Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / Dec. 1, 2004, edition 1 / Page 7
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7 October 2004 op/ed the stentorian | ncssm Athlete Spotlight Lance Harden f Andy Robertson If you’ve ever been to an NCSSM home basketball game, then there’s a gooc chance that you’ve seen Andy swish a three-pointer over the outstretched hands of a frus trated defender or convert an offensive rebound for an easy lay-up. After leading the team in scoring last year as a junior, he has assumed a greater lead ership role this year as a co captain (along with Doug Valchar) and has continued his scoring ways, averaging 18.0 points through five games. As the tallest player on the team this year, he has sacrificed his favorite wing position to play center and help the team in the ffontcourt. HOME SCHOOL: Person HS, Roxboro, NC PERSONAL: 6 feet, 5 inches; lettered in basketball, baseball; daughter of Mark & Linda Robertson IN THE CD PLAYER: “The Blueprint,” by Jay-Z FAVORITE BOOK: The Three Musketeers, by Alexander Dumas EMOTIONAL MOMENT: Getting cut from the JV basketball team as a freshman ATHLETICS MEMORY: Our first conference win last year on Senior Night versus Cary Academy ATHLETICS LESSON: “Never give up your dream” ATHLETICS ADVICE: “Doing the little things will help the big things happen” ADD TO MOUNT RUSHMORE: Michael Jordan FOR 30 MINUTES I’D LIKE TO BE: Dirk Nowitzki GUEST LIST: Benjamin Franklin, Warner Grantham, Julius Caesar LIKES: basketball, NBA Live 2005, Dallas Mavericks DISLIKES: busy work, conditioning, ignorance GREATEST AMBI TION: To play in the NBA COLLEGE PLANS: NC State, graduate school at MIT COLLEGE MAJOR: Engineering Chiapas: Human Rights Tour Aden VanNoppen and Molly SWEETSER You are walking down Reynolds breezeway and stop at a curious looking sign: “Chiapas Case Study: Globalization, Militarization, and Human Rights Tour.” Perhaps you are intrigued or perhaps you see this as just another sign. However, this was an unusual event; the first of many of its kind. The tour, which was sponsored by The Mexico Solidarity Network and The School of the Americas Watch, was trav eling the country to raise awareness about the social and economic hardships existing in Latin America. The focus was on Chiapas, a southern region of Mexico where there is an incredible amount of military exploitation of indigenous groups. The director of the Mexico Solidarity Network, Tom Hansen, gave those of us who attended an introduction into the past and present strug gles of the people of Chiapas. Many of these struggles arise from conflicts between the tra ditional lifestyles of the indigenous groups and the modem policies of Mexican government. For example, the indigenous groups have lived on their land for hundreds of years, and the idea of a piece of paper claiming ownership to land is foreign and unneces sary. Because of this, the Mexican government is able to steal their land for purposes such as mining. In addition, there is a strong military pres ence in Chiapas and there are frequent, violent interactions between the military and tradi tionally peaceful indigenous groups. Sadly, this situation is entirely too common in Latin America. All kinds of people throughout Latin America are being massacred. There are ^^^^millions of starving Latinos who pack them selves into dirt floor shacks in Latin America. We have supported various leaders and suppressive regimes that are responsible for the violence and inequality that over whelms Latin America. For their economic and social stnictures to a point that is independent of the United States. These issues are still very relevant, and a number of The fight against the School of the Americas has yielded clear results. As the number of protestors multi plies every year, representa tives are forced to leam more about what is really going on in the school. Because of the anti-SOA move ment, the school was closed on January 17th, 2001. Unfortunately, it has been re-opened under a new name, but the fact that is was closed at all shows that we are making tremendous progress. If it was closed once, it can be closed again. In addition, the fight against SOA extends beyond our bor- " : ders. In November, the newly elected Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, This picture, taken in Chiapas, Mexico, demonstrates the miiitary occupation of the area . f^at he would nO longer send his troops to your fellow NCSSMers have the school of this Americas the 1990s, the US backed the efforts of Guatemalan dictator, Rios Montt, as he massacred hundreds of thou sands of poor GuatemalansJ made of cardboard and scraps of tin. Latin Americans have not always lived this way. There is a common thread to their fall into disparity: First World involvement for eco nomic gain. In reality, this thread is a much more compli cated web of corruption, secre cy, and ambiguity; but the pat tern is clear. Throughout this cenhuy, the US has been particularly interested in where power lies example, in the 1970s, the US backed a military coup in Chile, which overthrew the first democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. This destroyed their fragile democracy and instated a bru tal military dictator, Augusto Pinochet. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan ille gally backed the Contras in Nicaragua. The Contras fought with US troops to repress the Sandinista upris ing. It was an uprising of the people, demanding education, health care, and land reform. It failed. In the 1990s, the US backed the efforts of Guatemalan dictator, Rios Montt, as he massacred hun dreds of thousands of poor Guatemalans. Montt is cur rently on trial for genocide. This is only a sample of the pattern of US intervention in Latin America. Why would the US be supporting these dictators instead of leaders who are pro ponents of positive change? A government that supports the poor people of Latin America would hinder the goals of the United States. Its inequality makes Latin America vul nerable and therefore it is easy for the US to exploit farmers and workers for their products and land. Corporations like Dole, Texaco, and Wal-Mart exist because the corrupt gov ernments of Latin America allow them to go through loop holes to abuse workers and the environment, making Latin America a more profitable place for industry. Unfortunately, this is at the expense of human lives. Although most of the alterna tive governments are not per fect, they would like to move joined the movement against the injustices in Latin America. For many, it began with-the Chiapas Case Study, and two weeks later, a group of eight students caught a bus from Chapel Hill to the School of the Americas (SOA) in Fort Benning Georgia. This wasn’t another col change? lege tour. The School 0 f Americas, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is a mil itary training camp for Latin American officers and sol diers. Along with other topics, these soldiers are trained in torture techniques, counter insurgency, and psychological warfare. Many of the gradu ates have been responsible for atrocities throughout Latin America and there is a pattern of human rights violations that follows the school very close ly. The victims of these mas sacres include religious work ers, educators, union leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Rios Montt, Pinochet, and the majority of the Nicaraguan Contras are examples of growing number of SOA graduates. Your fellow NCSSM students went to Fort Benning to participate in an annual protest of the School of the Americas and a vigil for the thousands who have been murdered. We participated in a solemn march commemorat ing the voiceless victims of SOA graduates. We listened to the continual recitation of names for three hours. This was also an opportunity to hear the sickening stories of the few who have survived tor ture at the hands of those trained at SOA. due to its violent history. This is a tremendous accomplish ment for the movement. We will continue the fight for Latin America on the NCSSM campus. This will include bringing more speak ers to open our eyes to the many injustices. Not only will they tell us of the situations, but they would the US be sup porting these dictators instead of leaders who are proponents of positive |wh^v will tell US what we can do about it. One of the most amazing ways to get involved is to go to Latin America and experience the struggles, hopes, and cultures for yourself We have worked with the poor of Guatemala, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, and these experiences have sparked our passion and hope for creating change in Latin America. If you want more information about how to get involved, we encpurage you to come see us. In addition to learn ing about the political situa tion, we want NCSSM to cele brate the rich Latin American culture. The first ever Latin America Festival at NCSSM will be held on January 22nd. It will include food, dancers, musicians, and other cultural activities. We would like this to be the beginning of increased awareness and action on our campus. While the issues are complex and the violence is daunting, we can not lose hope for the millions of suffering humans in Latin America. This is a fight we can win if young people like us make an effort to stay informed and be proactive.
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Student Newspaper
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