8The DePaulia.
June 1, 2010
What's going
on abroad?
Image courtesy of Rachel Metea
DePaul students working
at community center Emil-
iano Zapata Sur.
From left: Joel Lydic, Jeff
Lynd, Leah Jeedas and
Beatriz Marquez.
Three DePaul students
are currently engaged
in a community-based
research project in the
Emiliano Zapata Sur
community in Mérida,
Mexico. Students are
working to understand
the impact of community
engagement for the com-
munity and themselves
as students.
“The objective was
to help the community
define its strengths and
weaknesses as well as
find a common identity,”
said Joel Lydic, a senior
who is participating in
the program. “We want
to learn about these types
of stories and families
and observe how they
work together.”
Their research will be
contributed to a book
chapter to be published
for an edited volume on
International Service-
Learning. The chapter
will document the rela-
tionship and partnership
that has developed be-
tween DePaul Univer-
sity and Marista Univer-
sity (situated in Mérida,
Mexico) and its impact
on both the community
and the students.
The most interesting
thing the research has
found, said Lydic is on
the Maya people.
“In Mexico, Maya are
marginalized like Mexi-
cans are marginalized in
the US,” said Lydic. “So
Maya income and stan-
dard of living and so on
is very, very low, even
compared to poor other
Mexican’ incomes.”
“Maya immigrants in
the US tend to make
more money, hold better
jobs, be leaders in their
communities and so on,”
said Lydic. “So within
Mexican diasporas in the
US, Mayan people are
better off.”
NATION & WORLD
Detroit corruption should sound familiar to Chicagoans
By MOLLIE PELON
“The difference between Detroit corruption
and Chicago corruption is that Chicago found
a way to make it work, whereas Detroit’s
schemes just bury the city into a deeper hole,”
said Robert Fidler, a journalism major at
DePaul. As a Detroit-area native, Fidler said
corruption cases no longer phase him.
Former Detroit political consultant Sam
Riddle turned himself in to federal authorities.
According to the Detroit News, on May 25,
Riddle arrived at the federal courthouse, bible
in hand, and said, “It’s a beautiful day. The sun
is shining, and it’s a great day to go to jail.”
Earlier this month, Riddle pleaded
guilty in a federal court to charges
of bribery, extortion and tax evasion.
He is also being tried for civil crimes.
In February, he returned home to find
former state representative, and his live-in
girlfriend, Mary Walters in bed with another
man. Angered, he pulled a shotgun on Walters.
Riddle is now facing up to five years in state
prison for assault charges.
Texas textbooks rewrite history
By J.V. SIEGEL
Changes to Texas textbooks have caused
outrage across the country. On May 21,
the 15-member Texas Board of Education
voted 9-5 to pass new standards that apply
to all civics classes. The board argued
that the teachers that wrote the curriculum
were too liberally biased and believe the
corrections they made to include Republican
political philosophies and the portrayal of
conservatives in a more positive light.
The proposals had been made several
months ago by the board. Under the new
standards, the word “capitalism” will be
replaced by “free enterprise system.” There
will be a stronger focus on biblical and
Christian traditions as well.
“The purpose of history should not be to
present only the positive stories about the
past,” said Dr. Margaret Storey, a history
professor at DePaul and an expert on the
south "We don't live in a hermetically sealed
world—how will the students deal with a
world that presents them with moral or
political contradictions?”
Texas’ Board of Education reviews the
state’s public school curriculum every ten
years. The current board of education, which
includes a self-described “fundamentalist
Christian” voted for Thomas Jefferson to
be omitted from world history classes as
an influential philosopher. This is due to
Jefferson’s belief of the separation of church
and state, a term he coined.
The study of the McCarthy Era in the U.S.
places a strong emphasis on the release of
papers that implicated some of those brought
to trial by McCarthy in the late 1940s and
early 1950s.
“This board, like many Americans, believes
that this history education will provide an
opportunity to build citizens in a mold they
find appealing or suitable,” said Storey. “This
doesn't necessary make for good history,
though.”
Under the new standards, the state will
observe “Celebrate Freedom Week.” Students
in Grades 3-12 will study and recite, “We
hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the Pursuit of Happiness–That to secure these
Suspicion around Riddle began earlier Forty minutes before arriving at the courthouse
this year when ex-Detroit councilwoman
Monica Conyers was convicted of bribery.
