THE PENDULUM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 9. 2009 // PAGE 5
Obama to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan
North Carolina units likely to leave soon for Global War on Terror
Laura Smith
News Editor
On Dec. 1 President Barack
Obama gave the speech many
had been anticipating since his
inauguration — the final decision
on what is to be done with the
situation in Afghanistan.
After the events of Sept. 11,
2001, the United States launched
a war on terrorism against al-
Qaida just a month after the
initial attacks. Now, a little more
than eight years later, 30,000
additional American troops will
be sent back to the country in an
attempt to finish the job.
Among those troops will
be several units from North
Carolina, who are expected
to receive deployment papers
within the next few weeks.
For the Marines at Camp
Lejuene in Jacksonville, N.C.,
deployment orders may come
as soon as this week, according
to Master Sgt. Keith A. Milks,
spokesman for the Second
Marine Expeditionary Force.
“We haven’t received official
word ... (but) we expect to be in
the thousands,” Milks said. “The
units that will be selected will be
the ones that haven’t deployed
in awhile...they been here the
longest and have been through a
long deployment program."
According to Sgt Lisa
Strickland, spokeswoman for
Marine Corp Air Station in
Cherry Point, N.C., marines
will leave with the Marine
Expeditionary Force after Jan. 1.
In addition to the influx of
troops to Afghanistan, Obama
also gave the American people
a timeline of when the units in
Iraq will exit.
According to his speech, all
combat brigades will pull out by
the end of next summer and all
other troops will be gone by the
end of 2011.
“That we are doing so is a
testament to the character of the
men and women in uniform,”
Obama said in his speech.
“Thanks to their courage, grit
and perseverance, we have given
Iraqis a chance to shape their
future, and we are successfully
leaving Iraq to its people.”
These decisions have been
long-coming to the ears of
American citizens, whether they
agree with them or not.
“I'm not sure why we’re so sure
that sending 30,000 more troops
is going to solve the problem,”
political science professor Rudy
Zarzar said. “Philosophically it’s
a matter of principle. After all we
know, we’ve been in Afghanistan
now for eight years, and the only
thing we’ve seen so far is more
suffering for the Afghan people
who have been seeing war after
war almost the last 30 years.”
Political science professor
Jason Kirk said the decision to
go to Afghanistan initially was
the right move, but al-Qaida cells
in Pakistan is what Americans
should worry more about.
“The decision to go into
Afghanistan in 2001 following
the 9/11 attacks was the right
decision, but the United States
made several mistakes for which
we continue to pay a price,"
Kirk said. “Relying on Pakistan
to secure the border between
Afghanistan and the tribal
areas of Pakistan was a serious
error because it allowed senior
al-Qaida and Afghan Taliban
leaders to cross into Pakistan.
Now, Pakistan has its own
Taliban problem, and this is a far
more serious threat to regional
and international security than
what happens in Afghanistan."
Senior Emily Speers’ brother,
Harry, is currently in Iraq serving
as a platoon leader. Having
a sibling in a Middle Eastern
conflict is hard, but necessary
she said.
“I feel like Afghanistan is still
a threat because of the instability
of the region in general," she
said. “I think it’s a responsibility
to stabilize the region in general.
It's a miserable feeling (to have a
loved one fighting), but if we're
looking at the big picture, which
is national security ... if that's a
solution then go for it.”
Senior Catherine Melendez’
father, Victor, is currently
stationed in Afghanistan as a
Mcuor in the Army. Victor has
been in the Army for 22 years
and this is his first deployment,
which he voluntarily took.
Melendez said she is proud of
her father and supports Obama’s
decision to send more troops.
“Although this war has been
going on for a long time, we have
to finish what we’ve started,”
Readership program expands online
Caittin O’Donnell
Reporter
Students at schools
in Indiana, Missouri and
Pennslyvania, now have a new
way to get their daily news.
Recently, USA Today
introduced an initiative within
its Collegiate Readership
Program that provides a free
e-Edition of its newspaper for
students, faculty and staff at
select colleges. These online
papers are identical to the
print version and often include
exclusive content aimed at the
individual school.
In 2002, Elon University
joined the Collegiate
Readership Program, which
provides 400 newspapers a day,
including USA Today, The New
York Times and the Greensboro
News & Record to the McEwen
School of Communications.
“We wanted to make it
easier for students to stay on
top of the news in their world,”
said Paul Parsons, dean of the
School of Communications.
So far, the school has been
unable to gain access to the
e-Edition because USA Today
is still finalizing the program
for mass subscribers. Parsons
said.
Though he counts
immediacy of news and
lower distribution costs
as advantages for online
newspapers, Parsons said the
program still requires further
development.
“The newspaper industry
has not yet developed a
financial model that works in
an online world," Parsons said.
“Newspapers, historically,
have been profitable through a
combination of subscriptions
and advertising. But people
don’t want to pay for online
information."
Communications professor
Anthony Hatcher, faculty
advisor for Elon’s chapter of
the Society of Professional
Journalists, echoed this
sentiment.
“Younger people didn’t
grow up with newspapers and
don't miss them, and many
The CoUe«i»
Readeronq)
older people are migrating to
the Web," he said. “Advertising
revenue is dropping for print
and doesn’t pay adequately for
online, so I’m not sure what
the solution is.”
Both Hatcher and Parsons
agree the shift to online is
inevitable.
Though many papers
will be unable to match the
expediency of news provided
online, Hatcher said the future
bodes convergence rather than
a total shift of media sources.
