Unity Week sweeps over Suffolk

The week in summary: What’s it all about?

Article by: Angela Bray

Suffolk’s Unity Week continues to rock the university with events, discussions and cultural celebrations. The events kicked off last Saturday with the third annual Multicultural Summit, Respectful Confrontation: The Practice of Compassionate Engagement, which was presented by the Office of Diversity Services.

Unity Week annually organizes events consisting of speakers, entertainment, dialogues, classes, music, and food. The relationships of different groups are demonstrated to share diverse perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds.

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World Briefs March 3, 2010

Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda—A group of about 100 gays and lesbians met in secret to discuss their response to a pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which calls for the death penalty for some gay acts, according to GlobalPost.com. The event was organized by Rev. Mark Kiyimba of the Uganda Unitarian Universalist Church. “Our conference showed that religion does not need to be an enemy to the cause of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] concerns. What is at stake here is religious freedom, human rights and minority protections,” he told GlobalPost. Kiyimba is married, but declares himself as bisexual. The participants resolved to petition the parliament to reject the current bill and instead move to decriminalize homosexuality

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Why Operation Moshtarak is a responsible way to fight the war (Part I of II)

Article by: Alex Pearlman

“You have to understand that if you don’t do what you say, we’ll all be killed.” These are ominous words to anyone, but to General Stanley McChrystal, it’s nothing more than the truth. One of 450 tribal elders and scholars from the Helmand Province who gathered in Kabul earlier this month, readying the U.S., British, NATO and Afghan forces against the Taliban, said those words to McChrystal, who then passed the message along to President Obama, who responded, “Do not clear and hold what you are not willing to build and transfer.”

Time Magazine this week recounted this story in their feature “Taking it to the Taliban,” which details the plans for the allied offensive against the insurgency in the southern-central Helmand Province city of Marjah.

The Obama Administration has for months insisted that they are not fighting President Bush’s war. Now, it finally seems like they’re telling the truth.

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Are video essays the new big thing?

Article by: Angela Bray

“Share a one-minute video that says something about you. Upload it to YouTube or another easily accessible Web site, and give us the URL. What you do or say is totally up to you.” One can only do so much in a minute.

This year for the prospective Class of 2014, Tufts University (Medford, MA) has added an optional video option to the application supplement. Is this appropriate?

It sounds fun; it’s a way to form an impression off-paper and interview-free. Video submission ideas are limitless to creativity and talent as stated on the application, and anything may be done or said. Seeking amusement, my roommate and I clicked the link to the applicant videos. Some made us laugh, while others were absolutely demeaning. The stream was synonymous to the standard YouTube channel. We viewed a variety of things: raps, songs, dances, and… a math dance? Thrown in the mix of music videos was a girl rapping with her mouth rubber-banded shut. Random?

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