Page 2
News
The Clarion \ Jan. 22, 2010
Afghanistan, cont. p. i
were driven into hiding by US and NATO
forces, for harboring al-Qaeda, and the
current Afghan president, Hamid Karzai
was selected to serve an interim period in
2002, followed by winning a questionable
democratic election in 2004 and 2009.
Afghanistan’s turbulent past can also
be partly attributed to its’ highly complex
social and ethnic structure. According to
the CIA, Afghanistan has a population of
roughly 28 million people, comprised of
at least 8 different ethnic groups, speaking
around 34 different dialects of the Afghan
Persian (or Dari), Pashto, Turkic and other
languages, living in 34 provinces that
comprise an area slightly smaller than
Texas.
Couple these numbers with the fact
that the country has two different Islamic
religious factions (Sunni and Shia), factor
in that the country’s median age is around
17 and that the overall population has a
literacy rate of around 28 percent and now
you have a basic understanding of the
complexity of the situation on the ground.
If the history of Afghanistan and the
diversity of its population weren’t complex
enough, the country also has some of the
most rugged terrain on the planet. The
northern and southwestern portions of the
country are comprised of semi-arid to arid
plain lands, which are split laterally by the
snow-capped Hindu-Kush Mountains, with
peaks up to 24,000 feet, resulting in isolated
pockets of people, spread amongst valleys
and plains.
All of these factors - violent history,
complex ethnic and social structures, and
rugged geography, all affect the on-going
war in Afghanistan and make the situation
for US and NATO ground-forces in the
country a very delicate operation, where
time is both friend and foe.
Lunch hours are back at Coltrane
by Emily Clark
Business Manager
“You’ve asked,
we’ve heard.”
Coltrane Food
Court is serving
lunch again due to
student response
last semester
Coltrane will
no longer be open
during the coffee
hours due to few
people coming
in the morning.
ARAMARK
and Campus
Life conducted
surveys and
listened to
suggestions
from the Student
Government
Association at
BC.
From the
surveys, Coltrane
has added some
new and old
items to the menu
including foot
long subs, wings,
quesadillas, fried
mushrooms, and
cheese sticks.
Just ask today for free smoothie samples
to taste what smoothies are available. Free
smoothie samples were offered in Myers
Dining Hall last week. “All smoothies
are made
from natural
ingredients
and contain
no added
sugars or
high fructose
corn syrup”
The new hours for lunch are:
Monday- Thursday, Lunch
11 AM- 3 PM
Sunday- Thursday, Dinner
7 PM- 11 PM
comments Millie Heidenreich, Catering
Manager at BC.
Coltrane will not be open on weekends
except for three student events. Coltrane
will open when Campus Life hosts the
following events. There will be an event
today, January 22 from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
called Throwback Friday. On Saturday,
March 20th at 8 p.m. there will be live
music featuring “Valerie Custer”. Casino
Night will be held on Friday, April 30th
from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Introducing the
NEW Coltrane
Commons,
Featuring the
~ BC Grille ~
Bring in this ad and receive a
FREE 24 oz. Fountain Beverage with the
purchase of any sandwich and side