WORLD & NATION
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
UK strips 42 of citizenship
GOVERNMENT TAKES AQION
IN AHEMPTS TO ADDRESS
NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS
BY JAMES SHARPE
Staff Writer
Over the past decade, the United
Kingdom has stripped 42 Britons of their
citizenship. Twenty of the 42 citizenships
have been revoked in the past year.
The laws set in place in the U.K. state
two grounds on which citizenship can
be stripped: the Home Secretary finding
a person's presence not conducive to
the public good, or a person receiving
citizenship in a fraudulent way.
"The current laws have reserved the
right to remove citizenship for decades
on grounds of treason," said Alice Ross,
journalist at The Bureau of Investigative
Journalism, in a phone interview wi^ The
Guilfordian. "They were first introduced
during World War 1 but revised in 2002 and
2006.
"The last case prior to the recent ones
was in 1973, over 30 years ago."
A majority of the 42 most recent cases
in the U.K. have been linked to terrorism
or are considered to be national security
threats.
According to Ross, 15 of those exiled from
the U.K. or stripped of citizenship were out
of the country when they were informed.
In fact, most of the accused are exiled
without a court trial — the only prerequisite
to revoking a citizenship is the Home
Secretary's signature.
"I believe they should have a fair trial;
however, with terrorism cases, these laws
are thrown out the window," said Ross. "In
any case, I don't believe that exile is most
effective. The most effective way to stop
this is to put people in prison."
And yet, despite having access to
London's Belmarsh Prison, home to 70
percent of the world's terrorists, the U.K.
continues to strip citizenship and exile
suspects.
"After a recent history of very public
terrorist attacks and threats on Britain,
drastic measures to prevent harm to U.K.
citizens seem reasonable," said Cate Schurz
'13, former intern at Belmarsh Prison.
"While removing someone's citizenship
is a serious measure that certainly bears
consequences, part of me sees it as an
appropriate method of population and
immigration control, as well as a means to
protect and preserve the nation."
Is citizenship, then, a privilege or a right
earned by means of birth, adoption and
naturalization?
"There is a cultural seam through our
society of believing that we are not citizens,
but subjects," said Amanda Weston,
barrister at Garden Court Chambers, in a
phone interview with The Guilfordian.
"It is no accident that this government
has carefully gone around renaming
government agencies 'Her Majesty's this
and that,"' said Weston. "This promotes
the kind of supine forelock-tugging,
place-knowing society that might accept
without question the repeated mantra that
citizenship is a privilege — not a right
— to be distributed at the largesse of a
politician."
Others indicate that the U.K. relies on
legal precedent to support its withdrawal
of the "privileges" of naturalized citizens.
"Since 1918, the U.K. has had laws
enabling the deprivation of citizenship,"
said Matthew Gibney, associate professor
of politics and forced migration at the
University of Oxford, in a phone interview
with The Guilfordian. "Hence, it's possible
for U.K. officials to claim that U.K.
citizenship has not, for the past 100 years,
been an unconditional right."
Government officials refuse to speak with
reporters regarding the 42 former citizens.
"The government is not keen on speaking
about this," said Ross. "It is extremely cagey
about the ones losing their citizenships.
"The aspect of the law that I criticize
most is its lack of transparency."
World Cup to highlight
both athletes and inequity
BY TRAY LYNCH
Staff Writer
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup.
'The World Cup is what each player on a team has dreamed of their entire life," said
Jeffrey Bateson, head men's soccer coach at Guilford College. "It can be a country's
only public or world exposure, so Brazil's patriotism is on the line.
"I cannot begin to describe what it would feel like to play in that type of atmosphere,
considering how much is at stake," Bateson said.
Preparations for the summer tournament are fully underway — but not without a
touch of controversy: the Rio "slum operation."
The nation's former capital is home to some of the world's largest and most notorious
drug gangs.
According to the BBC, nearly 3,000 troops were dispatched into the city to deter its
drug gangs and to quell local violence.
Authorities are tapping deep into their resources to make the dty a safer environment
by the time of the tournament, which is set to begin on June 12, 2014.
Tanks, helicopters, trucks and military personnel armed with automatic rifles fill
Rio's poverty-stricken dirt roads. Military personnel are in process of conducting
dtywide raids in an attempt to eliminate gang activity, drug trade and illegal weapon
use.
They are currently focused on occupying Mar6 favela, one of Rio's most dangerous
towns, particularly because it surrounds the Rio de Janeiro International Airport,
where thousands of fans will arrive to witness the World Cup,
"We are monitoring the area dosely and will be constant," said Major Alberto Horita
to Reuters.
