NEWS
WWW.GUILFORDlAN.COM
MEXICO SOLIDARITY
Chiapas, Tlaxcala, Mexico City and more all in one trip
Continue from Page I
The study abroad program has three stations in
Chiapas, Tlaxcala and Mexico City where students work
in self-governing communities.
"The Mexico Solidarity Network is a group that
was based in Chicago and works with autonomous
communities in Mexico who are working for equal rights
or autonomous rights," said Dowling-Huppert. "Many
of the people are seeking to evade oppression from the
government."
"The first place we went to was Chiapas," said
Lahowitch. "The first week, we went to a school for the
indigenous that focuses on self-sufficiency with trades,
and that was really interesting. The next four weeks were
spent in Oventic, which is where the Zapatistas live."
The Zapatistas are a revolutionary, self-governing
group. Zapatistas, made up of mostly people of Mayan
ancestry, declared their autonomy from the Mexican State
in response to NAFTA on Jan. 1, 1994.
"Students learn about the Zapatistas' community," said
Assistant Director of Study Abroad Daniel Diaz. "They
learn about the history of the culture. They learn about
the different kinds of people and leaders. They learn
about this idea of what it takes to build a grass roots
community."
The Zapatistas have received funds from programs like
MSN in the past.
"They were able to do this because of the support from
MSN and solidarity with other groups," said Lahowitch.
"Funding for health care and schools was possible because
of the international groups."
The next stop for students on the MSN trip was Tlaxcala.
"I stayed with a family who had 12 kids," said Dowling-
Huppert. "This family was focused on social justice and
very committed to the cause. Every member of the family
was committed to the cause, which was fascinating.
The Tlaxcala part was where I felt most immersed into
Mexican culture."
The students also learned from inspiring adults.
"We have access to these people who are doing so
much in their communities through the Mexico Solidarity
Program," said Weiner. "There's no other way that I would
have been able to meet these kinds of people without the
program."
In the final stop in Mexico City, students worked with
another autonomous community fighting for housing
rights.
"Everybody takes part in building the community," said
Weiner, "The people who show the most commitment and
work the hardest get rewarded with a house. You pay like
15 percent of your income for housing. Many people in
Mexico City do not make a living wage, and this makes a
huge difference in people's lives. A family was kicked out
because they were not doing their part in the community."
The MSN technically ends in Mexico City, but a trip
to Chicago, where the program is based, is encouraged.
Chicago is the place where students take what they have
learned in Mexico and apply it in the States.
"We did a lot of anti-foreclosure stuff," said Lahowitch.
"We protested a bank."
In addition to their work with the autonomous
communities, students' tuition also goes to the MSN
when they participate in the study abroad program.
"You're learning what organizing in immigrant
communities looks like here and how to apply what
you learned in Mexico to the United States, which
was incredible," said Dowling-Huppert. "It all comes
together."
For more information, contact Daniel Diaz,
assistant director of study abroad, at diazdf@
guilford.edu.
You can reach out to students who
have participated, such as Hallie Dowling-
Huppert or Chic
oe Weiner, who can be reached
at
dowli
/linghupperthr@gui
weinerca@guiTfo
uilford.edu and
ford.edu.
The Zapatistas have recently been featured
in many news articles, such as AMazeera,The
Guardian and Time Magazine, all of which can be
found online.
Senate update
x>ox>x>x>>x>x>x>x>>^^
This Week's
Developments
We are now accepting applications for all Senate Executive
positions, which are due March 31. Campaigning begins April I
and elections are April 15.
We are also accepting nominations for Dick Dyer Awards and
applications for student scholarships through April 26. See our
Facebook for more. All applications are at the info Desk.
Next Week's
Plans
The Judicial Affairs Committee, a group composed of Senate
executives, RAs, and PPS Scholars, will be presenting on their
year-long judicial review process.
Any policy recommendations resulting from this process will
be submitted to Aaron Fetrow for consideration this summer.
Contact Us
We need to hear your voice! Have an idea? Concern?
Great recipe? It’s important to us.
t
Questions? Email; senate@guilford.edu or visit
http://guilfordsenate.wordpress.com
Compiled by Tim Leisman, Community Senate President
The radical centrist: previewing upcoming
Thomas Friedman’s Bryan Series appearance
BY ANTHONY HARRISON
SWfWWTBt
Sixteen years ago this September, Thomas Friedman
appeared at Guilford College for an on-campus lecture as
the first speaker in what later became The Bryan Series.
On April 16, 2013, Friedman will return to the series, this
time with hundreds of New York Times editorials, five
more books and a third Pulitzer Prize under his belt.
■"There are a number of people out there who are so
compelling that you would want to seriously look at
having them back, and Tom falls in that category," said
Vice President for Communications & Marketing Ty
Buckner via phone interview.
"Tom, in a survey (among Bryan Series subscribers to
nominate speakers) we conducted actually more than a
year ago, rated very highly — and not unexpectedly. He's
simply one of the most popular columnists and authors out
there today and particularly popular with our audience."
While Friedman covers topics ranging from globalization
to climate change, the proposed theme of Friedman's talk
is "The Middle East: An Update on Changing Events."
Few journalists are more qualified to speak on the
matter.
Friedman's biweekly New York Times column focuses
on foreign affairs, and his three Pulitzer Prizes were for
reporting on the Lebanese Civil War, the state of Israel and
the threat of global terrorism.
"I think both personally and professionally, he has
deep interest in Israel's security," said Campus Ministry
Coordinator Max Carter. "He has a dog in the fight."
Friedman often criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's policies concerning Palestinian and Israeli
security, criticism that draws ire from pro-Israel groups.
- "Israel needs a wake-up call," Friedman wrote in
"Driving Drunk in Jerusalem," an editorial for The New
York Times. "Continuing to build settlements in the West
Bank, and even housing in disputed East Jerusalem, is
sheer madness."
"Israel plays such an important role in Jewish
consciousness that even Jews who criticize Israel — I
know this personally from Jewish friends I have — are
accused of being anti-Semitic," Carter said. "I appreciate
Friedman's willingness to subject himself to that kind of
criticism when he is vocally critical of Israeli policies."
However, Friedman himself states allegiance to "radical
centrism," a movement that brings together viewpoints
from both left- and right-wing sources. Possibly owing
to his political pragmatism, Friedman supported the
invasion of Iraq.
"Friedman's a realist who doesn't have romantic
notions," said Carter. "He's seen awful stuff. And he
knows the various evils abroad in the world first hand. I
think he made a rational decision for himself that we had
to go into Iraq.
"I don't know whether he believed there were weapons
of mass destruction, but (the Bush administration) made
a case. Colin Powell was snookered. Why wouldn't a
journalist like Friedman be snookered, too?"
Buckner expects a stimulating, thought-provoking
speech from Friedman.
"(The Bryan Series) present speakers with all sorts of
life experiences and viewpoints," said Buckner. "One of
the goals is to present speakers who will make us think.
Their talks may reaffirm what we believe ... they may
cause us to change our opinion."
In any case, Thomas Friedman's return to the Bryan
Series promises to be a powerful close to this season's
Bryan Series.
"I've heard Tom speak a couple of times, and he's
really good at delivering on the topic as promoted, but
also bringing some of his other work into the program,"
Buckner said with a laugh. "We show the speaker the
stage, and for the next 45 or 50 minutes, it's all them."