The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - 5A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - 5A

PEACE CORPS
From Page 1A
ings," Burgess said. "It really
shows that (because of the)
50-year tradition that Michi-
gan has after Kennedy gave that
speech at 2 in the morning."
The idea for the Peace Corps
was first proposed by then-Sen-
ator John FKennedy in a speech
he delivered early in the mornng
of Oct. 14, 1960 on the steps
of the Michigan Union dur-
ing his presidential campaign.
The organization was formally
established by an executive
order, signed by Kennedy on
March 1, 1961.
Current Peace Corps par-
ticipants volunteer in 139 coun-
tries, according to a Peace Corps
press release issued yesterday.
The 25 University graduate
students involved in the Peace
Corps have volunteered in sev-
eral locations overseas such as
South Africa, Western Samoa
and Paraguay.
Burgess, who is a Peace Corp
Fellow, said the ranking reflects
the current status of the Uni-
REGISTRY
From Page 1A
in conjunction with the Univer-
sity.
A new travel registry website
was launched last November.
Godfrey said the previous sys-
tem was difficult to use and as a
result was seldom used, but the
new system has already proved
to be valuable after several
international crises this year.
"It is proving to be an extraor-
dinarily useful way for the Uni-
versity to understand and to
identify people who might need
assistance in some form from
the University," Godfrey said.
There were about 19 Univer-
sity-affiliated individuals in
Egypt at the time of the protests,
according to Godfrey. He said
the travel registry was helpful
in locating and assisting those
abroad in this situation and sev-
eral others.
Though cell phone service
was suspended throughout
Egypt for several days, Green
said Godfrey reached him on his
cell phone on Jan. 31, after ser-
vice was restored, to ensure his
safe travel out of Egypt.
While some of the students
in Egypt were listed in the
PANEL
From Page 1A
holding elections to elect a new
president and parliament.
For Israel, Aharoni said, these
developments will be the end of
the country's ongoing attitude of
denial toward the conflict.
"There's this gradual move
from silence to an understand-
ing," she told the audience.
"(There's) an acknowledgment
that September might be a turn-
ing point in regional politics."
Chief among Israel's priorities
is an effort to stop a proposal by
Western Europe that would see
the implementation of a two-
state solution, Aharoni said.

"We see Israel as beginning
to work on a diplomatic front to
stop this initiative," she said.
But Aharoni also pointed out
that Israelis tend to regard Pal-
estinian relations as similar to
confronting a natural disaster
and something that can't be over-
come.
"The idea of a Palestinian state
is conflated with natural disas-
ters like fires and earthquakes,"
Aharoni said. "The use of these
metaphors makes us think that
Israelis think about (Palestin-
ians) as something that's totally
out of control."
According to Aharoni, the
most likely outcome of the Sep-
tember resolution will be the
continuation of the conflict with-

versity's program. Burgess vol-
unteered in Paraguay educating
communities about environmen-
tal sustainability, according to
the University's International
Center website.
"We're continuing to have a
high number of recruits, a high
number of applicants, and I'm
very proud to be part of that
50-year legacy," Burgess said.
In addition to the graduate
school programs, 94 University
alumni are currently serving in
the Peace Corps in various plac-
es. The University ranks third on
the Peace Corps' list of top vol-
unteer schools in the country for
2011, and ranks fourth as a top
feeder school since the organiza-
tion's founding.
Burgess attributed the Univer-
sity's high number of volunteers
to the campus's strong emphasis
on community service.
"I think it really shows a high
level of character within the stu-
dents and an interest in interna-
tional service (and) an interest
in international development,"
Burgess said.
Rackham student Abby
Hyduke, who is a Peace Corp

Fellow studying in the School
of Natural Resources and Envi-
ronment, said because she was
uncertain what she wanted to
study in graduate school, the Fel-
lows program was a good option
for her.
"I wanted to go and see part
of the world ... to know a differ-
ent place before deciding what
I really wanted to pursue,"
Hyduke said.
Hyduke, who spent her time
in the Peace Corps in Cameroon,
said she worked with local farm-
ers by teaching them how to the
implement farming techniques,
which helped them save money
and practice agriculture more
sustainably.
Hyduke said she enjoys the
program because, unlike most
theses, the fellows' projects have
the potential to be implemented
in underserved communities.
Hyduke added that her course
of study has been changed by her
experiences in the Peace Corps.
"I think I was more of a sci-
entist before, and now I see the
value of incorporating people
and social issues into a profes-
sional life," Hyduke said.

