Published October 30, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
The fourth annual International Water Technologies and Environmental Control Exhibition (WATEC) begins Tuesday in Tel Aviv, and will spotlight cutting-edge technologies aimed at managing the world's water resources, reducing global pollution and promoting the use of alternative energy.
The WATEC Israel 2007 exhibition, which runs from October 30 to November 1 at the Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center, will host 250 exhibitions and five conferences on pressing environmental issues such as water reuse, renewable and clean energy sources and the international standardization of water technologies.
The exhibition, whose site spans 20,000 meters, is considered to be one of the leading water and environmental technology conventions in the world. NIS 20 million was invested in the three-day event.
The forum will highlight Israeli developments in the field, and emphasize the country's leading international role in water resource management. The exhibition is aimed at strengthening Israel's reputation as the "Silicon Valley" of the global water and environmental technologies market.
CEOs from Veolia Water, Siemens and General Electric, three of the largest water technology companies in the world, will be speaking at this week's symposium.
More than 2000 visitors and 100 delegations from 80 countries worldwide enrolled to survey the latest developments in water and environmental technologies on display at WATEC.
The convention will feature three conferences running Tuesday-Wednesday, including the WATEC conference, the 9th annual national desalination conference and the Ernst and Young-sponsored CleanTech seminar on investment strategies in the renewable energy industry.
The two-day WATEC forum will focus on the Israeli experience with water management, Australian water resources and the environmental challenges mounting in the world's developing regions, such as Asia, Africa and South America. Shimon Peres will be on hand to deliver closing session remarks on the Red Sea-Dead Sea canal.
The international law firm Greenburg Traurig will host a one-day global resources conference Wednesday on the role of water and environmental technologies in the global marketplace. Thursday, WATEC will host a closed-door workshop on to promote water security in the face of terrorism.
The exhibition opens daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets cost $150 or NIS 630 for a one-day pass, and $280 or NIS 1160 for full participation.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Cinema foundation funds films on conversion
Published October 28, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
"What makes us want to convert, to change? And what kind of changes are possible?"
These are the questions Maayan Amir hopes to explore as curator of the New Foundation for Cinema and TV's newest experimental film project, "Conversion- Change of Heart," a venture that aims to explore the relationship between Judaism and Christianity and the role of conversion in modern culture.
The foundation will offer funding to selected filmmakers towards the making of 10-minute shorts on the subject. Nearly $100,000 will be spread among the artists chosen, Amir said.
The project commenced this week with a series of lectures exploring the notion of conversion across academic disciplines, such as art, literature, psychiatry, philosophy and history. The seminar, held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Monday night, was attended by roughly 200 people, including artists interested in submitting their film proposals to the foundation.
"We are flooded with 'pseudo conversions': 'become a singer,' 'become thin,' 'become a star.' Where are the origins of this fantasy to convert?," said Amir.
"The seminar on the one hand [explores] examples of the first conversions in history, and on the other hand look at different forms of secular conversions as they reflect in contemporary art and literature," she said. "We can't do anything without references."
Amir said she first became interested in the topic of conversion after taking a course on St. Paul the Apostle, a practicing Jew who became one of the first Christian missionaries.
Dr. Itzik Binmini, a lecturer from Tel Aviv University who spoke about Paul's biblical conversion at Monday's forum, said the New Testament story is part of the roots of Western culture, and can teach people the personal meaning of change in today's society.
"People think that if you explore internally you can be more enlightened, but that's not enough," Binmini said. "We have to put our world views next to one another, and examine the boundaries between our communities."
Amir said she believes experimental, independent film can better explore the concepts of modern-day conversions than more traditional mediums that "must consider ratings and give straight answers."
She said the concept of change is especially relevant to Israeli society, art and cinema "because of the situation here and because of the way we live."
The shorts will be distributed to television stations and film festivals worldwide. Project proposals should be submitted to the New Foundation offices in triplicate, no later than November 18.
By MARISSA LEVY
"What makes us want to convert, to change? And what kind of changes are possible?"
These are the questions Maayan Amir hopes to explore as curator of the New Foundation for Cinema and TV's newest experimental film project, "Conversion- Change of Heart," a venture that aims to explore the relationship between Judaism and Christianity and the role of conversion in modern culture.
The foundation will offer funding to selected filmmakers towards the making of 10-minute shorts on the subject. Nearly $100,000 will be spread among the artists chosen, Amir said.
The project commenced this week with a series of lectures exploring the notion of conversion across academic disciplines, such as art, literature, psychiatry, philosophy and history. The seminar, held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Monday night, was attended by roughly 200 people, including artists interested in submitting their film proposals to the foundation.
"We are flooded with 'pseudo conversions': 'become a singer,' 'become thin,' 'become a star.' Where are the origins of this fantasy to convert?," said Amir.
"The seminar on the one hand [explores] examples of the first conversions in history, and on the other hand look at different forms of secular conversions as they reflect in contemporary art and literature," she said. "We can't do anything without references."
Amir said she first became interested in the topic of conversion after taking a course on St. Paul the Apostle, a practicing Jew who became one of the first Christian missionaries.
Dr. Itzik Binmini, a lecturer from Tel Aviv University who spoke about Paul's biblical conversion at Monday's forum, said the New Testament story is part of the roots of Western culture, and can teach people the personal meaning of change in today's society.
"People think that if you explore internally you can be more enlightened, but that's not enough," Binmini said. "We have to put our world views next to one another, and examine the boundaries between our communities."
Amir said she believes experimental, independent film can better explore the concepts of modern-day conversions than more traditional mediums that "must consider ratings and give straight answers."
She said the concept of change is especially relevant to Israeli society, art and cinema "because of the situation here and because of the way we live."
The shorts will be distributed to television stations and film festivals worldwide. Project proposals should be submitted to the New Foundation offices in triplicate, no later than November 18.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Controversial sex professor gets the boot
Published September 12, 2005 in The GW Hatchet
~First-place winner in The Fund For American Studies' 2006 Thomas L. Phillips Collegiate Journalism Contest
"The Thomas L. Phillips Collegiate Journalism Award recognizes excellence in collegiate reporting in which the student's work demonstrates an understanding of the basic ideas that support a free society, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech and free-market economic principles." -www.tfas.org
~First-place winner for General News Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists 2006 Region Two Mark of Excellence Awards
By: Marissa Levy
For 17 years Michael Schaffer taught GW students all the touchy details of human sexuality. It was his honesty that endeared him to hundreds of students, but that same candidness may have cost him his job.
In his time at GW, Schaffer taught more than 4,500 students in a class that is usually filled five minutes after course registration begins. But in July Schaffer was dismissed from GW, two months after a female student threatened in a spring 2005 course evaluation to file a sexual harassment suit against the now-former professor.
In her evaluation, which Schaffer provided to The Hatchet, the woman claimed that Schaffer "does not teach, but reads extremely sexual student responses (to take-home papers), repeatedly hands out condoms, (and) shows naked pictures and videos." She criticized a class discussion on pubic hair, and went on to say that Schaffer should be fired from the school.
Schaffer, who describes himself as a "popular" teacher, said the department of exercise science hasn't given him the opportunity to defend himself against the allegations.
"Never before have I had a student that was so unhappy with my teaching," Schaffer said. "The overwhelming comments on my evaluations were 'this is the best course I've ever had.'"
Schaffer said Patricia Sullivan, acting chair of the exercise science department, told him that he was not fired; rather, the department declined to renew his contract. But Schaffer also said that when asked why his contract was not renewed, Sullivan replied, "check your student evaluations."
Schaffer said that after he visited with Sullivan to go over his spring 2005 evaluations, the majority of which he called "glowing," Sullivan told him that his contract was not renewed because "the department is going in a different direction, and may even drop the course entirely." But the School of Public Health and Health Services still offers three sections of the Human Sexuality course that Schaffer introduced to GW 15 years ago. Linda Campanelli, who teaches two sections of the class, said she had no knowledge of why Schaffer was fired. Tracy Schario, GW's director of media relations, would not comment on the situation.
Sullivan refused to comment on Schaffer's dismissal to The Hatchet. Ruth Katz, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Services, which offers the human sexuality course, also refused to comment for the article, based on the issue's "confidential nature." It is not known whether a sexual harassment suit has been filed against Schaffer or the University, but Schario said that to her knowledge, the student has not filed suit.
Schaffer said he was "blown away" by the scathing evaluation that called him "disgusting and demeaning to women." In a course that covers everything from the anatomy of the human reproductive system to masturbation and homosexuality, Schaffer said he "tends to be very honest" with his students.
"I will respond to any question," he said in an interview earlier this month. "We can and did talk about anything."
But some students said they could understand why a student would complain about the class.
"He might say things that are borderline inappropriate or something that you wouldn't expect a professor to comment on," alumnus C.J. Chido said.
2005 graduate Helly Schtevie said that although she thought human sexuality was one of the most fun classes she took at GW, some of her female classmates felt uncomfortable when Schaffer asked to see them after class to discuss their personal essays.
"If you have more conservative ideas about the world," Schtieve said, "you might be uncomfortable about the way he talked."
Schaffer defended his teaching methods, which include reading portions of student papers in class and showing a video of a male and female masturbating to orgasm.
"It's all true," Schaffer said of the woman's criticisms. "I did talk about pubic hair in response to someone's paper, and I show pictures of naked people to show what real bodies look like."
"Students have said they enjoy hearing other peoples' papers," he said. "It makes them feel normal to hear that they're not the only person who thinks like that (about human sexuality)."
And it's that open connection with students that has caused many of them to contact Sullivan in Schaffer's defense. Frustrated with the loss of his job, Schaffer e-mailed his former students to let them know he would no longer be teaching at GW, and asked them to e-mail Sullivan in protest.
"I am extremely upset at the thought of you firing professor Schaffer," senior Noah Rothstein wrote in an e-mail to Sullivan, which was provided by Schaffer. "There must be an understanding that when taking sex education at the collegiate level, the class will delve into awkward and often uncomfortable sexual topics in order to help raise understanding and awareness so one can lead a more sexually safe life."
"I understand GW has a need to cover their behinds and have long seen money come before education at this school, but firing professor Schaffer is a disservice to every student who would have taken his class in the future," Rothstein said.
Several students told Sullivan that Schaffer's course was so informative they would like to see it replace the Columbian College of Arts and Science's mandatory freshman advising workshop.
"As a female it never crossed my mind to feel uncomfortable around Professor Schaffer. I would often stay after class to ask personal questions," alumna Lucy Pear wrote in an e-mail to Sullivan, which was provided by Schaffer.
Schaffer said despite his protests, he is becoming resigned to the fact that he may never teach at GW again. He added that he's begun looking for part-time teaching positions at other area universities, but would like to meet with University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg to discuss his situation.
"I would jump at the chance (to work at GW again)," Schaffer, who has a full-time job at the Prince George's County Public Schools' Department of Human Resources, said. "I really, really enjoyed it. It's what I was excited to do."
~First-place winner in The Fund For American Studies' 2006 Thomas L. Phillips Collegiate Journalism Contest
"The Thomas L. Phillips Collegiate Journalism Award recognizes excellence in collegiate reporting in which the student's work demonstrates an understanding of the basic ideas that support a free society, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech and free-market economic principles." -www.tfas.org
~First-place winner for General News Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists 2006 Region Two Mark of Excellence Awards
By: Marissa Levy
For 17 years Michael Schaffer taught GW students all the touchy details of human sexuality. It was his honesty that endeared him to hundreds of students, but that same candidness may have cost him his job.
In his time at GW, Schaffer taught more than 4,500 students in a class that is usually filled five minutes after course registration begins. But in July Schaffer was dismissed from GW, two months after a female student threatened in a spring 2005 course evaluation to file a sexual harassment suit against the now-former professor.
In her evaluation, which Schaffer provided to The Hatchet, the woman claimed that Schaffer "does not teach, but reads extremely sexual student responses (to take-home papers), repeatedly hands out condoms, (and) shows naked pictures and videos." She criticized a class discussion on pubic hair, and went on to say that Schaffer should be fired from the school.
Schaffer, who describes himself as a "popular" teacher, said the department of exercise science hasn't given him the opportunity to defend himself against the allegations.
"Never before have I had a student that was so unhappy with my teaching," Schaffer said. "The overwhelming comments on my evaluations were 'this is the best course I've ever had.'"
Schaffer said Patricia Sullivan, acting chair of the exercise science department, told him that he was not fired; rather, the department declined to renew his contract. But Schaffer also said that when asked why his contract was not renewed, Sullivan replied, "check your student evaluations."
Schaffer said that after he visited with Sullivan to go over his spring 2005 evaluations, the majority of which he called "glowing," Sullivan told him that his contract was not renewed because "the department is going in a different direction, and may even drop the course entirely." But the School of Public Health and Health Services still offers three sections of the Human Sexuality course that Schaffer introduced to GW 15 years ago. Linda Campanelli, who teaches two sections of the class, said she had no knowledge of why Schaffer was fired. Tracy Schario, GW's director of media relations, would not comment on the situation.
Sullivan refused to comment on Schaffer's dismissal to The Hatchet. Ruth Katz, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Services, which offers the human sexuality course, also refused to comment for the article, based on the issue's "confidential nature." It is not known whether a sexual harassment suit has been filed against Schaffer or the University, but Schario said that to her knowledge, the student has not filed suit.
Schaffer said he was "blown away" by the scathing evaluation that called him "disgusting and demeaning to women." In a course that covers everything from the anatomy of the human reproductive system to masturbation and homosexuality, Schaffer said he "tends to be very honest" with his students.
"I will respond to any question," he said in an interview earlier this month. "We can and did talk about anything."
But some students said they could understand why a student would complain about the class.