"We believe that this is a very important mission that must be fulfilled," said Minister
of Defense Celso Amorim in a recent press release. "It's a mission of temporary support,
and naturally, there should be the partidpation of the armed forces in question of
public security."
Some residents of Rio, however, feel differently about the situation. They argue
that the resources involved in pre-World Cup operations could have been allocated to
address other, more pressing issues.
According to a BBC report, the same amount of money could have provided 40,000
schools, 1,200 hospitals or 540,000 basic dwellings.
In this light, this year's World Cup not only highlights some of the world's top
athletes but also Rio's drastic sodoeconomic divide.
This divide is the reason for many dtizens not approving of the tournament
being hosted in Brazil. Most of Rio's population cannot afford adequate footwear or
consistent meals, much less tickets to a World Cup match.
Over 6,000 people are killed each year in Rio, according to Time. Many feel that the
situation will remain unchanged — the way of life in Rio is merely on hold until the
World Cup is over.
"This is just for the World Cup," said Eulalia, a 73-year-old woman who declined to
give her last name, according to Agence France-Presse. "When that's over, the presence
of the Army will end, and we'll return to business as usual."
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Rise in autism rates leads to ASD support
BY CONNOR WILSON
Staff Writer
Autism rates in the U.S. are on
the rise.
Fifteen years ago, the national
rate was 1 out of every 10,000
children. In 2012, Autism
Spectrum Disorder affected 1
out of every 88 children. On
March 28, the Center for Disease
Control released a report stating
that the prevalence of autism had
increased to 1 in every 68.
The average age for autism
diagnosis is approximately
eight, but symptoms can be
recognized as early as the age of
two. Avoiding eye contact, not
answering to their name and
the inability to form friendships
with cHldien their age are all
indications of the disorder.
"Autism generally means
different social interactions and
some degree of pervasive, unusual
behavior at home, at school
and in other environments,"
said Coordinator of Disability
Resources Georgieann Bogdan.
"In that case, you are considered
to be on the spectrum."
The three most common
disorders on the autism spectrum
are autism, Asperger's syndrome
and pervasive developmental
disorders not otherwise specified.
Popular character examples
speculated to be on the spectrum
by fans include Sheldon
Cooper from CBS's 'The Big
Bang Theory" and Abed Nadir
from the I^C comedy series
"Community."
"Making people more aware
of learning and behavioral
differences can open our eyes to
amazing minds," said Bogdan. "I
feel that educating in a positive
way is important, but so is a
sense of humor. Both can be done
tactMly and intentionaUy."
The Americans with
Disabilities Act has, in part,
helped to resolve issues related to
hiring people with disabilities like
ASD. Recently in Rhode Island,
however, it was discovered
that certain employers were
not abiding by Ae guidelines
established by the ADA.
"I was there for 30 years,"
said Steven PorceUi, a Rhode
Island resident with ASD, in an
interview with The New York
Times. "I was doing piecework
most of the time, whiA I didn't
like too much."
PorceUi also said that he
received $2 an hour for a job
that included making jewelry,
packing medical supplies and
grating cheese and stuffing
peppers for an Italian restaurant.
Wth the help of Jocelyn
Samuels, acting assistant
attorney general for the Justice
Department's Civil Rights
Division, the state of Rhode
Island was reprimanded by
federal officials and given 10
years to resolve its violations of
the ADA.
PorceUi now receives $8 an
hour at his new job: doing office
work and computer training at
Automated Business Solutions, a
smaU business.
Beyond the borders of
Warwick, R.I., autism's sharp
increase over the past 15 years
beckons a greater need for
universal design, or inclusive
design.
According to the National
Association for Home BuUders,
"Universal design is the design
of products and environments
to be usable by aU people, to the
greatest extent possible, without
tike need for adaptation or
spedaUzed design."
Incorporating universal
design features is a relevant topic
at Guilford CoUege.
"At GuUford, we have a very
high proportion of students on
the spectrum as compared to
sister institutions," said Bogdan.
"We blow them out of the water."
GuUford's current population
of students with ASD is 79, which
is more than double tihe average
at institutions of similar size.
The CoUege has been working
on incorporating universd
design into aU of its buildings in
the interest of upholding its core
values of diversity and equality.
The addition of an automatic
door entrance to the majority of
academic buildings on campus is
an example.
'Making people more aware of learning and behavioral differences can
open our eyes to amazing minds.'
Georgieann Bogdan, disability resources coordinator