, his second best result of the season.
The Gator Invitational marks the final tune-up for the Hurricanes before the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The University of Miami women’s track and field team moved up to No. 9 in the nation in the latest Trackwire Top-25 poll released this week. The Hurricanes, who ranked 22nd in last week’s poll, garnered 18 points moving them into a tie for ninth with Indiana and Illinois.
Miami has been led this season by sophomore All-American Lauryn Williams and freshman sensation Charlette Greggs. Trackwire ranks Williams, the 2002 World Junior Champion in the 100-meters, fifth in the nation in the 60-meters and 11th in the nation in the 200-meters. Williams has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in both the 60-meters and 200-meters.
Greggs, who has automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400-meters and provisionally qualified in the 200-meters, ranks seventh in the nation in the 200-meters and sixth in the nation in the 400-meters. Greggs, who had not competed in indoor track prior to this season, is also the anchor of the third ranked 4×400-meter relay along with freshman Dominique Darden, Jamillah Wade, and junior Kitoya Carter.
Greggs broke the school-record in the 400-meters and anchored the champion 4×400-meter relay to lead the 20th-ranked University of Miami women’s track and field team at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, FL. Greggs finished third in the 400-meters with a time of 53.66, which ranks sixth nationally and automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, March 14-15, in Fayetteville, AR. Greggs, who also has the fourth fastest time in the nation in the 200-meters, had not competed in indoor track until this season.
The 4×400-meter relay of Darden, Wade, Carter and Greggs won for the second time this season posting a time of 3:37.05. The winning time shattered the old UM record by over three seconds and is the fourth fastest time in the nation this season. The time is also an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
In the shot put, junior Jennifer Penrose shattered the school-record by almost three feet posting a mark of 15.31 meters (50-02.75). Penrose, who also holds the school outdoor record in the shot put, is the first women’s thrower in school-history to surpass 50 feet.
Also ranked nationally is senior Sharianne Lawson. The defending Big East 100-hurdle champion is ranked sixth in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles.
Lawson also provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships finishing third in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.76. Lawson currently ranks 11th in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles.
Also provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championships was senior All-American Patricia Pearson, who took fifth in the 800-meters with a time of 2:09.13.
-Compiled by the Sports Information Department
How about low APR financing for that permit?
As I walked back to my car the other day, I saw a parking officer ticketing cars at expired meters. I stopped to ask him if he also tickets cars with invalid permits. I mean, has anyone ever noticed the inordinate number of students who try to get away with a Fall-only permit, or a discount permit in non-discount lots, or sometimes even no permit at all? I question as to why these cars never have tickets on them.
It enrages me to know that I had to buy a $274 permit to park in any commuter lot that I want to, year-round. Others, however, who paid for fall-only permits or discount permits, are dishonestly taking the spots from me and other paying students. I know a few people who have pulled off this trick in the past. It seems cheaper for students not to buy a permit and just deal with the three, four, or maybe five tickets that they may receive for the ENTIRE year.
I know that the cost of parking at UM is outrageous. Since I pay for it every year, I can tell you that the extra expense hurts the wallet, especially when combined with the cost of tuition, books, and supplies. Rules are rules, but when they are not enforced, it diminishes our faith in the parking ticket system. Why should I have to pay for a permit when others skate by for a mere $80 to $100 in accrued tickets, or only pay for parking during the fall semester?
The officer handling the expired meters told me that he was from the City of Coral Gables and he was only authorized to ticket the cars at the meters. I called Parking and Transportation to find out just what they do about all the abuse of permits.
I was informed that they are actively ticketing cars that are parked illegally in specific lots. Of course, they are unable to enforce parking permit restrictions entirely. They look for the color of permits in order to tell who should and should not be in a specific lot. I am comforted to know that ticketing is occurring and I would warn all with invalid permits to watch where they park.
I was, however, disappointed with the idea that some drivers still slip through the cracks. Maybe next year, to avoid abuse of the fall-only permits, proof of fall graduation should be required; that seems to be the only reason one would purchase that permit. As for discount permits and all other parking blunders, strict enforcement in necessary.
Denise Kolb is a senior. She can be contacted at denise5411@aol.com.
Disparate Views of Iraqi War: Right vs. Left
The following is a hypothetical dialogue between a liberal and conservative over the possibility of war with Iraq.
Conservative: So, do you think we should go to war with Iraq?
Liberal: Oh my God, no. Think of all the innocent civilians and American soldiers who will die.
Conservative: Sure. There may be some, but think of the millions worldwide who would die if Saddam uses his chemical or biological weapons.