"He might say things that are borderline inappropriate or something that you wouldn't expect a professor to comment on," alumnus C.J. Chido said.
2005 graduate Helly Schtevie said that although she thought human sexuality was one of the most fun classes she took at GW, some of her female classmates felt uncomfortable when Schaffer asked to see them after class to discuss their personal essays.
"If you have more conservative ideas about the world," Schtieve said, "you might be uncomfortable about the way he talked."
Schaffer defended his teaching methods, which include reading portions of student papers in class and showing a video of a male and female masturbating to orgasm.
"It's all true," Schaffer said of the woman's criticisms. "I did talk about pubic hair in response to someone's paper, and I show pictures of naked people to show what real bodies look like."
"Students have said they enjoy hearing other peoples' papers," he said. "It makes them feel normal to hear that they're not the only person who thinks like that (about human sexuality)."
And it's that open connection with students that has caused many of them to contact Sullivan in Schaffer's defense. Frustrated with the loss of his job, Schaffer e-mailed his former students to let them know he would no longer be teaching at GW, and asked them to e-mail Sullivan in protest.
"I am extremely upset at the thought of you firing professor Schaffer," senior Noah Rothstein wrote in an e-mail to Sullivan, which was provided by Schaffer. "There must be an understanding that when taking sex education at the collegiate level, the class will delve into awkward and often uncomfortable sexual topics in order to help raise understanding and awareness so one can lead a more sexually safe life."
"I understand GW has a need to cover their behinds and have long seen money come before education at this school, but firing professor Schaffer is a disservice to every student who would have taken his class in the future," Rothstein said.
Several students told Sullivan that Schaffer's course was so informative they would like to see it replace the Columbian College of Arts and Science's mandatory freshman advising workshop.
"As a female it never crossed my mind to feel uncomfortable around Professor Schaffer. I would often stay after class to ask personal questions," alumna Lucy Pear wrote in an e-mail to Sullivan, which was provided by Schaffer.
Schaffer said despite his protests, he is becoming resigned to the fact that he may never teach at GW again. He added that he's begun looking for part-time teaching positions at other area universities, but would like to meet with University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg to discuss his situation.
"I would jump at the chance (to work at GW again)," Schaffer, who has a full-time job at the Prince George's County Public Schools' Department of Human Resources, said. "I really, really enjoyed it. It's what I was excited to do."
University may make waves with Semester at Sea program
Published September 6, 2005 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
Call it the Somewhere-in-the-Middle-of-the-Ocean Campus. GW is among a handful of universities vying to affiliate with the Semester at Sea program, after the University of Pittsburgh announced it will cut its ties with the program next spring.
University administrators said they are researching the study abroad program to see how it would fit into the mission and culture of GW. Peter Konwerski, executive director of administrative partnerships, said GW is one of several schools looking to work with Semester at Sea and hopes it will be chosen when the directors of the program pick a new academic sponsor by the end of the semester.
More than 600 students board the MV Express cruise ship each semester to travel the globe and take classes with Semester at Sea. The 100-day program brings students to countries in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe, and makes extended port stops in different nations to give students an authentic view of foreign cultures.
Konwerski said that in the next few weeks, officials will talk to students and faculty members to gauge their interest in the potential partnership. He added that Semester at Sea's worldwide itinerary might especially appeal to the GW community.
"Obviously our students are very interested in international affairs and global issues, and (Semester at Sea) is a more unique type of international opportunity," he said.
GW graduate Joseph Callahan, who went on the program in spring 2003, said Semester at Sea was the best experience of his life because it allowed him to get a firsthand account of the different countries he studied at GW.
"I majored in international affairs, with a concentration in contemporary society and culture, (and Semester at Sea) was the perfect fit," Callahan said. "I received a comparative view of cultures throughout the world, and it was this type of experience that supplemented my education to the fullest extent."
Paul Watson, senior director of enrollment management for the Institution for Shipboard Education, which runs Semester at Sea with the University of Pittsburgh, said the program is looking for a school with a "compatible mission."
"Semester at Sea takes the name of its (affiliated) institution around the world," Watson said. "Both the school and program must work together to make the academic program and experience for students the best it can be."
The University of Pittsburgh has sponsored Semester at Sea since 1981 and will sponsor two more voyages this fall and next spring before the program moves to a different university. Watson wouldn't elaborate on why the school's senior administration decided not to renew the university's contract with Semester at Sea. He also declined to name other schools looking to affiliate with the program.
Semester at Sea boasts more than 40,000 alumni and draws students from 265 colleges and universities. More than 300 GW students have taken to the seas to study in the program's traveling classrooms, and some former Semester at Sea participants said they were surprised to hear about the University's interest in the program. In the past, it has been difficult for GW students to get credit for their Semester at Sea classes.
"Because GW does not currently have Semester at Sea listed as an approved study abroad program, there is a petition process that is necessary to go through in order to participate and receive credit for the classes taken," said senior Lauren Butner, who was on the program last spring. "It is my understanding that students who aren't granted the approval and still want to participate have to take a leave of absence in order to continue with it."
Despite some complaints about bureaucratic hurdles, some of GW's Semester at Sea alumni raved about their study abroad experience.
"Once I looked into the program, I knew right away it's what I wanted to do," said senior Sylvia Pociask, who was on the spring 2005 voyage. "I've been traveling since I was one, and I just think the program gave me so many opportunities I never would have had otherwise."
"What made Semester at Sea such a good experience was the unique environment that we were all in," Butner said. "Not only were we able to witness almost every sunset from the middle of the ocean, but we were able to wake up with the knowledge that just outside our school walls was a new country with a whole new culture to explore and learn from."
By: Marissa Levy
Call it the Somewhere-in-the-Middle-of-the-Ocean Campus. GW is among a handful of universities vying to affiliate with the Semester at Sea program, after the University of Pittsburgh announced it will cut its ties with the program next spring.
University administrators said they are researching the study abroad program to see how it would fit into the mission and culture of GW. Peter Konwerski, executive director of administrative partnerships, said GW is one of several schools looking to work with Semester at Sea and hopes it will be chosen when the directors of the program pick a new academic sponsor by the end of the semester.
More than 600 students board the MV Express cruise ship each semester to travel the globe and take classes with Semester at Sea. The 100-day program brings students to countries in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe, and makes extended port stops in different nations to give students an authentic view of foreign cultures.
Konwerski said that in the next few weeks, officials will talk to students and faculty members to gauge their interest in the potential partnership. He added that Semester at Sea's worldwide itinerary might especially appeal to the GW community.
"Obviously our students are very interested in international affairs and global issues, and (Semester at Sea) is a more unique type of international opportunity," he said.
GW graduate Joseph Callahan, who went on the program in spring 2003, said Semester at Sea was the best experience of his life because it allowed him to get a firsthand account of the different countries he studied at GW.
"I majored in international affairs, with a concentration in contemporary society and culture, (and Semester at Sea) was the perfect fit," Callahan said. "I received a comparative view of cultures throughout the world, and it was this type of experience that supplemented my education to the fullest extent."
Paul Watson, senior director of enrollment management for the Institution for Shipboard Education, which runs Semester at Sea with the University of Pittsburgh, said the program is looking for a school with a "compatible mission."
"Semester at Sea takes the name of its (affiliated) institution around the world," Watson said. "Both the school and program must work together to make the academic program and experience for students the best it can be."
The University of Pittsburgh has sponsored Semester at Sea since 1981 and will sponsor two more voyages this fall and next spring before the program moves to a different university. Watson wouldn't elaborate on why the school's senior administration decided not to renew the university's contract with Semester at Sea. He also declined to name other schools looking to affiliate with the program.
Semester at Sea boasts more than 40,000 alumni and draws students from 265 colleges and universities. More than 300 GW students have taken to the seas to study in the program's traveling classrooms, and some former Semester at Sea participants said they were surprised to hear about the University's interest in the program. In the past, it has been difficult for GW students to get credit for their Semester at Sea classes.
"Because GW does not currently have Semester at Sea listed as an approved study abroad program, there is a petition process that is necessary to go through in order to participate and receive credit for the classes taken," said senior Lauren Butner, who was on the program last spring. "It is my understanding that students who aren't granted the approval and still want to participate have to take a leave of absence in order to continue with it."
Despite some complaints about bureaucratic hurdles, some of GW's Semester at Sea alumni raved about their study abroad experience.
"Once I looked into the program, I knew right away it's what I wanted to do," said senior Sylvia Pociask, who was on the spring 2005 voyage. "I've been traveling since I was one, and I just think the program gave me so many opportunities I never would have had otherwise."
"What made Semester at Sea such a good experience was the unique environment that we were all in," Butner said. "Not only were we able to witness almost every sunset from the middle of the ocean, but we were able to wake up with the knowledge that just outside our school walls was a new country with a whole new culture to explore and learn from."
Alumni create GW exclaves in D.C. area
Published May 16, 2005 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
When GW graduate Jen Tobia wants to see some of her fellow alumni, all she has to do is hop on the Metro.
"It's fun when you have friends who live along the Orange line, because they're all willing to meet up," she said.
As many seniors opt to live and work in D.C. after graduation, they can find the comfort of familiar faces all around the city. Pockets of GW graduates exist in several D.C. neighborhoods and surrounding suburban areas, creating GW communities outside of Foggy Bottom.
"I have a close-knit group of friends who stayed in the area, which made it easier to make the transition from college to the real world," said Tobia, who moved to Ballston, Va., after graduating last year. The suburban neighborhood is a 15-minute ride on the Orange line from Foggy Bottom.
Tobia said she had little trouble finding a job in the District after graduation and that she enjoys living in a community made up mostly of young professionals. She added that she especially likes Ballston's cheap rent prices and its neighborhood feeling.
"Living in D.C., you pay for a one-bedroom (apartment) what you would pay for a two-bedroom in Virginia," she said. "And I feel safer at night."
Alumna Lauren Gaito said she decided to stay in the District after graduation last year to explore the city's abundant job options.
"A big part of the reason people come to GW is to get a job," said Gaito, now a resident of Arlington, Va. "I knew I could get a job here so I stayed."
While some graduates may seek to live in areas outside D.C., city locations such as Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan are also attracting full-time employees who have just left college.
Janice James, executive director of Pat Taylor and Associates, Inc., a D.C. employment agency, said many college graduates live in the city for the variety of career and graduate school opportunities.
"I just look at this area as a land of opportunity, especially for people who don't know what they want to do," she said. "The job market here has a lot of variety, with a huge concentration of government law firms, private sector corporations and non-profit groups."
James added that many people find entry-level jobs working as paralegals, while jobs within the federal government are harder to come by "unless you came out of an honors program."
Gaito said she began working at a D.C. consulting firm the day after graduation, and that she first moved to Adams Morgan "to get out of Foggy Bottom."
"I didn't want to be near GW kids, but I wanted to be with people my age," she said. "Surprisingly, I run into people I graduated with all the time."
Sarah Jameson said that since moving to Clarendon, Va., she has met many fellow 2004 graduates who she never knew while taking classes here.
"You really get out of the GW bubble you lived in for four years," she said, "but you're only a five-minute Metro ride from the city."
By: Marissa Levy
When GW graduate Jen Tobia wants to see some of her fellow alumni, all she has to do is hop on the Metro.
"It's fun when you have friends who live along the Orange line, because they're all willing to meet up," she said.
As many seniors opt to live and work in D.C. after graduation, they can find the comfort of familiar faces all around the city. Pockets of GW graduates exist in several D.C. neighborhoods and surrounding suburban areas, creating GW communities outside of Foggy Bottom.
"I have a close-knit group of friends who stayed in the area, which made it easier to make the transition from college to the real world," said Tobia, who moved to Ballston, Va., after graduating last year. The suburban neighborhood is a 15-minute ride on the Orange line from Foggy Bottom.
Tobia said she had little trouble finding a job in the District after graduation and that she enjoys living in a community made up mostly of young professionals. She added that she especially likes Ballston's cheap rent prices and its neighborhood feeling.
"Living in D.C., you pay for a one-bedroom (apartment) what you would pay for a two-bedroom in Virginia," she said. "And I feel safer at night."
Alumna Lauren Gaito said she decided to stay in the District after graduation last year to explore the city's abundant job options.
"A big part of the reason people come to GW is to get a job," said Gaito, now a resident of Arlington, Va. "I knew I could get a job here so I stayed."
While some graduates may seek to live in areas outside D.C., city locations such as Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan are also attracting full-time employees who have just left college.
Janice James, executive director of Pat Taylor and Associates, Inc., a D.C. employment agency, said many college graduates live in the city for the variety of career and graduate school opportunities.
"I just look at this area as a land of opportunity, especially for people who don't know what they want to do," she said. "The job market here has a lot of variety, with a huge concentration of government law firms, private sector corporations and non-profit groups."
James added that many people find entry-level jobs working as paralegals, while jobs within the federal government are harder to come by "unless you came out of an honors program."
Gaito said she began working at a D.C. consulting firm the day after graduation, and that she first moved to Adams Morgan "to get out of Foggy Bottom."
"I didn't want to be near GW kids, but I wanted to be with people my age," she said. "Surprisingly, I run into people I graduated with all the time."
Sarah Jameson said that since moving to Clarendon, Va., she has met many fellow 2004 graduates who she never knew while taking classes here.
"You really get out of the GW bubble you lived in for four years," she said, "but you're only a five-minute Metro ride from the city."
Catering prices may for Senior Prom scaleback
Published March 10, 2005 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
For the past two years, GW's Senior Prom has brought students and low-income elderly citizens together for a night of dinner and dancing on the house. But this year, attendees may have to go without the free meal.