Riddle tweeted, “Hold on. I’m coming.”
Other tweets include, “Deal with it. Do the
She is currently serving three years in prison. time. Try 2 stay alive. Get these people outta
Riddle turned himself in, in hopes of serving my fking life.” As well as, “Do not be in
time in a federal prison as opposed to a state denial. Detroit is a hard ass city that eats its
prison. Riddle’s attorney, Richard Convertino, babies.”
prefers federal prisons because he believes English student Sam Carlton, a freshman
they are better funded and managed than state from Michigan said, “Sam Riddle’s use of
prisons. social media such as Twitter and Facebook
Throughout his career, Riddle has been is diminishing his credibility as a public
very active on social media such as Twitter servant by using phrases such as, ‘straight
and Facebook. In an earlier case he tweeted, up respect 4 you.’ These pages make me
“The power of the individual in America must sad to see the city of Detroit in the hands of
never be underestimated or trivialized for such an immature and unprofessional figure.”
the power of one is mighty indeed.” In this Some Detroiters joked about former mayor
deadlocked case, many questioned his motives. Kwame Kilpatrick and Riddle sharing a cell
In his current case, Riddle has actively as Kilpatrick was recently sentenced to 18
posted on his Facebook and Twitter. “I months to 5 years for violating probation.
love Detroit,” he wrote. “I love the energy “Detroit is actually a great city and it’s
of my supporters and even find a tad of people like him that give it a bad name,”
love for the haters that I believe simply said Annie Edwards, a psychology student.
want decent and honest government and “Hopefully the new mayor can turn it around
leadership. The people deserve no less.” and make it into the city it has the potential
Adding, “posts from the cell will follow.” to become.”
means that other states, who may completely
disagree with the new material, would be
stuck with Texas’ books. States with different
political and cultural ideologies will have to
take Texas’ textbooks.”
Some states plan to take action against
Texas' textbook changes. Before Texas’
vote took place, SB 1451, a bill which
would make California report any standards
stemming from Texas’ new standards, to
the California state legislature and the
secretary of education was presented. The
bill describes Texas’ new academic standards
as “a sharp departure from widely accepted
historical teachings that are driven by an
inappropriate ideological desire to influence
academic standards for children in [Texas]
public schools.”
The Texas Board of Education's decision
does not not appear to be popular iwith all
Texans either.
Image courtesy of MCT Wire Service "This bill is absurd," said Bobbi Rutter, a
Texas State Representative Mike DePaul mother who sent three kids through
Texas public schools. “I do agree that this
Villarreal holds a news conference to
country was founded on Christian morals,
protest proposed changes to the new but this is going extreme. I don’t believe in
social studies textbook guidelines.
homeschooling at all, but if these textbooks
had been around when any one of my
Rights, Governments are instituted among children were going through school, I would
Men, deriving their just Powers from the have homeschooled all of them."
Consent of the Governed.” Jamie Rutter, a student who went to
The inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln, Texas public schools said, “It’s terribly
and Confederacy president Jefferson Davis embarrassing. There are enough stereotypes
will also be studied. Davis’ will be studied associated with Texas, but now the schools
so as to understand that the Civil war was are bringing in these asinine changes. Now
fought, not because of slavery, but because I’ll have to tell people I was educated there
of state’s rights according to the Texas' Board before the changes were made.”
of Education. The liberals on the board of education
The Texas public school system has 4.7 settled for debating individual changes
million students, which is second in the including they debated the rationale behind
nation only to the 6.2 million students in the reason to use Barack Obama’s first name
California's public school system. when referring to the current president. They
Due to Texas’ large amount of students, also would not allow the term “slavery” to
other states are worried that publishers be taken out of the text in favor of “African
will cater to the state’s demands, and the triangular trade.”
other states will receive books with Texas The changes are slated to become effective
standards. Due to the economic status, many in August of 2011, despite the strong criticism
states cannot pay full attention to textbooks. from citizens in the state and abroad. “It’s
“The Illinois state legislature is too a shame that public education is such a
embroiled right now to pay attention to convenient target. We can’t call the Texas
its students receiving Texas’ books,” said public schools a battleground though,” said
Dr. Harold London, professor of education. Dr. London, “but I can’t think of a better title
“The fact that Texas is such a large state for the situation.”
and has such a large demand for textbooks,

This week in world news
8 Elton John performed in Morocco and raised an outcry. Is-
lamists in the North African kingdom were outraged by the gay
pop star's visit, while the royal palace, government and his many
fans backed his appearance."
