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FORUM 13 . •*.. ite^i Feeding the hungry is everyone's responsibility Although we may hesitate to acknowledge it, we know it is out there. It is on streets, in homes, staling the night; its cold, relentless fingers are coiled around the neck of the world. It is everywhere. It is hunger. We need to fight back — so grab a spoon. After all, considering that 40 percent of food produced in the United States is going to waste, and that there were 925 million people globally without enough to eat in 2010, the need for a massive reform is undeniable. And it is everyone's responsibility. In 1981, Keith McHenry — an anti-nuclear activist - and a group of friends turned their idea of spreading peace into a volunteer project by sharing vegetarian food with the hungry in their Cambridge, Mass, community. The philosophy behind the title. Food Not Bombs, is simply that when there are still so many people starving to death daily, it is ludicrous for the U.S. to allot about 50 cents of every federal tax dollar to finance military bloodshed. To put it simply, in the words of the Food Not Bombs mission statement; "food is a right, not a privilege." That sentiment rang true to some Greensboro residents who founded the local chapter over 15 years ago. Though according to Sarah Lee, an organizer for the local group, no one really knows when it was started. Despite its peaceful purpose. Food Not Bombs is not always welcomed by the surrounding society. Boasting a history littered with arrests and violence—which includes being considered America's most hardcore terrorist group for a time — the Food Not Bombs effort has long been facing opposition from the limiting legal institution. Even against the odds, and the government, McHenry stood by what he believed to be right and continued to reach out to communities around the globe in order to feed the hungry. "I was inspired by the protests that stemmed from Food Not Bombs and baffled about how our government views people who do good, decent, grassroots work as 'terrorists,'" freshman philosophy major Lyes Benarbane said of the event. Food Not Bombs — in its ability to combine activism and positive change — seemed to empower the students that gathered on Feb. 1 in the Greenleaf Co-op to become part of the solution for hunger. Hopefully it will empower them into activity with the local chapter. Meeting around 2:00 p.m. on Mondays to begin cooking, the local chapter serves its guests at the public library on Church Street at 6:00 p.m. Recently the kitchen used for the local chapter of Food Not Bombs closed down, forcing them to move the cooking to people's homes. That has not slowed their support for the cause or their ability and willingness to serve the average 60 people each week, according to Lee. "Be passionate about whatever project you're about to start, and don't be discouraged if at first it does not work," McHenry said. McHenry's is the quintessential tale of a crew of progressively-minded college students rebelling against "the institution" and simultaneously striving to promote an improved way of life for all. And thanks to their vision and enthusiasm to cultivate peace, over 1,000 chapters in over 60 countries are supporting the effort to end hunger and war. It is our turn to follow in their legendary footsteps, help out our community, and grab a spoon in the fight against world hunger. February ll, 2011 Egypt's lix-it man" may not fix things By Jacob Rosenberg Staff Writer As protesters throw rocks that blot out the Egyptian skies and Molotov cocktails light the night, many are call ing for swift change in Egypt's govern ment. In an attempt to quell the pro tests that began on Jan. 25, embattled President Hosni Mubarak appointed a familiar and apolitical face as the first vice president in 30 years: Omar Suleiman. Suleiman has been dubbed a "fix-it man." Many have hoped that his past experience in negotiating cease-fires would enable him to calm the uprising that is tearing Egypt apart. However, this man is not the leader of the oppo sition, a voice for those rioting in the streets, or a revolutionary leading a movement; he is a company man being promoted. With Barak Obama and other world leaders trying to negotiate an immedi ate transition to Suleiman, we have to wonder what a President Suleiman would bring to the table for Egypt and for its relations with the U.S. A fix-it man for the U.S. as well as Egypt, Omar Suleiman is not a strang er to U.S. foreign policy. He has been one of America's closest allies in the rendition of terrorism suspects. Rendition is a tactic where the U.S. avoids domestic due process by out sourcing harsh means of interrogation to foreign governments. Often the U.S. has turned a blind eye and sim ply accepted the information given back to them from these interroga tions. Since 1993, Suleiman has been in charge