Some Student Association senators said they are reluctant to foot a $6,000 bill imposed on the charity event by the Colonial Catering service. The Senior Prom has been catered by food donations from local D.C. eateries in the past, but the 10-year contract agreed between the University and Aramark last summer stipulates that the GW food service provider must cater most events in the Marvin Center.
Junior John Van Name (CCAS-U), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said the event has nearly tripled in cost this year due to the requirement that it use Colonial Catering. The cost increase is coupled with the event not securing the same amount of outside support as it did in years past. In previous years, the event received approximately $2,000 from groups such as AT&T and Youth Service America.
With this year's catering cost increase, Van Name said the University told coordinators to turn to the SA for extra money.
"The bottom line is, the answer can't be, 'Oh we'll have the SA pay for it,'" Van Name said. "There's a scarce amount of funding, and $6,000 is a sizable chunk for one event."
Van Name complained about GW forcing groups to pay extra for Colonial Catering and added that the University should help pay some of the bill. The Senior Prom, which was never funded by the University, is being prominently featured in advertisements on buses and in newspapers as an example of GW reaching out to the community.
Johnnie Osborne, chief financial officer for Student and Academic Support Services, said he was familiar with the event but unaware of complaints regarding its cost.
Since the University mandated that Colonial Catering be the only option for Marvin Center events, several groups have voiced complaints about the food provider's high prices. Members of the Jewish Student Association, GW Hillel and the Muslim Student Association complained in an October Hatchet article that Colonial Catering was charging exorbitant prices for kosher and halal food, which adheres to religious standards.
Prom organizers said that regardless of whether they receive any money, they would still hold the Senior Prom on April 17, which is National Youth Service Day.
"We'll still have tables, chairs and music and provide as many services as we can," said Emily Morrison, a Neighbors Project coordinator in the Office of Community Service.
Sophomore Elizabeth Schmelzel, a prom committee member, said many of the senior citizens who attend the dance often have to choose between paying for food or medicine and added that organizers are obliged to get money to use the Colonial Catering service to feed elderly attendees. She called the group "reliable" and added that they fully cater events with high quality food.
"We really want to honor this generation, and serving them food that's not only good, but that there is enough of, is really important," she said.
Schemlzel added that that getting food donations from local restaurants is often difficult and can be unreliable, with many venues not making dishes large enough to feed the banquet's crowd.
Van Name said that while using Colonial Catering may seem like the "easy option," student organizations cannot be expected to pay large sums of money to Aramark when there are cheaper options available.
"The issue is not that we don't want to fund (the Senior Prom)," Van Name said. "We are hoping that the University will see this and say, 'We want to contribute.'"
Schmelzel said prom organizers are still seeking grant money from local business and other student organizations and does not expect the University to fund the dance.
By: Marissa Levy
For the past two years, GW's Senior Prom has brought students and low-income elderly citizens together for a night of dinner and dancing on the house. But this year, attendees may have to go without the free meal.
Some Student Association senators said they are reluctant to foot a $6,000 bill imposed on the charity event by the Colonial Catering service. The Senior Prom has been catered by food donations from local D.C. eateries in the past, but the 10-year contract agreed between the University and Aramark last summer stipulates that the GW food service provider must cater most events in the Marvin Center.
Junior John Van Name (CCAS-U), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said the event has nearly tripled in cost this year due to the requirement that it use Colonial Catering. The cost increase is coupled with the event not securing the same amount of outside support as it did in years past. In previous years, the event received approximately $2,000 from groups such as AT&T and Youth Service America.
With this year's catering cost increase, Van Name said the University told coordinators to turn to the SA for extra money.
"The bottom line is, the answer can't be, 'Oh we'll have the SA pay for it,'" Van Name said. "There's a scarce amount of funding, and $6,000 is a sizable chunk for one event."
Van Name complained about GW forcing groups to pay extra for Colonial Catering and added that the University should help pay some of the bill. The Senior Prom, which was never funded by the University, is being prominently featured in advertisements on buses and in newspapers as an example of GW reaching out to the community.
Johnnie Osborne, chief financial officer for Student and Academic Support Services, said he was familiar with the event but unaware of complaints regarding its cost.
Since the University mandated that Colonial Catering be the only option for Marvin Center events, several groups have voiced complaints about the food provider's high prices. Members of the Jewish Student Association, GW Hillel and the Muslim Student Association complained in an October Hatchet article that Colonial Catering was charging exorbitant prices for kosher and halal food, which adheres to religious standards.
Prom organizers said that regardless of whether they receive any money, they would still hold the Senior Prom on April 17, which is National Youth Service Day.
"We'll still have tables, chairs and music and provide as many services as we can," said Emily Morrison, a Neighbors Project coordinator in the Office of Community Service.
Sophomore Elizabeth Schmelzel, a prom committee member, said many of the senior citizens who attend the dance often have to choose between paying for food or medicine and added that organizers are obliged to get money to use the Colonial Catering service to feed elderly attendees. She called the group "reliable" and added that they fully cater events with high quality food.
"We really want to honor this generation, and serving them food that's not only good, but that there is enough of, is really important," she said.
Schemlzel added that that getting food donations from local restaurants is often difficult and can be unreliable, with many venues not making dishes large enough to feed the banquet's crowd.
Van Name said that while using Colonial Catering may seem like the "easy option," student organizations cannot be expected to pay large sums of money to Aramark when there are cheaper options available.
"The issue is not that we don't want to fund (the Senior Prom)," Van Name said. "We are hoping that the University will see this and say, 'We want to contribute.'"
Schmelzel said prom organizers are still seeking grant money from local business and other student organizations and does not expect the University to fund the dance.
With new Gelman Starbucks, 'end of universe' is on H Street
Published January 27, 2005 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
When comedian Louis Black performed at the Smith Center in August 2002, he claimed that the end of the universe was in Houston, because it had a street where a Starbucks was across from, alas, another Starbucks.
Little did he know that another black hole would pop up on the 2100 block of H Street, where the Marvin Center Starbucks is diagonally across the road from the newly opened Gelman Library Starbucks.
After years of planning and five months of construction, GW's fourth branch of the coffee house empire opened its doors to the public two weeks ago on the ground floor of the library. University officials and Starbucks representatives said they are excited to meet student demand for a conveniently caffeinated study break.
"The interest of the students (in a Gelman coffee shop) has gone back years," said Andrea Stewart, assistant librarian for administrative development and personnel. "It affords students who are studying here the opportunity to get some coffee and mingle with each other."
The Gelman store is one of four Starbucks locations in University-owned buildings; the other shops are in the Marvin Center, 1957 E St. and the GW Hospital. With additional Starbucks shops on 22nd and K streets and 20th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, the chain operates six branches in immediate proximity to Foggy Bottom.
"We are filling the need and voices that we heard from campus leadership that they wanted Starbucks to be a part of the campus community," said Starbucks' mid-Atlantic marketing specialist Amanda Marx. "We need to operate additional stores to provide quality customer service."
Some student customers said they enjoy the perks of the new Gelman café, while others questioned the necessity of another on-campus Starbucks across the street from the Marvin Center.
"(The Gelman Starbucks) is bigger, it's got couches, and it's more comfortable than J Street. It's a good environment to study in," graduate student Basak Kaya said.
Kaya added that the ever-present crowds at other Starbucks locations demonstrate the high demand for coffee on GW's campus.
"The seating is always full in other Starbucks. Now, if you get fed up studying, you can always come down here," she said. "It's like a reading room with coffee available."
But junior Liana Galardi said she is sick of the growing Starbucks monopoly.
"I would prefer if there were independently run coffee shops all over, but it's convenient to have these around campus. I thought of boycotting (Starbucks), but I decided to just get over it," she said, a Starbucks coffee cup in her hand.
Marx said the demand for coffeehouses tends to be higher in city centers than in other suburban or rural areas, and that the numerous Starbucks branches on and near campus also cater to D.C.'s working population. Washington, a city with about 600,000 residents, has 48 Starbucks coffeehouses, almost all of them situated in the Northwest quadrant. New York, with 8 million people, has 149 outlets of the Seattle-based coffee shop chain.
"GW is unique in that it is in the heart of downtown business along K Street and Pennsylvania Avenue," Marx said. "While GW students are an important part of Starbucks' customer community in this area, we also open stores near the campus to serve the heavy daytime population working in this area."
The new store is also equipped with the University's GWireless Internet service, which is free to members of the GW community, as opposed to the T-Mobile Hot Spot wireless Internet that can be used by customers for a fee at other Starbucks locations.
Stewart said the Gelman store, which is leased to and independently operated by the coffee chain, is a valuable addition to GW's central library, with a portion of the rental fees paid by Starbucks to the University going to directly benefit Gelman's improvement.
The Gelman Starbucks will remain open until midnight Monday through Friday but will close earlier on the weekends. Stewart said she hopes the store will eventually become a 24-hour venue.
By: Marissa Levy
When comedian Louis Black performed at the Smith Center in August 2002, he claimed that the end of the universe was in Houston, because it had a street where a Starbucks was across from, alas, another Starbucks.
Little did he know that another black hole would pop up on the 2100 block of H Street, where the Marvin Center Starbucks is diagonally across the road from the newly opened Gelman Library Starbucks.
After years of planning and five months of construction, GW's fourth branch of the coffee house empire opened its doors to the public two weeks ago on the ground floor of the library. University officials and Starbucks representatives said they are excited to meet student demand for a conveniently caffeinated study break.
"The interest of the students (in a Gelman coffee shop) has gone back years," said Andrea Stewart, assistant librarian for administrative development and personnel. "It affords students who are studying here the opportunity to get some coffee and mingle with each other."
The Gelman store is one of four Starbucks locations in University-owned buildings; the other shops are in the Marvin Center, 1957 E St. and the GW Hospital. With additional Starbucks shops on 22nd and K streets and 20th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, the chain operates six branches in immediate proximity to Foggy Bottom.
"We are filling the need and voices that we heard from campus leadership that they wanted Starbucks to be a part of the campus community," said Starbucks' mid-Atlantic marketing specialist Amanda Marx. "We need to operate additional stores to provide quality customer service."
Some student customers said they enjoy the perks of the new Gelman café, while others questioned the necessity of another on-campus Starbucks across the street from the Marvin Center.
"(The Gelman Starbucks) is bigger, it's got couches, and it's more comfortable than J Street. It's a good environment to study in," graduate student Basak Kaya said.
Kaya added that the ever-present crowds at other Starbucks locations demonstrate the high demand for coffee on GW's campus.
"The seating is always full in other Starbucks. Now, if you get fed up studying, you can always come down here," she said. "It's like a reading room with coffee available."
But junior Liana Galardi said she is sick of the growing Starbucks monopoly.
"I would prefer if there were independently run coffee shops all over, but it's convenient to have these around campus. I thought of boycotting (Starbucks), but I decided to just get over it," she said, a Starbucks coffee cup in her hand.
Marx said the demand for coffeehouses tends to be higher in city centers than in other suburban or rural areas, and that the numerous Starbucks branches on and near campus also cater to D.C.'s working population. Washington, a city with about 600,000 residents, has 48 Starbucks coffeehouses, almost all of them situated in the Northwest quadrant. New York, with 8 million people, has 149 outlets of the Seattle-based coffee shop chain.
"GW is unique in that it is in the heart of downtown business along K Street and Pennsylvania Avenue," Marx said. "While GW students are an important part of Starbucks' customer community in this area, we also open stores near the campus to serve the heavy daytime population working in this area."
The new store is also equipped with the University's GWireless Internet service, which is free to members of the GW community, as opposed to the T-Mobile Hot Spot wireless Internet that can be used by customers for a fee at other Starbucks locations.
Stewart said the Gelman store, which is leased to and independently operated by the coffee chain, is a valuable addition to GW's central library, with a portion of the rental fees paid by Starbucks to the University going to directly benefit Gelman's improvement.
The Gelman Starbucks will remain open until midnight Monday through Friday but will close earlier on the weekends. Stewart said she hopes the store will eventually become a 24-hour venue.
Survivors: Students barely escape tsunami
Published January 20, 2005 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
While most of the GW community watched the events of the Southeast Asian tsunami unfold from the safety of their living rooms, three students spent Dec. 26 running from the giant wave.
Sophomores Zeke Williams, Laraine Hsu and Nat Kampanatsanyakorn were vacationing in Krabi, Thailand, during winter break when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake underneath the Indian Ocean sent a devastating tsunami spiraling over the water, eventually killing more than 150,000 people. It is unknown whether other students were in the parts of a half-dozen countries severely affected by the tsunami.
What was supposed to be a fun day of kayaking for Kampanatsanyakorn and rock climbing for Williams and his girlfriend, Hsu, turned into a dangerous experience that nearly claimed the three students' lives.
Kampanatsanyakorn was kayaking on the waters of Tubkaek Beach with her family when the deadly wave hit southern Thailand. Before the oncoming devastation, the tide dragged her and her party out to sea.
"When me and my sister came out into the ocean we saw a wave across the ocean, but we didn't know it was a tsunami from the distance," said Kampanatsanyakorn, who is originally from Thailand.
She said the kayaking guide advised the family to grab onto branches of surrounding trees when they found themselves stranded in water near the shore facing the oncoming tsunami.
"I held onto the branch with one hand, and the other hand was holding onto the boat and my sister," she said. When the first wave hit the shores, Kampanatsanyakorn was hit in the face with her kayak and forced under water.
"I was fighting for air all the time and it was the second that I needed air that I came out of the water when the wave had passed," she said.
Kampanatsanyakorn climbed up a tree and managed to escape the second and third waves, but her mother was dragged across a creek when she lost her grip.
Originally separated for hours, Kampanatsanyakorn and her family reunited with only minor cuts and bruises. She said she never found out what happened to two of her fellow kayakers who were washed out to sea by the raging waters.