3 The Department of
Homeland Security said,
"the number and pace of at-
tempted attacks against the
US over the past 9 months
has surpassed the number k l
j p
of attempts during any other
previous one-year period."
n new "Like" button, Facebook
1 Cancun mayor Gre-
gorio Sanchez has been ar-
rested in relation with drug
trafficking, money launder-
ering and organized crime
charges
2 Space shuttle Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space
Center marking the end of its 32nd and final mission.
Students criticize Ugandan anti-gay bill
By DAVID RITTER
A bill in Uganda that would have made homosexuality
punishable by death was given a serious setback this week.
First proposed in Oct. 2009, the bill would have increased
the penalties for taking part in homosexual activities or
being HIV positive to death in some cases. The content of
bill was inspired by the teachings of American evangelical
Christians who claimed homosexuality was threatening
the moral fiber of Uganda.
The debate about the legal treatment of homosexuality
has inspired American activists to donate time and money
to affect the outcome of the bill. Given the content and
severity of the bill, the life of the bill has raised questions
about the moral direction of the United States’ efforts
abroad.
“It’s a catch 22,” said senior CDM and history major
Elliot Rahal of American ethics. “We try to play the good
guys, but we still subscribe to neo-liberal capitalism,
which degrades human rights. Abortion rights, gay rights
and civil rights get attention because we can change them
in our communities and because we understand how to
change them. We then superimpose those values on the
Nation & World. June 1, 2010. The DePaulia 9
m q
r and block outside parties from
5 Airborne lasers have "stripped"
away thick rain forests in Belize to
reveal new images of an ancient
Maya metropolis that's far bigger
than anyone had thought.
9Free speech activists in Zimbabwe
are celebrating a breakthrough
for press freedom with the
unity government's decision to
award licenses to four new daily
newspapers.
7 The violence from attempts to arrest a suspected drug kingpin in
Jamaica left 73 people dead and 26 injured.
world, but the world isn’t in our control.”
After being introduced, the bill drew the attention of
UN countries that saw it as a violation of human rights.
Threatening to pull their aid from Uganda unless the bill
is revised or dropped completely, the bill’s progress was
successfully stalled in parliament. A special committee
organized by Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has
recommended withdrawing the bill completely on the
grounds that it is unconstitutional. Currently, the authors
of the bill may reduce penalties against homosexuality to
life imprisonment rather than death.
The degree to which other nations’ legal systems are
becoming battlegrounds for American culture wars is
equally disturbing, said sophomore information assurance
student Rob Morrison. “My problem with this is that
it’s a completely American thing. When I heard it was
evangelical Christians, I didn’t even bat an eye.”
“It makes sense that when American evangelical
Christians would do one thing in a different country, then
American groups that oppose them would do the other.
But are some international efforts okay just because I
agree with them?” Morrison said.  people are going to become educated well enough that
Morrison said he condemns the association between
6 A defiant North Korea said it would
sever all ties with South Korea, cut
off communications and expel workers
from a jointly run industrial park in a
bellicose response to the South's efforts
to seek redress for the sinking of one of
its ships.
o
4 After backlash over the
has made it easier for users
to change privacy settings
seeing personal info.
Photos courtesy of MCT Wire services
” This is a case of widespread
ignorance.'
Rob Morrison, sophmore
“
people who are HIV-positive and gay. “It’s pretty
ridiculous," he said. "I understand how AIDS and
homosexuality have been linked in the past, but I just
can’t believe people still make that connection. This is a
case of widespread ignorance.”
Globalization, which is partially responsible for the
creation of the bill, could alleviate this kind of ignorance,
said senior international studies major Dipesh Patel. Patel
said he saw the increased connectivity globalization brings
as having potential for good as well as bad to the bill.
“I think a lot of anti-gay legislation is going to change
in the next few years," Patel said. " Because so much of it
relies on ridiculous ideas of what homosexuality is."
He added, "As people get more connected to each other,
there’s going to be a greater capacity for people to learn
about sexual minorities and demystify them. I think
they’ll either learn to accept them or just stop caring that
they exist at all.”