of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, a grqyp that has often taken U.S. terrorist suspects and "interrogated" them in ways that America could not. The EGIS's most famous interroga tion under Suleiman camq in 2001. A suspected terrorist named Ibn Sheikh al-Libi was sent to Egypt to confirm "the Bush Administration's conten tion that there were links between A1 Qaeda and Saddam Hussein," accord ing to rendition expert Jane Meyer of the New Yorker. According to Meyer, the interroga tors "locked him in a tiny cage for eighty hours ... and punched him for fifteen minutes," and al-Libi eventu ally told them what they wanted to hear. Al-Libi's testimony was used in speech after speech, in discussion after discussion in the run-up to the Iraq war. Soon thereafter, U.S. sol diers were walking through the des ert sands of Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction or links between A1 Qaeda and Saddam Hussein were ever found. Al-Libi retracted his state ment and simply said, "They were killing me. I had to say something." Rendition remains an important part of our war on terror and Suleiman an important partner to the U.S. in this practice. Suleiman's links to the U.S. are explained best by Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA, "We have a saying at the agency when we have a very good friend: 'We have a lot of time for him.' We always had a lot of time for Director Suleiman." In a climate where the Egyptian people are calling for human rights, for an end to the 30-year rule of Mubarak, Suleiman is not the revolu tionary many are looking for. The Egyptian people are not calling for a leader of their feared intelligence agencies. They are not calling for the man who carried out the heavy hand of Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian people are calling for their rights, calling for hope of a tomorrow where democracy exists, and for a govern ment that understands that revolution in its people means revolution of its government. While ousting President Mubarak is a step towards change in Egypt, the promotion of Suleiman, the "fix-it man," represents only a transitional leader for the Egyptian people. He may be a strong ally to the U.S. but he will not bring the transformation of government that the Egyptian people seek. He is not a leader of this cause; rather, this cause made him a leader. Letter te the Editer CAB and Senate need student voices I would like to commend Community Senate, the Campus Activities Board, and the Guilford community in its decision to move forward with facilitation in last week's Senate meeting. Having served as a senator, a Senate executive, and a CAB chair, I appreciate the unique perspectives and strengths of both organizations and am deeply committed to their successes in support ing our community. Our organizations want the same things: to strength en the community's voice in CAB programming and rep resentation. In order to reach that common goal we need a progressive solution. The solution isn't Senate's refor mation of CAB; the solution is the Guilford community uniting in order to participate in a representative pro cess. We are battling campus apathy and indifference and are only as strong as the voices that contribute to our efforts. It is easy to see where we disagree. It is easy to voice what we think we already know. Solutions don t come from what is easy, solutions come from engaging in challenging conversations, and we have more to offer. All of us have the ability to listen. All of us have the faculties to recognize what's at stake by not engaging in the conversation. And when we join the conversation, all of us have the responsibility to use our voice in a constructive, respectful manner. Facilitation is a process. As we continue with this course of action, let this moment of agreement be remembered. Senators and CAB chairs are a collection of com mitted individuals that volunteer their time and efforts. We are your friends, your dorm-mates, classmates, and teammates. Much of our lives are subject to the needs of the community, often requiring these student leaders to sacrifice sleep, schoolwork, relationships, and our social lives in the act of working to make sure that student ideas are heard and implemented. We can't let ourselves forget our shared sacrifice and service to the school. So listen and speak up. We as students are empowered to create the reality of our own com munity. Unlike many other colleges and universi ties, at Guilford students aren't just a number. We can sit on high-level administrative committees, we determine how our student activity fees are allocated, and we shape campus policy at all levels. As a whole we are more than capable of coming to a solution that will serve to benefit our entire cam pus community. Hannah Kennedy, chair of the Serendipity Committee
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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