Kampanatsanyakorn and her family volunteered as English translators at the Krabi hospital a day after the deadly wave hit the nation to help injured tourists communicate with doctors and nurses. Williams and Hsu, who were also on vacation near Krabi, visited the hospital the day of the tsunami after running from the wave.
Williams, Hsu, and Hsu's family were scaling the limestone cliffs of Railey Beach the Sunday morning when the deadly wave struck. The couple had their backs to the ocean as the wave approached the shore, but when a French boy starting screaming words they didn't understand, Williams and Hsu turned toward the water to see the rising tsunami.
"We looked at the ocean and saw there were four to five boats racing towards us at about 40 miles per hour," Hsu said. "When we saw there was a wave right behind the boats, my friend Rob screamed 'tsunami' and everyone started running."
As the waters began flooding the island, Williams, Hsu and her family ran to higher ground in the center of the island and waited for hours until it was safe to return to the lowlands, Hsu said. The western face of Railey Beach was mostly destroyed, and Williams and Hsu said some of their belongings at their resort were looted. The couple said they, along with many others on the island, were not concerned with stolen items. They were just happy to be alive.
"It definitely opens your eyes to the power of nature and how we all have to take care of each other," Hsu said. "It was really touching to see how people opened up and lent a hand to anybody."
"I felt overwhelmed by the kindness people offered," said Kampanatsanyakorn, whose family was sheltered by strangers for two hours after the tsunami hit.
She added that she feels an obligation to help other victims after her experience in Thailand, and as program director of GW's Chinese American Student Association, she will be donating money raised at February's annual Chinese New Year show to tsunami relief efforts.
By: Marissa Levy
While most of the GW community watched the events of the Southeast Asian tsunami unfold from the safety of their living rooms, three students spent Dec. 26 running from the giant wave.
Sophomores Zeke Williams, Laraine Hsu and Nat Kampanatsanyakorn were vacationing in Krabi, Thailand, during winter break when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake underneath the Indian Ocean sent a devastating tsunami spiraling over the water, eventually killing more than 150,000 people. It is unknown whether other students were in the parts of a half-dozen countries severely affected by the tsunami.
What was supposed to be a fun day of kayaking for Kampanatsanyakorn and rock climbing for Williams and his girlfriend, Hsu, turned into a dangerous experience that nearly claimed the three students' lives.
Kampanatsanyakorn was kayaking on the waters of Tubkaek Beach with her family when the deadly wave hit southern Thailand. Before the oncoming devastation, the tide dragged her and her party out to sea.
"When me and my sister came out into the ocean we saw a wave across the ocean, but we didn't know it was a tsunami from the distance," said Kampanatsanyakorn, who is originally from Thailand.
She said the kayaking guide advised the family to grab onto branches of surrounding trees when they found themselves stranded in water near the shore facing the oncoming tsunami.
"I held onto the branch with one hand, and the other hand was holding onto the boat and my sister," she said. When the first wave hit the shores, Kampanatsanyakorn was hit in the face with her kayak and forced under water.
"I was fighting for air all the time and it was the second that I needed air that I came out of the water when the wave had passed," she said.
Kampanatsanyakorn climbed up a tree and managed to escape the second and third waves, but her mother was dragged across a creek when she lost her grip.
Originally separated for hours, Kampanatsanyakorn and her family reunited with only minor cuts and bruises. She said she never found out what happened to two of her fellow kayakers who were washed out to sea by the raging waters.
Kampanatsanyakorn and her family volunteered as English translators at the Krabi hospital a day after the deadly wave hit the nation to help injured tourists communicate with doctors and nurses. Williams and Hsu, who were also on vacation near Krabi, visited the hospital the day of the tsunami after running from the wave.
Williams, Hsu, and Hsu's family were scaling the limestone cliffs of Railey Beach the Sunday morning when the deadly wave struck. The couple had their backs to the ocean as the wave approached the shore, but when a French boy starting screaming words they didn't understand, Williams and Hsu turned toward the water to see the rising tsunami.
"We looked at the ocean and saw there were four to five boats racing towards us at about 40 miles per hour," Hsu said. "When we saw there was a wave right behind the boats, my friend Rob screamed 'tsunami' and everyone started running."
As the waters began flooding the island, Williams, Hsu and her family ran to higher ground in the center of the island and waited for hours until it was safe to return to the lowlands, Hsu said. The western face of Railey Beach was mostly destroyed, and Williams and Hsu said some of their belongings at their resort were looted. The couple said they, along with many others on the island, were not concerned with stolen items. They were just happy to be alive.
"It definitely opens your eyes to the power of nature and how we all have to take care of each other," Hsu said. "It was really touching to see how people opened up and lent a hand to anybody."
"I felt overwhelmed by the kindness people offered," said Kampanatsanyakorn, whose family was sheltered by strangers for two hours after the tsunami hit.
She added that she feels an obligation to help other victims after her experience in Thailand, and as program director of GW's Chinese American Student Association, she will be donating money raised at February's annual Chinese New Year show to tsunami relief efforts.
Fixit service draws complains
Published November 4, 2004 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
It was a crisp, misty fall afternoon for most GW students on Saturday, Oct. 16, but it was raining hard inside the room of one Ivory Tower resident.
Senior Kristen Loke said she called the Critical Call Center early Saturday morning to report a small leak from the light fixture in her bathroom ceiling. At 2:30 p.m., after the campus repair service placed a bucket under the leak earlier that morning, a two-foot wide hole in her ceiling appeared, allowing two inches of water flood her room.
"(Residential Property Management) told me everything would be fixed and cleaned in the morning, but I knew that wasn't going to happen," Loke said. "I couldn't stay in my room for two days, even though every day they told me it would be ready the next day."
Her room was not fully repaired until Thursday, five days after she first reported the ceiling leak.
Loke is not the only student upset with the University's maintenance response. Some students are complaining that Fixit and the Critical Call Center, which respond to residence hall repair issues, take a long time to handle requests and provide insufficient service. With Fixit, students can request service for minor repair issues online; the Critical Call Center features a 24-hour hotline for maintenance emergencies, such as broken glass or a clogged toilet.
Sophomore James Finnegan said he has been waiting a month for Fixit to respond to several online repair requests.
"In some ways (the complaint) seems minor, but the way I think about it is, I'm living in New Hall and paying this extra money for room and board and for all these amenities," he said. "If they don't work, where's all our money going to? It's kind of ridiculous."
Finnegan said the University's repair service, which he called for maintenance issues present when he moved into his room, has mistakenly assumed that his requests have been answered.
"Somehow they get it in their heads that things were fixed when they weren't. How can the person managing the system on the other end not know where their workers are?" he said.
Eric Hougen, project manager for the Office of Business and Operations, acknowledged recent student dissatisfaction with the Fixit service in a letter Friday.
"The University takes these complaints very seriously and is looking into ways to shorten the response time," he wrote.
Though University officials said Fixit is not understaffed, Hougen said Facilities Management, which deals with University maintenance issues, is hiring two plumbers and two electricians.
Hougen added that for non-urgent service requests, Fixit aims to dispatch maintenance workers within 10 business days of a request, but depending on "the volume of high-priority critical calls, weather conditions and campus events, routine service response may take longer."
Executive Vice President and Treasurer Louis Katz said he has asked Residential Property Management for a report on the leak in Loke's room to examine if the maintenance workers "did what they were supposed to do." The report will also determine whether Ivory Tower rooms have had an abnormal number of leaks since it opened in late August.
Loke said she expects to be reimbursed by the University for the $12 she spent on laundry and dry cleaning after the flooding. Katz said that any student whose room is damaged will receive financial restitution.
"If a student did nothing wrong, they're held harmless," he said in an interview last month.
Still, Loke said she is dissatisfied with her experience with Residential Property Management.
"Every time (I called) they would give me a different number and tell me things would get done," Loke said. "They made me feel like everything was my fault even though they kept screwing up. I don't think they understood that this was my home and not just a unit in their property."
Despite some negative student experiences, others said Fixit and the Critical Call Center are reliable campus services.
"Fixit is really efficient and quick," freshman Debby Huszagh said. "Last week one of our fuses blew, and within an hour (workers) came and fixed it."
When freshman Eric Edwards' mini-fridge shorted out, Fixit brought a new one within the hour.
"I think they did an excellent job," he said.
"(Fixit) is decent, as long as you're persistent about it," sophomore Geoff Bendleck said. "If you call, they're pretty good about coming out."
By: Marissa Levy
It was a crisp, misty fall afternoon for most GW students on Saturday, Oct. 16, but it was raining hard inside the room of one Ivory Tower resident.
Senior Kristen Loke said she called the Critical Call Center early Saturday morning to report a small leak from the light fixture in her bathroom ceiling. At 2:30 p.m., after the campus repair service placed a bucket under the leak earlier that morning, a two-foot wide hole in her ceiling appeared, allowing two inches of water flood her room.
"(Residential Property Management) told me everything would be fixed and cleaned in the morning, but I knew that wasn't going to happen," Loke said. "I couldn't stay in my room for two days, even though every day they told me it would be ready the next day."
Her room was not fully repaired until Thursday, five days after she first reported the ceiling leak.
Loke is not the only student upset with the University's maintenance response. Some students are complaining that Fixit and the Critical Call Center, which respond to residence hall repair issues, take a long time to handle requests and provide insufficient service. With Fixit, students can request service for minor repair issues online; the Critical Call Center features a 24-hour hotline for maintenance emergencies, such as broken glass or a clogged toilet.
Sophomore James Finnegan said he has been waiting a month for Fixit to respond to several online repair requests.
"In some ways (the complaint) seems minor, but the way I think about it is, I'm living in New Hall and paying this extra money for room and board and for all these amenities," he said. "If they don't work, where's all our money going to? It's kind of ridiculous."
Finnegan said the University's repair service, which he called for maintenance issues present when he moved into his room, has mistakenly assumed that his requests have been answered.
"Somehow they get it in their heads that things were fixed when they weren't. How can the person managing the system on the other end not know where their workers are?" he said.
Eric Hougen, project manager for the Office of Business and Operations, acknowledged recent student dissatisfaction with the Fixit service in a letter Friday.
"The University takes these complaints very seriously and is looking into ways to shorten the response time," he wrote.
Though University officials said Fixit is not understaffed, Hougen said Facilities Management, which deals with University maintenance issues, is hiring two plumbers and two electricians.
Hougen added that for non-urgent service requests, Fixit aims to dispatch maintenance workers within 10 business days of a request, but depending on "the volume of high-priority critical calls, weather conditions and campus events, routine service response may take longer."
Executive Vice President and Treasurer Louis Katz said he has asked Residential Property Management for a report on the leak in Loke's room to examine if the maintenance workers "did what they were supposed to do." The report will also determine whether Ivory Tower rooms have had an abnormal number of leaks since it opened in late August.
Loke said she expects to be reimbursed by the University for the $12 she spent on laundry and dry cleaning after the flooding. Katz said that any student whose room is damaged will receive financial restitution.
"If a student did nothing wrong, they're held harmless," he said in an interview last month.
Still, Loke said she is dissatisfied with her experience with Residential Property Management.
"Every time (I called) they would give me a different number and tell me things would get done," Loke said. "They made me feel like everything was my fault even though they kept screwing up. I don't think they understood that this was my home and not just a unit in their property."
Despite some negative student experiences, others said Fixit and the Critical Call Center are reliable campus services.
"Fixit is really efficient and quick," freshman Debby Huszagh said. "Last week one of our fuses blew, and within an hour (workers) came and fixed it."
When freshman Eric Edwards' mini-fridge shorted out, Fixit brought a new one within the hour.
"I think they did an excellent job," he said.
"(Fixit) is decent, as long as you're persistent about it," sophomore Geoff Bendleck said. "If you call, they're pretty good about coming out."
Jews for Jesus riles campus groups
Published September 27, 2004 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
Jews for Jesus, which just finished a month-long evangelical campaign, is facing objections from some on-campus religious groups.
The independent religious organization, which says that Jews can maintain their religious identity while still believing in Jesus as the messiah, began operation "Behold Your God" in D.C. in mid-August.
While reaching out to the District area's 215,000 Jews at public locations, solicitors handed out literature to GW students during the Jewish High Holy Days of mid-September. Jews for Jesus members handed out pamphlets in front of the Marvin Center and Lisner Auditorium last week.
"We go to all campuses where there's a sizable population of Jewish students because we're trying to reach Jewish people and engage in the discussion of whether Jesus is our promised messiah or not," said Stephen Katz, director of D.C.'s branch of Jews for Jesus.
The group also took out a full-page advertisement in the Sept. 9 issue of The Hatchet, promoting a "path of peace" between Jews and Palestinians through their mutual acceptance of Jesus Christ.
But the ad stirred controversy at the University's Jewish student center. GW Hillel, along with the Western Presbyterian Church, placed a full-page ad in The Hatchet a week later, denouncing the presence of Jews for Jesus on campus and their evangelistic efforts aimed at GW students.
"Their goal isn't to have someone remain Jewish and love Jesus, their goal is to have someone convert (to Christianity)," GW Hillel director Simon Amiel said. "We hope the ad will reach people who might be taking the pamphlets seriously."
The message printed in The Hatchet also accused Jews for Jesus of using deceptive tactics and mistranslating and misquoting both Jewish and Christian scriptures.
Amiel said Jews for Jesus "poses as a threat because it seeks to essentially end the global Jewish community." He added that GW Hillel is taking actions to counter the group's message and is trying to arrange an information session with Baltimore-based Jews for Judaism, which actively opposes groups seeking to convert Jews.
"We spend as much time as we can out there connecting to students who seem to be upset by a Jews for Jesus encounter," Amiel said.