Liberal: That’s crazy. Why would he ever do a thing like that? He’s not an imminent threat. Plus, we should concentrate on the war against terrorism.
Conservative: Saddam is the world’s worst terrorist! He has used chemical weapons against his own people, invaded Kuwait, supports the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, shoots at American planes every day, is attempting to build a nuclear weapon and has ties to Al-Qaeda terrorists. With a nuclear weapon, Saddam would hold a knife to the international community’s throat, as North Korea currently does.
Liberal: Well, that all may be true, but we should give the U.N. inspectors more time to find the weapons. Maybe they’ll uncover and confiscate them. All our troops could go home. We’ve already found some empty chemical warheads. We wouldn’t have to occupy Iraq after the war and Saddam will be disarmed.
Conservative: The U.N. inspections along with the entire United Nations are a farce. How could we possibly find the weapons in a country the size of France? Saddam has done everything possible to stifle the inspections in clear violation of U.N. resolution 1441, not to mention all the other U.N. resolutions he’s already violated.
Liberal: I don’t care! This war is about oil! That SUV-driving retard of a President and his oil buddies just want to exploit Iraq for its oil. It’s blood for oil!
Conservative: It’s partially a war about oil, yes, but not for oil. With biological or nuclear weapons, Saddam could invade his neighbors and control the world’s oil supply.
Liberal: If that happens we could all just drive those hydro-powered electric cars. Just think of all the pollution we could stop. It would be great for the environment, God’s true gift to mankind, unlike that filthy oil. I’ve had enough of this for now; let’s go smoke up.
Conservative: Nah, I have to look over my stock portfolio.
Pete Trombadore is a freshman majoring in Business Administration. He can be contacted at petetrombadore@hotmail.com.
Don’t Give Me a Gun or I Will Use It, and like it
I want to shoot a gun. A warm handgun is like sex without commitment. It is heavy in your hand and the power oozes from the metal straight through to your finger-that small digit that wields death with a twitch. I don’t want to kill anyone, who does? I would not want to have to use it, but I would. The firing range is like a real life videogame (because it’s a game and it’s real). There is no doubt that violence sucks and murder is wrong, but it all seems so appealing.
We love the story about the guy who had to kill because it was the right thing to do under the circumstances. We love to fool ourselves. Maybe it is a fundamental need in humans to revitalize our survival instinct by naturally selecting out other organisms (i.e. killing them).
The Jains, a sect of Buddhism, will sweep the road before they walk on it so that they will not inadvertently step on an ant. When I was a kid, I used to take pleasure in seeking out fire ants to step on, marveling at my ability to take the life of something else.
The potential to kill brings a responsibility to respect life. The decision not to kill is always presupposed by the knowledge that we can kill. We always know when we encounter an animal that can overpower us. One of the draws to the circus is the attraction of overpowering a mighty animal like a tiger or elephant, and our ego loves it. Are firearms just an indulgent for the ego or are they a veil to mask our fear of weakness and death?
A recent independent survey found that 60% of people in the military have slept with their firearm at one point. I guess on cold nights the barracks can get lonely. Humans love toys. Like clothes, our tools and gadgets become an extension of our personal self-image. People spend a lot time picking out the gun that is just right for their “needs.” So we cannot deny the security and strength that a gun yields, yet we also like to dream of a society where objects intended for violent purposes are completely shunned.
Are humans ever going to transcend violence? Nope. Violence is how humans have evolved population control. I don’t want a gun, because if I had a gun I would shoot it and love every second. For now, I believe in peace. I walk away from fights and read Gandhi, not Machiavelli. So please, don’t tempt me with secular power because I know that I will use it.
Alex Saleeby can be contacted at claysaleeby@hotmail.com.
EDITORIAL
Although final approval of the Federal Budget is still weeks away, Congressional appropriations committee members brokered an agreement in a 2 1/2-hour nighttime negotiation on February 10th, barely feet from the Senate chamber doors, to determine the fate of U.S. spending over the next critical year. Important to note are $15.4 billion to NASA ($513 million more than last year) and $6.1 billion toward occupation of Afghanistan and other terrorism costs. Also allotted was $10 billion for a “military contingency fund” completely under the control of President Bush (not Congress).
Youth of America, be cynical and beware. Your elected policy makers control your money, your rights, your life and liberty. Can you distill out the party-line spin on major governmental moves, to get the purified truth? Are you aware of the decisions made every day by the Politico based on sheer political and economic gain?