“I think the future will
be some combination of
handheld devices and perhaps
a community paper on print,"
he said. “Newspapers that are
relentlessly local and serve a
community need will likely
survive. Many other mid-size
dailies may die, or go strictly
online.”
Though today’s students
are more connected than ever
to online forms of media, many
still enjoy the benefits only
print newspapers can provide.
“I wouldn't read a paperless
edition of the USA Today,”
freshman journalism major
Rachel Southmayd said. “I like
the Today because it’s easy to
read and easy to follow and I
wouldn’t like having to jump
around online.”
Though Southmayd said
she understands media will
shift in the coming years, she
said the basics of news will
never change.
“Traditional skills, like good
writing and news gathering,
will be as important as ever,”
she said.
Parsons said he believes
it’s incredibly important for
students to have access to daily
news, in any form.
“We need to keep
encouraging students,
especially in the School of
Communications, to not get
so wrapped up in their own
social worlds that they aren’t
paying attention and investing
themselves in the issues of
the day,” Parsons said. “And
that means first knowing and
understanding the issues of
the day that the news media
provide.
Troop commitment to Afghan War
Currently, 43 nations, including the United States, have troops in the
NATO-led force in Afghanistan; additional U.S. troops are also serving.
Top contributors
NATO-ISAF ((nternational
Security Assistance Force)
troops; total; 71,028*
U.S.
U.K.
Germarry
France
Canada
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Australia
Spain
Turkey
Denmark
31 other nations
*Aa of Oct. 22, 2009
34,800
9.000
4,365
3,095
2,830
2,795
2,160
1,910
1,350
1.000
720
690
6,313
'As Of Nov. 30. 2009
U.S. troops
Total: 67,800
With
NATO-ISAF
forces
34,800
Additio
forces
33,000
Melendez said. “The men and
women that are over there are
doing everything they can to
keep us safe and help stabalize
the nation. It was really hard
on our family when he broke
the news, but 1 support him
100 percent. His devotion and
sacrifice now will ensure a more
peaceful and safe future for my
kids and generations to come. We
are so blessed to have a military
that so willingly ventures off to
foreign nations to protect our
Thiop deattis
Total: 1,531**
U S 926
U.K. 236
Canada 133
France 36
Germany 34
Others 166
Source: NATO-ISAF, iCasuAtUM.c
Graphic: Judy Tretbie C 2009 Mi
freedom.”
Obama's plan is to turn over
responsibility to Afghan forces
and begin to take American
forces out of Afghanistan in July
2011.
“The overarching mission
... is to ensure a secure and
safe environment in which the
Afghan people can live free of
oppression and terror,” Milks
said. “We want to give the
Afghan people a safe and secure
future."
Rain prompts flooding
Issues across campus
JUSTINE SCHU.ERUO | Staff Ptiotoyapher
Senior Matt Moroughan picks up a copy of The New York Times, which is available
because of The Collegiate Readership Program. The program also allows some
papers, like USA Today, to launch online editions specfically for colleges.
Rachel Southmayd
Reporter
It’s said that when it rains,
it pours, and that couldn’t be
more true at Elon University
this semester.
From September to
November, 40 of 91 days
included some amount of
rain, and precipitation totals
were 40 percent above they
normal for this time of year.
In fact, nearly 13 inches of
rain fell on Burlington during
this three-month period.
All the rain has left Elon’s
campus a muddy mess,
turning brick walkways into
rivers, green lawns into soggy
marshes and rain boots into
fashion staples.
Traditionally, tropical
storms could be to blame
for this type of Southern
weather, but what was left
of Tropical Storm Ida, which
washed over Elon in mid-
November, was the only
tropical disturbance to affect
mainland North Carolina.
The National Weather
Service said the effects of
El Nino are to blame for the
high levels of precipitation
across the South. This trend
is supposed to continue
through January 2010.
El Nifto is an irregularly
warm Pacific current
that affects oceanic and
atmospheric temperatureand
activity across the world.
Tom Flood, superintendent
of landscaping and grounds,
said the wet weather has been
so excessive that the ground
that is completely saturated
and has notably affected the
Elon landscaping.
“The rain has significantly
slowed down our fall work,
especially leaf remo\al,”
Flood said. “This is especially
a problem before important
campus-wide events like open
house or football games.”
Elon hosted five football
games this fall and it poured
for two of them. It also rained
through the meyority of
Family Weekend.
Sophomore Jessica Scales
said excessive rain makes her
pick up her car keys rather
than walk, and she avoids
going far away.
“I just use closer
resources. Instead of walking
to Colonnades for dinner. I’ll
just go to Harden. Or instead
of studying in the library. I'll
study in the hall or in the
Area Office," Scales said.
She also said that while
it seems like it has rained
the same number of days
as last year the amount has
definitely increased.
“It rains a lot harder
this year, causing massive
puddles," Scales said.
The excessive amounts of
rain have prompted flooding
on many sidewalks and paths
across campus, most notably
around Moseley Center.
“Over time, sidewalks tend
to settle and the surrounding
soil areas raise up and the
constant rains shows this,"
Flood said.
He said many campus
sidewalks need repair and
are waiting for funding.
But Flood said he prefers
too much rain to not enough.
“It has slowed us down a
lot, but in this business the
weather is a constant factor,"
he said. “Like the old poem,
‘Whether the weather is hot,
/ Or whether the weather is
not, / WTiatever the weather,
/ We'll weather the weather, /
Whether we want to or not.’"
So far, December isn’t
offering any relief from rainy
conditions. As of Dec. 5, 1.72
inches of rain had fallen, 400
percent more than the typical
average for this time.