Katz said he was disappointed with the counter ad run by Hillel and the Western Presbyterian Church.
"It saddens me that basically (the GW Hillel and the Western Presbyterian Church) are trying to be thought police for the Jewish students," Katz said. "People at GW are smart; if they would take a serious-minded look at Jesus's claims to be the messiah, there might be any number of students who find that to be true."
Despite the ads, Katz said the Washington branch of Jews for Jesus still plans to send representatives to campus throughout the year. The group might also hold Bible studies and group discussions with students. In April, Katz spoke to about 50 students in the Marvin Center as part of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Jesus Awareness Week.
GW students have expressed interest in the message of Jews for Jesus, said Katz, who has organized a number of discussions on campus.
But some GW students said the evangelical group is just a nuisance.
"They're kind of annoying, but if that's what they want to do, that's what they're going to do," sophomore Sam Sandberg said. "I haven't seen anyone take them seriously."
John Walker, a first-year law student, said he sees no harm in having Jews for Jesus on campus.
"Everybody has a right to do what they want to do," Walker said. "(Jews for Jesus) is just standing on corners and handing out fliers."
By: Marissa Levy
Jews for Jesus, which just finished a month-long evangelical campaign, is facing objections from some on-campus religious groups.
The independent religious organization, which says that Jews can maintain their religious identity while still believing in Jesus as the messiah, began operation "Behold Your God" in D.C. in mid-August.
While reaching out to the District area's 215,000 Jews at public locations, solicitors handed out literature to GW students during the Jewish High Holy Days of mid-September. Jews for Jesus members handed out pamphlets in front of the Marvin Center and Lisner Auditorium last week.
"We go to all campuses where there's a sizable population of Jewish students because we're trying to reach Jewish people and engage in the discussion of whether Jesus is our promised messiah or not," said Stephen Katz, director of D.C.'s branch of Jews for Jesus.
The group also took out a full-page advertisement in the Sept. 9 issue of The Hatchet, promoting a "path of peace" between Jews and Palestinians through their mutual acceptance of Jesus Christ.
But the ad stirred controversy at the University's Jewish student center. GW Hillel, along with the Western Presbyterian Church, placed a full-page ad in The Hatchet a week later, denouncing the presence of Jews for Jesus on campus and their evangelistic efforts aimed at GW students.
"Their goal isn't to have someone remain Jewish and love Jesus, their goal is to have someone convert (to Christianity)," GW Hillel director Simon Amiel said. "We hope the ad will reach people who might be taking the pamphlets seriously."
The message printed in The Hatchet also accused Jews for Jesus of using deceptive tactics and mistranslating and misquoting both Jewish and Christian scriptures.
Amiel said Jews for Jesus "poses as a threat because it seeks to essentially end the global Jewish community." He added that GW Hillel is taking actions to counter the group's message and is trying to arrange an information session with Baltimore-based Jews for Judaism, which actively opposes groups seeking to convert Jews.
"We spend as much time as we can out there connecting to students who seem to be upset by a Jews for Jesus encounter," Amiel said.
Katz said he was disappointed with the counter ad run by Hillel and the Western Presbyterian Church.
"It saddens me that basically (the GW Hillel and the Western Presbyterian Church) are trying to be thought police for the Jewish students," Katz said. "People at GW are smart; if they would take a serious-minded look at Jesus's claims to be the messiah, there might be any number of students who find that to be true."
Despite the ads, Katz said the Washington branch of Jews for Jesus still plans to send representatives to campus throughout the year. The group might also hold Bible studies and group discussions with students. In April, Katz spoke to about 50 students in the Marvin Center as part of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Jesus Awareness Week.
GW students have expressed interest in the message of Jews for Jesus, said Katz, who has organized a number of discussions on campus.
But some GW students said the evangelical group is just a nuisance.
"They're kind of annoying, but if that's what they want to do, that's what they're going to do," sophomore Sam Sandberg said. "I haven't seen anyone take them seriously."
John Walker, a first-year law student, said he sees no harm in having Jews for Jesus on campus.
"Everybody has a right to do what they want to do," Walker said. "(Jews for Jesus) is just standing on corners and handing out fliers."
MTV advocates voter awareness at GW
Published April 22, 2004 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
Leaders of the Democratic and Republican national committees teamed up with MTV in the Jack Morton Auditorium Monday to promote political awareness and activism among American youth.
At the press conference, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago announced two essay contests, one for each party, geared towards people between the ages of 18 and 24.
The winners will speak at one of the two parties' national conventions this summer, where the official 2004 presidential candidates from each party will be announced.
"The youth vote is so important, that's why we're doing something bipartisan," said McAuliffe, as he announced the Democrats' essay contest.
Announcing the Republican contest, Gillespie said he was excited to bring in more youth voters and raise political awareness in college-age Americans.
"We're anxious to hear from our contestants," he said.
In front of a crowd of about 60 students and journalists, Yago promoted MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign, which seeks to mobilize 20 million 18 to 30-year-old voters for the November election.
"We're going to prove that young people are engaged in the political process as much as ever," Yago said.
The musical group Third Day also spoke at Monday's event, voicing their support for President Bush and reiterating the need for young people to vote.
"If we don't choose we really do lose," said Tai Anderson, the group's bassist.
According to a press release issued Monday by both committees, the Republican "Stand Up and Holla'" contest encourages young adults to reflect on President Bush's call to community service, while the Democratic "Speak Out for the Future" essay will question contestants on the importance of young people in politics.
All 18-to 24-year-olds interested in entering the contest can find more information on the committee Web sites, where they will also be able to submit their entries from now until May 28. A selection committee for each party will choose 10 finalists by June 15, and the public will vote on the final speakers. The winners will be announced on MTV's "Total Request Live" July 19 or 20.
The event featured a Q-and-A period that allowed students to pick the brains of the two committee chairmen.
McAuliffe denied allegations that he used "negative language" to describe past College Republicans efforts, saying, "I (support) young people from both political parties, and independents as well."
"(W)hoever wants to come out here and vote, let's go," said McAuliffe in response to a question from junior Lee Roupas, chairman of the College Republicans.
Before the press conference, the College Democrats and College Republicans sponsored voter registration rallies in anticipation of the party chairmen's arrival.
The Republican event in front of the Media and Public Affairs building featured a hummer named "Reggie Jr.," a miniature version of Reggie the Registration rig that travels all over the country to register voters. The Democratic rally in front of T.G.I. Fridays on I Street featured music sponsored by the D.C. radio station WKYS.
During the conference, offensive chanting broke out between the CRs and CDs outside the SMPA building as the essay contest was announced.
"It was like a fight; they chanted one thing and we chanted another," said Catholic University junior Jessica Casper, a member of the College Democrats.
"It was just a lot of negativity that I think is really unnecessary ... especially on the streets of D.C.," she added.
Casper said that the CRs chanted slogans such as "Kerry for terrorists," while the CDs countered with refrains about President Bush such as "Like father, like son, four years and he's done."
By: Marissa Levy
Leaders of the Democratic and Republican national committees teamed up with MTV in the Jack Morton Auditorium Monday to promote political awareness and activism among American youth.
At the press conference, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago announced two essay contests, one for each party, geared towards people between the ages of 18 and 24.
The winners will speak at one of the two parties' national conventions this summer, where the official 2004 presidential candidates from each party will be announced.
"The youth vote is so important, that's why we're doing something bipartisan," said McAuliffe, as he announced the Democrats' essay contest.
Announcing the Republican contest, Gillespie said he was excited to bring in more youth voters and raise political awareness in college-age Americans.
"We're anxious to hear from our contestants," he said.
In front of a crowd of about 60 students and journalists, Yago promoted MTV's "Choose or Lose" campaign, which seeks to mobilize 20 million 18 to 30-year-old voters for the November election.
"We're going to prove that young people are engaged in the political process as much as ever," Yago said.
The musical group Third Day also spoke at Monday's event, voicing their support for President Bush and reiterating the need for young people to vote.
"If we don't choose we really do lose," said Tai Anderson, the group's bassist.
According to a press release issued Monday by both committees, the Republican "Stand Up and Holla'" contest encourages young adults to reflect on President Bush's call to community service, while the Democratic "Speak Out for the Future" essay will question contestants on the importance of young people in politics.
All 18-to 24-year-olds interested in entering the contest can find more information on the committee Web sites, where they will also be able to submit their entries from now until May 28. A selection committee for each party will choose 10 finalists by June 15, and the public will vote on the final speakers. The winners will be announced on MTV's "Total Request Live" July 19 or 20.
The event featured a Q-and-A period that allowed students to pick the brains of the two committee chairmen.
McAuliffe denied allegations that he used "negative language" to describe past College Republicans efforts, saying, "I (support) young people from both political parties, and independents as well."
"(W)hoever wants to come out here and vote, let's go," said McAuliffe in response to a question from junior Lee Roupas, chairman of the College Republicans.
Before the press conference, the College Democrats and College Republicans sponsored voter registration rallies in anticipation of the party chairmen's arrival.
The Republican event in front of the Media and Public Affairs building featured a hummer named "Reggie Jr.," a miniature version of Reggie the Registration rig that travels all over the country to register voters. The Democratic rally in front of T.G.I. Fridays on I Street featured music sponsored by the D.C. radio station WKYS.
During the conference, offensive chanting broke out between the CRs and CDs outside the SMPA building as the essay contest was announced.
"It was like a fight; they chanted one thing and we chanted another," said Catholic University junior Jessica Casper, a member of the College Democrats.
"It was just a lot of negativity that I think is really unnecessary ... especially on the streets of D.C.," she added.
Casper said that the CRs chanted slogans such as "Kerry for terrorists," while the CDs countered with refrains about President Bush such as "Like father, like son, four years and he's done."
GW websites still unavailable in China
Published April 12, 2004 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
GW officials and the Chinese government are trading allegations over why the University is one of more than 19,000 organizations whose Web sites is frequently inaccessible in China.
The Chinese government told GW officials that it does not block the University's sites and that the inability of Internet users to log on to the sites is caused by GW's computer filtering system.
But in interviews last week, GW officials said the University's computer filtering system should not impede access to its pages. Information Systems and Services first discovered that the University's sites could not be accessed in September 2002, said Kerry Washburn, ISS director of Administrative Applications.
"ISS is not deploying any 'filtering' that would prevent a population from accessing GW Web sites," Washburn wrote in an e-mail. "These sites are accessible through the public Internet."
"Since the filtering occurs in China, there is no technical solution available to us to prevent it," she added.
David Shambaugh, a GW political science professor who heads the China Policy Program, called for University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg to write a formal letter of protest and meet with the Chinese ambassador if it is determined that China blocks GW's sites. Chinese government officials at the country's embassy in D.C. would not comment about the issue.
The Chinese government "maintains an active interest in preventing users from viewing certain web content," according to a 2002 study conducted by Harvard University. More than 19,000 sites containing information about Taiwan, democracy and certain political issues are often inaccessible in the communist country.
Sites operated by the United States Army, Islamic Virtual School, Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the most frequently unreachable Web sites in China, according to the study.
Students studying in China have notified study abroad officials about the inability to reach GW's pages, said Office for Study Abroad Director Lynn Leonard, who noted that the sites' inaccessibility is "an inconvenience that might be expected when you study in another country."
Some students studying in China said they are frustrated that they cannot log on to GW services such as Banner and Colonial Mail
"I'm supposed to have less worries on my study abroad experience, but since the GW Web site is out of commission in China, I always have to keep in constant contact with my family and friends to see if everything of mine is in order for next year," said Richard Chin, who is studying in Shanghai and uses a Hotmail account while in China.
Chin said he is unable to register for classes next semester and that a "caretaker" or trusted friend living on campus will use his Banner code to sign him into classes.
"Jostling for classes is already a headache, but having someone else sign in for you is (even) riskier," Chin said.
GW does not offer alternative sites that would provide information or services to students studying in China.
By: Marissa Levy
GW officials and the Chinese government are trading allegations over why the University is one of more than 19,000 organizations whose Web sites is frequently inaccessible in China.
The Chinese government told GW officials that it does not block the University's sites and that the inability of Internet users to log on to the sites is caused by GW's computer filtering system.
But in interviews last week, GW officials said the University's computer filtering system should not impede access to its pages. Information Systems and Services first discovered that the University's sites could not be accessed in September 2002, said Kerry Washburn, ISS director of Administrative Applications.
"ISS is not deploying any 'filtering' that would prevent a population from accessing GW Web sites," Washburn wrote in an e-mail. "These sites are accessible through the public Internet."
"Since the filtering occurs in China, there is no technical solution available to us to prevent it," she added.
David Shambaugh, a GW political science professor who heads the China Policy Program, called for University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg to write a formal letter of protest and meet with the Chinese ambassador if it is determined that China blocks GW's sites. Chinese government officials at the country's embassy in D.C. would not comment about the issue.
The Chinese government "maintains an active interest in preventing users from viewing certain web content," according to a 2002 study conducted by Harvard University. More than 19,000 sites containing information about Taiwan, democracy and certain political issues are often inaccessible in the communist country.
Sites operated by the United States Army, Islamic Virtual School, Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the most frequently unreachable Web sites in China, according to the study.
Students studying in China have notified study abroad officials about the inability to reach GW's pages, said Office for Study Abroad Director Lynn Leonard, who noted that the sites' inaccessibility is "an inconvenience that might be expected when you study in another country."
Some students studying in China said they are frustrated that they cannot log on to GW services such as Banner and Colonial Mail
"I'm supposed to have less worries on my study abroad experience, but since the GW Web site is out of commission in China, I always have to keep in constant contact with my family and friends to see if everything of mine is in order for next year," said Richard Chin, who is studying in Shanghai and uses a Hotmail account while in China.