Had Columbia not alerted the American public to the inadequacies of the American space program, NASA would most likely be receiving less money in the coming year, not more. Can you feel the P.R. in the air? It’s so thick you can cut it with a knife.
Has our nation already forgotten the myriad of costs involved in the occupation of a conquered country? We’re so quick to bring Iraq under our control and we’ve already forgotten that Afghanistan still is. Billions of dollars in taxpayer money will be spent next year alone to cover the military personnel and intelligence operations costs of orchestrating regime change in Afghanistan. And the kicker is, despite the excessive costs of such an occupation, those sorts of funds won’t come near to maintaining social stability and economic feasibility in a war-torn nation.
And now, Bush is getting the request he made over a year ago: over 2.5 percent of the entire Federal budget will be under complete control of President Bush for military operations. Congress did initially ignore Bush’s proposal because they would have little say over the money. But the President’s push to dominate not only international affairs, but also the other branches of his own government (bye-bye, checks and balances), appears to be coming to a head.
Already Congress has passed legislation allotting nearly $400 billion for defense not in the Federal Budget, and there’s bound to be billions more requested by Congressional Republicans and the Bush Administration. Bush was successful in getting language included in the budget package allowing his administration to bypass restrictions on monetary humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Do you wonder what the intentions behind these quiet changes in policy involve? Is the administration concerned with the welfare of Iraqi widows and children? U.S. embargos in Iraq have already led to the deaths of millions of Iraqi civilians. What does belated “humanitarian” assistance mean now?
The House and Senate are rushing to finalize this budget that they’ve already been criticized for not settling at the end of the session last fall. They feel they need to resolve these money disputes in order to pay more attention to an almost certain March war in Iraq and the President’s persistent tax cut proposal. After all these agreements over defense, terrorism, intelligence, and foreign aid, Congress has not agreed upon a mere $3.1 billion for agriculture aid to farm states that have been hammered by years of prolonged drought. The President and many lawmakers refuse the incorporation of such aid, because it would make an already inflated budget bill (and super-inflated federal deficit) too high to handle.
Those in politics say that ninety percent of the game is distilling out the spin from the truth of the matter: objective, rational, just democracy. Become conscious of the way those that control your way of life control your dollars. Like Al-Qaeda bombed our wallet while our head was hiding in the sand searching for oil, our own lawmakers are picking our pocketbooks while we’re too busy watching CNN and the coming Nintendo War.
ISA hosts Asian student conference, places second in Cultural Showcase
The UM Indian Students Association [ISA] played host to the nationally-recognized South Asian Students Alliance [SASA] Conference, in conjunction with UF, for the first time in the history of the organization. It was the first time the conference was held in Florida.
During the three-day cultural event, speakers from all over the nation and India lectured, and Indian-influenced films such as “The Guru” and “Bend it like Beckham” were played.
“The event is about having southern Asian students come together to learn and unify,” Vivek Patel, public relations officer for ISA, said.
“It was a great experience, especially because there were so many schools there,” said sophomore Anand Patel, who worked on the SASA committee that planned the event. “We really enjoyed the whole thing.”
During their free time, students explored Orlando and attended nightly parties at places such as Hard Rock Live and the House of Blues.
“The parties were really a reward, not just about partying; in order to go to the last party you had to attend two speaker sessions,” Vivek Patel said.
The weekend was an overall success, giving the ISA and UM some great national exposure.
“The feedback has been saying that it was one of the best weekends, but that may be partly because of the weather,” Vivek Patel said.
One of the highlights of the weekend was the Cultural Showcase, a competition in which ISA came in second place.
“The weekend was so much more than a competition,” Vivek Patel said.
Overall, ISA says they are proud of their performance.
“We didn’t bring as much hype, but we brought a new taste,” Vivek Patel said. “We had a lot of beauty. It was a lot more musical, with no singing.”
Rut Vijbhatt choreographed the 16 performers for the performance, which lasted about 8 minutes.
“We kind of found out we were going to be competing at the conference at the last minute,” Anand Patel said. “Rut did a great job getting everybody ready. He had two separate tryouts for the team.”
The $2500 dollar first prize went to Emory University.
“Emory was my favorite,” Vivek Patel said. “They got the crowd in to it. The amount of energy they brought in made you want to get out of your seat.”
If you haven’t had a chance to see ISA perform, visit their website at www.um-isa.com.
“This was the first time ISA participated in this competition,” Aruna Airan, advisor to ISA, said. “Their performance was really impressive.”
“We are looking forward to next year,” Airan said.
Leigha Taber can be contacted at l.taber@umiami.edu