Chin said he is unable to register for classes next semester and that a "caretaker" or trusted friend living on campus will use his Banner code to sign him into classes.
"Jostling for classes is already a headache, but having someone else sign in for you is (even) riskier," Chin said.
GW does not offer alternative sites that would provide information or services to students studying in China.
Professor fights McDonald's
Published March 11, 2004 in The GW Hatchet
By: Marissa Levy
GW law professor John Banzhaf can add another notch to his belt in his fight against McDonald's, which announced plans last week to phase out its "super sizing" policy.
The billion-dollar corporation issued a press release last Tuesday stating that by the end of the year, it will no longer offer the super size options in an effort to simplify its operations. Currently, McDonald's customers can pay extra money to "super size," or increase their servings of, french fries and soda.
"McDonald's said the major reason (for this change) is because they need more space on the cash register keyboard, but I think its baloney," said Banzhaf, who has filed two lawsuits against McDonald's in the past few years.
The first suit, which led to a $12.5 million settlement in 2001, argued that the eatery failed to disclose its use of beef fat in French fries. In February 2003, a court dismissed a suit that accused McDonald's of contributing to obesity in children.
The chain's 30,000 restaurants, which serve 47 million customers each day, will also feature a core menu to "provide a balance of choices" for consumers by the end of the year.
McDonald's officials were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Banzhaf said the motivation behind McDonald's recent change is the threat of additional lawsuits and the recent release of the documentary "Super Size Me."
"'Super Size Me' pokes fun at McDonald's and the role it plays in the obesity war," said Banzhaf, who appears in the documentary, which was written and directed by Morgan Spurlock.
Spurlock, who weighed 180 pounds before shooting the documentary, decided to take McDonald's up on its word that it is healthy to eat three meals a day at its restaurants, Banzhaf said.
"In one month he gained 25 pounds, his blood pressure and cholesterol shot up, he damn near died of liver failure, and both he and his girlfriend claimed that he was basically impotent," said Banzhaf, who has also worked for restrictions on smoking advertisements and clearer warnings on birth control pills.
Arthur Frank, director of the GW Medical Center's Weight Management Program, said fast food chains are "the culprit, not the cause" of obesity in America.
But Frank said that he is supportive of Banzhaf's efforts to change fast food industry practices because it contributes to the widespread existence of obesity in the United States.
Obesity, or being extremely overweight, is a disease that affects more than 70 million Americans and causes at least 300,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the American Obesity Association.
Banzhaf, who is working with McDonald's' advisory council, said he would like to see additional changes.
While nutritional information for McDonald's food can be found on its Web site, some restaurants do not prominently display the fat content of its menu items, Banzhaf said.
In England, McDonald's prints its nutritional information on food wrappers, and in France, the chain warns people not to eat there more than once a week, Banzhaf said.
By: Marissa Levy
GW law professor John Banzhaf can add another notch to his belt in his fight against McDonald's, which announced plans last week to phase out its "super sizing" policy.
The billion-dollar corporation issued a press release last Tuesday stating that by the end of the year, it will no longer offer the super size options in an effort to simplify its operations. Currently, McDonald's customers can pay extra money to "super size," or increase their servings of, french fries and soda.
"McDonald's said the major reason (for this change) is because they need more space on the cash register keyboard, but I think its baloney," said Banzhaf, who has filed two lawsuits against McDonald's in the past few years.
The first suit, which led to a $12.5 million settlement in 2001, argued that the eatery failed to disclose its use of beef fat in French fries. In February 2003, a court dismissed a suit that accused McDonald's of contributing to obesity in children.
The chain's 30,000 restaurants, which serve 47 million customers each day, will also feature a core menu to "provide a balance of choices" for consumers by the end of the year.
McDonald's officials were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Banzhaf said the motivation behind McDonald's recent change is the threat of additional lawsuits and the recent release of the documentary "Super Size Me."
"'Super Size Me' pokes fun at McDonald's and the role it plays in the obesity war," said Banzhaf, who appears in the documentary, which was written and directed by Morgan Spurlock.
Spurlock, who weighed 180 pounds before shooting the documentary, decided to take McDonald's up on its word that it is healthy to eat three meals a day at its restaurants, Banzhaf said.
"In one month he gained 25 pounds, his blood pressure and cholesterol shot up, he damn near died of liver failure, and both he and his girlfriend claimed that he was basically impotent," said Banzhaf, who has also worked for restrictions on smoking advertisements and clearer warnings on birth control pills.
Arthur Frank, director of the GW Medical Center's Weight Management Program, said fast food chains are "the culprit, not the cause" of obesity in America.
But Frank said that he is supportive of Banzhaf's efforts to change fast food industry practices because it contributes to the widespread existence of obesity in the United States.
Obesity, or being extremely overweight, is a disease that affects more than 70 million Americans and causes at least 300,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the American Obesity Association.
Banzhaf, who is working with McDonald's' advisory council, said he would like to see additional changes.
While nutritional information for McDonald's food can be found on its Web site, some restaurants do not prominently display the fat content of its menu items, Banzhaf said.
In England, McDonald's prints its nutritional information on food wrappers, and in France, the chain warns people not to eat there more than once a week, Banzhaf said.
3D art to salvage astronaut's last words on life in space
Published October 17, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
"Today is maybe the first day that I really feel like I live in space. I turned out to be a man who lives and works in space, just like in the movies."
With those words of awe, Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon began an entry into his flight diary on day six aboard the space shuttle Columbia. That page of his diary was released to the press Wednesday, as an example of current preservation efforts used to convert the fragile journal into a more stable format.
On that day in January 2003, Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut to fly in space and one of the seven Columbia crew members killed aboard the failed mission, captured the personal wonders and joys he experienced on his first foray into the cosmos.
He described the daily routine of life aboard the space shuttle, what it's like to float in zero gravity, and poetically narrated his bird's-eye view of a powerful storm in Asia.
"We wake up in the morning with a light hovering and in a circular motion (we go) to the 'family room' - brushing my teeth, my face and to work. A little bit of coffee to go," Ramon wrote in Hebrew.
"One experiment and then another… a little cleaning and storing. A few days later another experiment, a press conference with the prime minister, and the days of work continue."
"I have a beautiful view of a mighty lightning storm over India, Tibet, Nepal and Japan."
The remains of Ramon's metal-ringed, cardboard-bound notebook, where the astronaut recorded technical flight information, prayers like the Shabbat kiddush and his personal observations, was found in a Texas field two months after the February 1 Columbia disaster.
Though burned and tattered, the journal survived the space shuttle's fiery disintegration and exposure to rain on sun on the ground largely intact.
The remains of Ramon's notebook, which includes 20 pages of hand-written entries, were restored using computer-image enhancement technology and infrared light by scientists in the Israel Police Division of Identification and Forensic Science.
"I think (this diary entry) represents (Ilan's) observations at the high point in his career," said Michael Maggen, director of the Israel Museum's Document Conservation department, which houses the astronaut's diary. "The best preservation will be the facsimile. Then you can use the copy for all kinds of purposes and keep the original intact."
Today, Shuki Kook Studios, which designs commercial art, is in the process of copying the delicate pages with cutting-edge 3D technology that utilizes photography and scanning to make the authentic reproductions of items such as old documents or paintings.
The diary's copies, which will only be distributed to Ramon's immediate family, will maintain the texture and appearance of the original charred pages.
The astronaut is survived by his wife Rona and their four children. Each member of the family will have a personal copy of the journal.
"We've been waiting for this for a pretty long time," said Ramon's widow Rona, who previously had to travel from her home in Ramat Gan to Jerusalem to view her husband's last written words. "The children should see the diary, relate to it in their own way, and then we may open it up to the public," she said. "This (page) was something I could share now."
Rona said she plans on displaying her husband's diary in a traveling exhibit across the country and around the world, explaining: "This is a small miracle that needs to be shared. But family comes first."
Foreign Ministry submits Holocaust education bill to UNESCO
Published October 16, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
More than 60 years after the Holocaust, the Foreign Ministry is working to keep the Nazi genocide at the forefront of international consciousness.
The ministry submitted a resolution to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization this week calling for the creation of a UNESCO-sponsored curriculum to teach students around the world about the Holocaust and its role in history.
The Holocaust Remembrance resolution, proposed by the ministry's Division of International Organizations, aims to preserve the memory of the Holocaust while preventing its denial.
"There's a need for UNESCO, as the main organ of education at the United Nations, to be active in commemorating the Holocaust," said division head Orli Gil. "It's not just about memorials and ceremonies. [UNESCO] will take it further, to schools and research institutions around the world."
UNESCO will vote on the draft resolution at its 34th General Conference, which started Tuesday and runs through November 3.
According to the ministry, 70 countries from every continent, including one Arab state, support the bill.
"Despite the advent of a new Holocaust denier, in the form of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the ministry has registered a unique diplomatic achievement prior to the opening of the UNESCO General Conference expected to adopt the resolution," the ministry said in a statement.
Gil said the ministry expected the initiative to be ratified by the end of the month.
The Holocaust Remembrance resolution is part of an ongoing campaign by the ministry to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive through association with the UN and its multilateral institutions.
In 2005, the UN established International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. In 2006, the international body passed a resolution condemning Holocaust denial.
"With time, the living witnesses to the Holocaust will disappear, and we need to have a very strong notion of the Holocaust, especially among the different nations who do not know much about it," Gil said. "We wish to have Holocaust awareness as widespread as possible."
By MARISSA LEVY
More than 60 years after the Holocaust, the Foreign Ministry is working to keep the Nazi genocide at the forefront of international consciousness.
The ministry submitted a resolution to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization this week calling for the creation of a UNESCO-sponsored curriculum to teach students around the world about the Holocaust and its role in history.
The Holocaust Remembrance resolution, proposed by the ministry's Division of International Organizations, aims to preserve the memory of the Holocaust while preventing its denial.
"There's a need for UNESCO, as the main organ of education at the United Nations, to be active in commemorating the Holocaust," said division head Orli Gil. "It's not just about memorials and ceremonies. [UNESCO] will take it further, to schools and research institutions around the world."
UNESCO will vote on the draft resolution at its 34th General Conference, which started Tuesday and runs through November 3.
According to the ministry, 70 countries from every continent, including one Arab state, support the bill.
"Despite the advent of a new Holocaust denier, in the form of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the ministry has registered a unique diplomatic achievement prior to the opening of the UNESCO General Conference expected to adopt the resolution," the ministry said in a statement.
Gil said the ministry expected the initiative to be ratified by the end of the month.
The Holocaust Remembrance resolution is part of an ongoing campaign by the ministry to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive through association with the UN and its multilateral institutions.
In 2005, the UN established International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. In 2006, the international body passed a resolution condemning Holocaust denial.
"With time, the living witnesses to the Holocaust will disappear, and we need to have a very strong notion of the Holocaust, especially among the different nations who do not know much about it," Gil said. "We wish to have Holocaust awareness as widespread as possible."
Or Yarok calls for tough action on drunk driving
Published October 15, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
Eighty-five percent of Israelis believe the law should show zero tolerance toward drivers under 21 who have any alcohol in their blood, according to a survey released Monday by the Or Yarok road safety organization.
The survey of attitudes toward drunk driving supplements Or Yarok's "White Paper," a list of recommendations aimed at reducing the phenomenon.
At least 15% of traffic accidents in Israel are caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol, according to the Danek Gertner Institute. But that number only includes people involved in collisions. The real figure is higher, said Or Yarok spokesman Aharon Latitot.
The 15-page White Paper is addressed to the Transportation Ministry's National Road Safety Authority and includes recommendations based on measures used in countries that have successfully lowered drunk driving, such as Sweden, Australia and The Netherlands.
Or Yarok said the authority should take the lead and create a comprehensive, long-term plan to battle drunk driving.
The authority should also step up its collection of data from traffic accidents that involve alcohol, create a comprehensive database of the information and make it public, Or Yarok said.
The White Paper calls for tighter laws on drunk driving, including swifter punishment for lawbreakers. According to the recommendations, the government should
- Make it illegal to have any alcohol in your bloodstream for: drivers under 21; public transportation drivers, heavy truck drivers and people who've been convicted of a drunk driving offence.
- Ensure that breathalyzer results can be admitted as evidence in court.
- Anchor the maximum legal blood alcohol content for drivers, 0.05%, in law rather than in regulation, as is currently the case.
- Have the Israel Police increase random alcohol checks and ensure that 33% of drivers are tested each year.
- Publicize these efforts in an intensive campaign and warn drivers that drunk driving laws will be fully enforced, which includes towing the cars of violators and suspending their drivers' licenses."
Surprisingly, more people are deterred [from drunk driving] by the chance of being caught than by the odds of being injured in an accident," said Latitot. "The best solution to the problem is to make sure that nobody will think about sitting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.
The public awareness campaign should also explain the dangers of driving under the influence and suggest ways that people can avoid it, such as the use of a designated [sober] driver or public transportation.
"We want to make it socially unacceptable to drink and drive," said Or Yarok in the press release announcing the White Paper and accompanying survey of 515 people.
The survey found that 75% of Israelis don't respect people who drink and drive; 2% said they did respect such drivers.
"Things have begun to change in the last year thanks to increasing public awareness," Latitot said. "The social acceptance of drunk driving is much lower than one would have thought."
By MARISSA LEVY
Eighty-five percent of Israelis believe the law should show zero tolerance toward drivers under 21 who have any alcohol in their blood, according to a survey released Monday by the Or Yarok road safety organization.
The survey of attitudes toward drunk driving supplements Or Yarok's "White Paper," a list of recommendations aimed at reducing the phenomenon.
At least 15% of traffic accidents in Israel are caused by drivers under the influence of alcohol, according to the Danek Gertner Institute. But that number only includes people involved in collisions. The real figure is higher, said Or Yarok spokesman Aharon Latitot.
The 15-page White Paper is addressed to the Transportation Ministry's National Road Safety Authority and includes recommendations based on measures used in countries that have successfully lowered drunk driving, such as Sweden, Australia and The Netherlands.
Or Yarok said the authority should take the lead and create a comprehensive, long-term plan to battle drunk driving.
The authority should also step up its collection of data from traffic accidents that involve alcohol, create a comprehensive database of the information and make it public, Or Yarok said.
The White Paper calls for tighter laws on drunk driving, including swifter punishment for lawbreakers. According to the recommendations, the government should
- Make it illegal to have any alcohol in your bloodstream for: drivers under 21; public transportation drivers, heavy truck drivers and people who've been convicted of a drunk driving offence.
- Ensure that breathalyzer results can be admitted as evidence in court.
- Anchor the maximum legal blood alcohol content for drivers, 0.05%, in law rather than in regulation, as is currently the case.
- Have the Israel Police increase random alcohol checks and ensure that 33% of drivers are tested each year.
- Publicize these efforts in an intensive campaign and warn drivers that drunk driving laws will be fully enforced, which includes towing the cars of violators and suspending their drivers' licenses."
Surprisingly, more people are deterred [from drunk driving] by the chance of being caught than by the odds of being injured in an accident," said Latitot. "The best solution to the problem is to make sure that nobody will think about sitting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.
The public awareness campaign should also explain the dangers of driving under the influence and suggest ways that people can avoid it, such as the use of a designated [sober] driver or public transportation.
"We want to make it socially unacceptable to drink and drive," said Or Yarok in the press release announcing the White Paper and accompanying survey of 515 people.
The survey found that 75% of Israelis don't respect people who drink and drive; 2% said they did respect such drivers.
"Things have begun to change in the last year thanks to increasing public awareness," Latitot said. "The social acceptance of drunk driving is much lower than one would have thought."
Education Ministry cuts autism funds; parents say kids are left in the lurch
Published October 14, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
For the first 10 days of the new school year, the school bus to the Sadnat Shiluv school stopped in front of Yechiel Wolitsky's Jerusalem home.
Every morning Yechiel, a 13-year-old autistic pupil, climbed on the bus and took a seat next to the school's other Jerusalem students, settling in for the hour-long ride to Gush Etzion's Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim, which houses the special education school and Yechiel's new class there.
But on September 11, the bus never came.
On that day, less than two weeks into the new school year, the Education Ministry closed the doors on a new special educational program at Sadnat Shiluv dedicated to the specific and complicated needs of children diagnosed with autism, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The ministry refuses to fund the costs necessary to transport Sadnat Shiluv's three new Jerusalem-based students to the West Bank area school. Armored transportation continues to operate for the school's previously matriculated students, none of whose classes were canceled.
Sadnat Shiluv's latest special education program, which was made up of new five students, offered a unique curriculum specifically catered to children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, an umbrella term for a category of disorders that inhibit the development of socialization and communication skills.
In its refusal to authorize the PDD class, the ministry cited the Law of Special Education, which requires children to attend schools that are as close to their homes as possible.
Since three of the five prospective students live in Jerusalem, more than 35 kilometers from Gush Etzion, the ministry pulled the plug on the PDD program.
Lea Shaked, the ministry's inspector of special educational facilities, said the office can't afford to continue busing new students to Sadnat Shiluv indefinitely.
"To open a class for autistic children, even though we are speaking of only five children, is NIS 1 million a year, and that doesn't include the cost of traveling," Shaked said. "We didn't think it was justified to open a new class (at Sadnat Shiluv)."
According to school administrators, the PDD class opened at the beginning of the school year after getting verbal approval from ministry officials this summer. The class closed when the ministry announced it refused to grant Sadnat Shiluv permission for the program. Shaked said ministry officials never gave the green light.
Children with PDD may have difficulty using and understanding language, experience trouble relating to their external environment and exhibit repetitive body movements or behavior patterns.
The short-lived program used animal-assisted therapy, arts and crafts and a special teaching system for autistic children to improve its students' cognitive and social skills.
Most students at Sadnat Shiluv find a home there after unsuccessfully integrating at mainstream educational facilities. Sadnat Shiluv opened its doors in 2001.
"These are children who have just fallen through the cracks. They've been thrown from (school to school) and just don't fit anywhere else," said Yechiel's mother Rivka Wolitzky.
Parents of the all-boy class, whose students ranged from age 12 to 14, said they've tried contacting the ministry to reopen the PDD class or find a new solution for the children, but have been almost completely stonewalled.
Faxes and phone calls have gone unanswered, and requests for personal appointments have been rebuffed, they said.
Their efforts culminated in two demonstrations outside the Education Ministry, including one on Sunday and one last Thursday, the latter attended by four out the class's five students.
"Most of the time, we were out there just telling (the ministry) that we've tried peaceful means, we've tried talking to you, but you won't talk to us," Wolitzky said. "Every child in Israel is supposed to be taken care of. Our children aren't being taken care of."
The program's closure has left its five pupils and their families without the progressive educational framework they say they desperately need.
For the last month, Yechiel has been spending his days at his former school, Yaskil Pehu, supervised by a school-issued babysitter until 1:30 p.m., since the school said no other class there could accommodate his needs.
Leah Hochbaum's 13-year-old son Yedidya hasn't been to school at all since the PDD class closed last month. Yedidya, who attended Rosh Tzurim's local elementary school until last year, when it was determined his needs were not being adequately met, simply has nowhere else to go.
"We were very upset and frustrated that they closed the class," she said. "My son doesn't really have another option. [The Education Ministry] admitted that. So he's been home for the last month."
Sadnat Shiluv's principal Noah Mendelbaum said she believed the real reason the PDD class wasn't approved by the ministry is because the ministry intends to shut down the school entirely.
Mendelbaum said the ministry doesn't believe Sadnat Shiluv should act like a crutch for regular local area schools that can't handle their special education students.
"If we wouldn't open the program, then the other schools would have to make more of an effort, and they (the government) won't have to pay for two schools," she said.
Shaked denied allegations that the ministry wants to close Sadnat Shiluv, but said the school shouldn't recruit any more of its students from Jerusalem. The Education Ministry has agreed to sponsor a new haredi school for children with autism within the Jerusalem municipality.
But Hochbaum was still hoping to send her child to Sadnat Shiluv, whose program she called "a miraculous solution."
"It's a very unique school that doesn't exist anywhere else in the country. It's a beautiful, beautiful program."
Bibi gets naughty gifts and Olmert sells grass...on Facebook
Published October 14, 2007 on the front page ofThe Jerusalem Post
By MARISSA LEVY
When Maya, a 30-year-old real-estate agent from Haifa, decided to create a new profile on Facebook.com last week, she didn't register as herself, but as Likud Party chairman Binyamin Netanyahu.
In less than a week, Maya's "Bibi" made 138 new friends on the California-based social networking site.
"I built this profile [of Netanyahu] and in 10 minutes I started getting e-mails from people asking to add me to their list of friends," according to Maya, a Likud member who said she did not work for the party and preferred not to give her last name. "People really think he has a profile on Facebook and they approach me as Bibi Netanyahu. It's amazing. People love him."
Several prominent Israeli politicians have profiles on Facebook, but like Maya's Netanyahu, most of these listings are fakes. The profiles, which list a range of personal information such as relationship status, hometown, political views, favorite interests and photo albums, are meant as parodies.
Under Netanyahu's religious views, Maya writes: "Ze'ev Jabotinsky rules," and she has added applications to the profile that allow Netanyahu to receive virtual "naughty gifts" and alcoholic drinks.
The Facebook profile of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which boasts 231 friends, is registered to a 21-year-old New Yorker. Under work information, the head of government is listed as marijuana dealer for the fictitious "Grassroots Enterprise" company. In the company's description, the faux Olmert writes: "You know, we sell Grass..."
Olmert's profiler, an Israeli-American living in Manhattan who prefers to remain anonymous, said there was no political motivations behind the spoof listing.
"It's just a joke, nothing more. I'm not one of Olmert's agents," he said. "I wanted originally to open an account for [President] Shimon Peres, he's a funny old man, but someone already did."
The author of Peres's profile posted a Jewish star on the head of state's page under the heading "I am Jewish," and below that a rainbow pride flag, a symbol of the homosexual community, with the banner "I am Gay."
On Facebook, anyone with a valid e-mail address can sign up for an account and create a profile, using their own name or an alias. Created in February 2004, Facebook now has more than 45 million active users.
It's become a bona fide cultural sensation. And it's captured the attention of American politicians.
While the Facebook profiles of most Israeli government officials are phony, the candidates for the 2008 United States presidential election have turned to the popular networking site to increase their Web presence and to reach potential voters on-line.
A search for Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton or Republican candidate Sen. John McCain leads to authentic profiles that list pictures of the candidates, updates from the campaign trail and links to their official Web sites.
All eight Democratic candidates and eight out of nine Republicans hopefuls are registered with Facebook. The campaign of Republican hopeful Rudolph Giuliani was forced to perform damage control in August when media reports surfaced that Giuliani's 17-year-old daughter Caroline had expressed support for Democratic candidate Sen. Barak Obama as a member of the Facebook group "Barak Obama (One Million Strong for Barak)."
She also listed herself as a "liberal" on her profile's political views section.
Ari Harow, an adviser to Netanyahu who confirmed that his Facebook profile was a fake, said it was only a matter of time before the Facebook rage reached Israel's public and political consciousness.
[Facebook] is an important and useful tool, something that's being used extensively in the presidential elections in the US," Harow said. "If you go through the list of 120 Knesset members, less than 10 percent have their own Web sites, which in the US [Congress] is unthinkable."
"I think in general, the Internet, for whatever reason, is lagging a few years behind in the political arena, but it will surely catch on here," he said.
Several Facebook groups supporting or opposing the policies of Israeli politicians have begun to crop up. Groups such as "Tzipi is the new Condi!" "Bring Back Barak" and "Out with Olmert and Kadima ACHSHAV" typify the emergence of Israeli politics on the site.
"Facebook is a great platform to keep up your connections with others in the world," said Yoni Itzhak, a former political adviser to Labor MK Colette Avital, who created a Facebook group in May to publicize Avital's bid for the presidency,
"We always talk about the global village, but Facebook is something else. It's not the global village, it's the global connection. That's what it does for us," Itzhak said.
Harow said Netanyahu was aware of his Facebook imitator, but not bothered by the profile.
"Any and all dialogue is good," Harrow said. "[Netanyahu] is definitely a big believer in the use of the Internet."
Netanyahu's reaction will be good news for Maya. She said she considered Netanyahu's response before publishing her fake profile of him on-line. "I thought about sending him a link to my profile just to see his reaction," she said. "I'm still thinking about it."
Local grandmaster takes second place at World Chess Championships
Published October 1, 2007 in The Jerusalem Post
Israeli chess grandmaster Boris Gelfand now shares the No. 2 spot with outgoing world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, after tying for second place at the 2007 World Chess Championship tournament in Mexico City. Kramnik handed his title over to Indian national Vishwanatan Anand at the tournament's closing ceremonies Sunday.
"Gelfand played against the best players in the world. This achievement is really something," said Yigal Lotan, managing director of the Israeli Chess Federation.
Gelfand, a chess grandmaster who has participated in tournaments for over two decades, trained diligently for this year's championship and was especially praised for the improvisational maneuvers he used in his match against Kramnik.
Lotan said Gelfand, 39, the tournament's oldest competitor, played with skill and endurance.
"Chess is a physical game, it's not only mental. I thought Gelfand would be tired because he was the oldest [player], but he performed nicely."
Gelfand, of Rishon Lezion, immigrated to Israel from Belarus nine years ago. He is a member of the national team.
Both Gelfand and Kramnik earned eight points out of a possible 14 in the double round-robin, eight-player tournament. With three wins, 10 draws and one loss, Gelfand finished one point behind Anand, who seized the championship with four wins and 10 ties as the tournament's only undefeated contender. Each player earned one point per win and half a point per tie in the 14-match competition.
Israeli chess grandmaster Boris Gelfand now shares the No. 2 spot with outgoing world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, after tying for second place at the 2007 World Chess Championship tournament in Mexico City. Kramnik handed his title over to Indian national Vishwanatan Anand at the tournament's closing ceremonies Sunday.
"Gelfand played against the best players in the world. This achievement is really something," said Yigal Lotan, managing director of the Israeli Chess Federation.
Gelfand, a chess grandmaster who has participated in tournaments for over two decades, trained diligently for this year's championship and was especially praised for the improvisational maneuvers he used in his match against Kramnik.
Lotan said Gelfand, 39, the tournament's oldest competitor, played with skill and endurance.
"Chess is a physical game, it's not only mental. I thought Gelfand would be tired because he was the oldest [player], but he performed nicely."
Gelfand, of Rishon Lezion, immigrated to Israel from Belarus nine years ago. He is a member of the national team.
Both Gelfand and Kramnik earned eight points out of a possible 14 in the double round-robin, eight-player tournament. With three wins, 10 draws and one loss, Gelfand finished one point behind Anand, who seized the championship with four wins and 10 ties as the tournament's only undefeated contender. Each player earned one point per win and half a point per tie in the 14-match competition.
Charity meets ingenuity
Published December 19, 2006 in USA TODAY
By Marissa Levy, USA TODAY
It's the season of giving, and this year U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jimmy Cox gets to use his job in Iraq to spread some holiday cheer.
Thanks to the Free Wheelchair Mission, Cox will spend the holidays distributing free wheelchairs to poor and handicapped Iraqis.
Cox's naval unit, the 345th Civil Affairs Brigade, received more than 2,000 new wheelchairs last month from the Free Wheelchair Mission, a humanitarian group based in Irvine, Calif. Most already have been delivered to physically disabled Iraqis who can't afford the means to move on their own.
Despite some concern among other wheelchair groups about the bare-bones design and safety of the chairs, the Free Wheelchair Mission chairs have been distributed to hospitals, health clinics and city councils across the country. Many went to children and veterans injured in the war.
"The need here is almost unbelievable. … If you're poor and live in a war-torn country like this, your access to wheelchairs is quite limited," Cox said in a phone interview from Iraq.
Since 2005, the Free Wheelchair Mission has donated 9,000 wheelchairs to Iraqi citizens and distributed 175,000 wheelchairs in more than 60 countries. The group has raised almost $4 million in donations, largely through word-of-mouth advertising and an expansive network of churches and Rotary Clubs. Free Wheelchair Mission is also expected to receive $1.5 million in federal appropriations.
Inexpensive design
The charity aims to raise enough money to deliver 20 million of its mass-produced wheelchairs by 2010 at a cost of $44.40 per chair.
Free Wheelchair Mission president and founder Don Schoendorfer says the chair's low price tag means donations go further, extending the gift of mobility to more people in need.
Schoendorfer, 57, created the Free Wheelchair Mission in 2001, almost 25 years after he first witnessed a disabled woman in Morocco clawing her fingernails into a dusty dirt road because she had no other way to cross the street.
Schoendorfer says the image haunted him for the next two decades. So when the biometrics company he worked for went belly-up, Schoendorfer abandoned the private sector to heed what he says is a higher calling.
The MIT grad says he was inspired to put his engineering skills to good use, but knew there was no way to help the world's 100 million handicapped people by providing them with the type of customized, pricey wheelchairs popular in the USA.
New wheelchairs can cost anywhere from $150 to $30,000, an impossible price for people who make just a few dollars a day.
The solution? Schoendorfer spent nine months on the floor of his garage building a one-size-fits-all prototype with a Home Depot plastic lawn chair, two Toys 'R' Us mountain bike tires for wheels, an iron frame and a pair of industrial casters.
Schoendorfer and a colleague built 100 pared-down wheelchairs in his home in Orange County, Calif., and in 2000 brought four of them on a church-sponsored medical mission to India. When an Indian man placed his disabled son in the homemade wheelchair, the family's relief was instantaneous, Schoendorfer says.
Today the chairs are manufactured in two Chinese factories. They come with illustrated assembly instructions and include an air pump for the tires and an adjustable harness for children.
The donations, well-meaning as they are, have met with some skepticism by other wheelchair organizations. Their leaders wonder whether the stripped-down versions of the wheelchairs being donated will cause physical problems for recipients, even if they gain more mobility.
Controversy lingers
Some criticize Schoendorfer's model, arguing that the low-cost, mass-produced chair fails to accommodate the variety of physical disabilities that afflict people. "Having a wheelchair fitted to their disability and body type is extremely important," says Brian Miller, director of development at Wheels for Humanity, a non-profit in North Hollywood, Calif., that donates refurbished wheelchairs to developing countries and fits each chair to its recipient. "If a wheelchair isn't fitted, not only can people tip out of their chairs, but they can get pressure sores and exacerbate their condition."
Mark Krizack, director of operations at San Francisco State University's Whirlwind Wheelchairs International, calls Schoendorfer's design dangerous and adds that the wheelchair's imported parts aren't locally repairable. Whirlwind Wheelchair International researches and designs wheelchairs that can be built in developing countries, he says, to increase not only mobility but also economic development.
Says Schoendorfer: "We just know that human beings must be better off in a simple wheelchair than crawling on the ground or living in a bed."
Maria Jose, 25, an accounting student in Chile, says getting her Free Wheelchair Mission chair in 2004 gave her a new lease on life. "Before it was so hard to move, to go out, to go to the doctor. Now … I can move around, go to school and do all the things I need to do," Jose says by phone in Spanish.
Nancy Starnes, vice president of the National Organization for Disabilities, calls the Free Wheelchair Mission a "good start" to increasing international mobility. "Anytime you bring assistive technology to people who don't have it, you increase their opportunity for a better life," says Starnes, who uses a wheelchair herself.
Schoendorfer compares his mission to that of 19th-century automaker Henry Ford. "We're building transportation for the masses."
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Study finds medication labels are 'confusing'
Published December 10, 2006 in USA TODAY
By Marissa Levy, USA TODAY
Patients with low reading levels are highly susceptible to misusing their medication because they can't understand the directions on prescription labels, according to a new study to be published Dec. 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
In 2004, the Institute of Medicine found that nearly half of adult Americans have trouble understanding and using basic health information, and dosage error is the most common medical mistake associated with low health literacy.
The new study, "To Err is Truly Human: Literacy and Misunderstanding of Prescription Drug Labels," found that people with literacy rates below the sixth-grade reading level and those who take multiple prescription drugs have the most trouble following label instructions.
"We all assume that labels are simple and easy to understand. They're short, but they're not clear. Until you start breaking them down, you don't realize how confusing instructions can be," says lead study author Terry Davis, head of the American College of Physicians Foundation's (ACPF) Patient-Centered Health Literacy Advisory Board.
For the study, presented recently at the fifth annual National Health Communications Conference in Washington, D.C., researchers interviewed 395 English-speaking adults in Louisiana, Michigan and Illinois who were waiting in clinics to see their health care providers.
They found that when people were asked to interpret the directions on a prescription label, 52% of incorrect patient responses stemmed from errors in dosing out the right amount of medicine. For example, they might swallow a tablespoon of medication instead of the prescribed teaspoon. The majority couldn't demonstrate the right number of pills to take in one day when asked to interpret the instructions "take two tablets by mouth twice daily."
The study also found that less than 10% of people surveyed paid attention to the auxiliary stickers placed on drug containers that provide supplementary instructions such as "take with food" and warn patients of possible side effects. Researchers say many people are confused about how long their therapy should last.
According to Davis, health literacy is an especially timely topic because "like Bob Dylan said, 'The times they are a-changin'."
"Every year more and more prescriptions are written. There's no way everyone can know everything about these medications," Davis said at the conference, sponsored by the ACPF and the Institute of Medicine.
People with low health literacy are more likely to be in poor health or be hospitalized because of medication errors, which have the potential to be deadly. Elderly and pediatric patients who rely on caretakers to dose out their drugs are also at risk.
Davis says patients should go over their prescriptions and how to take medication with their physicians before leaving the doctor's office. She recommends that doctors slow down and make sure their patients understand how to use their medicine correctly.
"Often doctors don't go over the instructions. They need to confirm you understand (the directions)."
William Shrank of the Harvard University School of Medicine spearheads an ACPF initiative to standardize prescription drug labeling in the USA. The project finds that prescription labeling is a fragmented system, with different font sizes and sentence complexities that prove confusing to patients trying to understand labels.
Shrank says that streamlining the system with improved labels and patient-friendly instructions could help boost health literacy.
"Drugs are not benign," Davis says. "People need to be clear about how to take them if they want to take them safely."
Patients with low reading levels are highly susceptible to misusing their medication because they can't understand the directions on prescription labels, according to a new study to be published Dec. 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
In 2004, the Institute of Medicine found that nearly half of adult Americans have trouble understanding and using basic health information, and dosage error is the most common medical mistake associated with low health literacy.
The new study, "To Err is Truly Human: Literacy and Misunderstanding of Prescription Drug Labels," found that people with literacy rates below the sixth-grade reading level and those who take multiple prescription drugs have the most trouble following label instructions.
"We all assume that labels are simple and easy to understand. They're short, but they're not clear. Until you start breaking them down, you don't realize how confusing instructions can be," says lead study author Terry Davis, head of the American College of Physicians Foundation's (ACPF) Patient-Centered Health Literacy Advisory Board.
For the study, presented recently at the fifth annual National Health Communications Conference in Washington, D.C., researchers interviewed 395 English-speaking adults in Louisiana, Michigan and Illinois who were waiting in clinics to see their health care providers.
They found that when people were asked to interpret the directions on a prescription label, 52% of incorrect patient responses stemmed from errors in dosing out the right amount of medicine. For example, they might swallow a tablespoon of medication instead of the prescribed teaspoon. The majority couldn't demonstrate the right number of pills to take in one day when asked to interpret the instructions "take two tablets by mouth twice daily."
The study also found that less than 10% of people surveyed paid attention to the auxiliary stickers placed on drug containers that provide supplementary instructions such as "take with food" and warn patients of possible side effects. Researchers say many people are confused about how long their therapy should last.
According to Davis, health literacy is an especially timely topic because "like Bob Dylan said, 'The times they are a-changin'."
"Every year more and more prescriptions are written. There's no way everyone can know everything about these medications," Davis said at the conference, sponsored by the ACPF and the Institute of Medicine.
People with low health literacy are more likely to be in poor health or be hospitalized because of medication errors, which have the potential to be deadly. Elderly and pediatric patients who rely on caretakers to dose out their drugs are also at risk.
Davis says patients should go over their prescriptions and how to take medication with their physicians before leaving the doctor's office. She recommends that doctors slow down and make sure their patients understand how to use their medicine correctly.
"Often doctors don't go over the instructions. They need to confirm you understand (the directions)."
William Shrank of the Harvard University School of Medicine spearheads an ACPF initiative to standardize prescription drug labeling in the USA. The project finds that prescription labeling is a fragmented system, with different font sizes and sentence complexities that prove confusing to patients trying to understand labels.
Shrank says that streamlining the system with improved labels and patient-friendly instructions could help boost health literacy.
"Drugs are not benign," Davis says. "People need to be clear about how to take them if they want to take them safely."
Professors honored for creativity
Published November 15, 2006 in USA TODAY
By Marissa Levy, USA TODAY
The best college professors of 2006 jump on desks in the middle of lectures, cook bones on a grill to demonstrate ancient Chinese religious practices and bring students to real-life crime scene investigations.
Four professors who exhibit such creativity will be honored today as recipients of the 25th annual U.S. Professors of the Year award. The prize, which was established in 1981, is the only nationwide program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching, says the sponsoring Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
"The underlying purpose is to bring recognition to the really remarkable things that go on in our nation's college and university classrooms," says John Lippincott, president of the council.
Judges selected a national winner from four categories. Winners each receive $5,000. The award also named state professors of the year in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.
The national winners are:
Baccalaureate colleges
Kenneth Brashier, 41, the bone-grilling professor of religion and humanities and scholar of Chinese studies at Reed College in Portland, Ore., says he strategically plans each of his lectures to capture student attention and maximize participation.
"One thing I do all the time is try to envision myself in the (student's seat). I'm always asking myself, 'If I was a student taking my class, what would I have wanted out of me?' "
Community colleges
Mark Lewine, 60, professor of anthropology at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, says the award is a high point in his 35-year teaching career. Lewine earned the top-professor chops for his dedication to promoting community college education, the education council says.
"A community college to me is a very magical place for anyone interested in interacting with a highly diverse group of people," Lewine says.
Doctoral and research universities
Alex Filippenko, professor of astronomy at the University of California-Berkeley, won for a teaching style that goes beyond the traditional lecture to incorporate music, visual props and digital media.
"For example, I jump from the floor to chairs to desks as I catch colored balls students toss at me to illustrate the change in atomic energy level by electrons absorbing photons," Filippenko says.
Master's universities and colleges
Donna Boyd, professor of anthropology at Virginia's Radford University, was honored for her dedication to forensic anthropology and providing students with hands-on practice in the field, including trips to crime scene investigations and case studies on human remains.
"The power of knowledge is most relevant when applied outside of the classroom," Boyd says.
By Marissa Levy, USA TODAY
The best college professors of 2006 jump on desks in the middle of lectures, cook bones on a grill to demonstrate ancient Chinese religious practices and bring students to real-life crime scene investigations.
Four professors who exhibit such creativity will be honored today as recipients of the 25th annual U.S. Professors of the Year award. The prize, which was established in 1981, is the only nationwide program to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching, says the sponsoring Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
"The underlying purpose is to bring recognition to the really remarkable things that go on in our nation's college and university classrooms," says John Lippincott, president of the council.
Judges selected a national winner from four categories. Winners each receive $5,000. The award also named state professors of the year in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.
The national winners are:
Baccalaureate colleges
Kenneth Brashier, 41, the bone-grilling professor of religion and humanities and scholar of Chinese studies at Reed College in Portland, Ore., says he strategically plans each of his lectures to capture student attention and maximize participation.
"One thing I do all the time is try to envision myself in the (student's seat). I'm always asking myself, 'If I was a student taking my class, what would I have wanted out of me?' "
Community colleges
Mark Lewine, 60, professor of anthropology at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, says the award is a high point in his 35-year teaching career. Lewine earned the top-professor chops for his dedication to promoting community college education, the education council says.
"A community college to me is a very magical place for anyone interested in interacting with a highly diverse group of people," Lewine says.
Doctoral and research universities
Alex Filippenko, professor of astronomy at the University of California-Berkeley, won for a teaching style that goes beyond the traditional lecture to incorporate music, visual props and digital media.
"For example, I jump from the floor to chairs to desks as I catch colored balls students toss at me to illustrate the change in atomic energy level by electrons absorbing photons," Filippenko says.
Master's universities and colleges
Donna Boyd, professor of anthropology at Virginia's Radford University, was honored for her dedication to forensic anthropology and providing students with hands-on practice in the field, including trips to crime scene investigations and case studies on human remains.
"The power of knowledge is most relevant when applied outside of the classroom," Boyd says.
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