NORTH QUAD
From Page 1A
In response to the situa-
tion, the Stockwell Second Year
Experience programming board
passed an amendment last night
to restrict future funding to only
programs that affect avast major-
ity of residents.
LSA junior Andrew' Schantz,
chair of finance for the Multicul-
tural Council, said the service trip
had been a priority for the coun-
cil since the beginning of the year
because of North Quad's interna-
tional focus. Schantz added that
the money wasn't appropriated to
fund a vacation for students, but
instead to fund a service-based
trip that would allow participat-
ing residents to share their expe-
riences with students upon their
return.
"It's not like we're using this
money frivolously ..." he said.
"The day that they hit the ground
in Peru, they're going to be doing
service work at elementary
schools at Cusco. So it's not like
this is goingto be relaxing and lei-
surelytime for anybody. It's going
to be a lot of hard work."
Due to the reduction in partici-
pants and additional fundingfrom
the Michigan Student Assembly,
Residence Halls Association and
the Ginsberg Center, the Commit-
tee for International Impact - a
subcommittee of the North Quad
Multicultural Council - offered
to return some ofthe funding they
had initially requested from the
council, Schantz said.
The council also faced criticism
for voting on the allocation of
funds since several of the council
members were originally going to
go on the trip. However, the exec-
utive board members and repre-
sentatives of the Multicultural
Council who are participating
in the service trip decided it was
ethical to vote on the proposal to
grant funding for the trip after

discussing it with Hall Director
Laura Johnson, Schantz said.
"We felt that since the partici-
pants on the trip are residents in
the residence hall, and we pay the
same amount of money towards
the general fund that goes towards
the budget ... they had every right
to do so," Schantz said. "It seemed
unfair to take their vote away
from them if they are under the
same conditions. They paid those
dues like everybody else."
LSA sophomore Lauren Mul-
lins, co-chair of International
Impact, will no longer be partici-
pating in the service trip. She
wrote in an e-mail interview that
before voting on funding for the
trip, a vote was held to decide
whether those participating could
vote.
"This service trip is meant
to develop and advance North
Quad's theme community of
International Impact, so in my
mind, allocating funding for this
trip is benefiting more than just
the residents participating, it is
contributing to the residence hall
as a whole and promoting their
mission of affecting change on a
global issue," she wrote.
Because of the incident in
North Quad, members of the
Stockwell Second Year Experi-
ence board voted in favor of a res-
olution that would "look to fund
programs and events which will
positively affect a large number
of its residents."
Brendan Devlin, secretary of
the Stockwell Second Year Expe-
rience programming board, said
the amendment is similar to a
policy RHA already has in place.
David Guenther, executive
chair of the programming board
at Stockwell, said the board want-
ed to ensure a trip similar to that
ofNorth Quad wouldn'tbe funded
in their hall.
"I think that at least at the
RHA meeting, the representatives
seemed to lose focus on what their
roles are," Guenther said. "It's not

to do what you think is right, it's
to do what you think the residents
want."
University Housingspokesman
Peter Logan declined to com-
ment on the Stockwell program-
ming board's amendment until he
receives more information on the
proposal.
Though it isn't likely to be
enacted in other halls, Guenther
said he hopes Stockwell's amend-
ment encourages other represen-
tatives to adhere to the funding
policies.
"We hoped that this would
encourage restrictions on how
moneyis spent, and the (executive
board) has a large influence on
what happens, which they should,
but I feel like there should be more
regulation on how money is dis-
tributed," Guenther said.
LSA junior James Prender-
gast, a North Quad resident, said
though hall councils have a right
to use their funding asthey see fit,
allowing trip participants to vote
was unethical.
"I think it comes under the
realm of corruption when you're
allowed to vote on funding for
yourself," he said.
He added that he thinks fund-
ing should be cut even more since
residents' money is going to be
used to fund a trip for only a few
people.
"I think that only reducing it by
$500 is a slap inthe face," he said.
LSA sophomore Molly Spald-
ing, a resident of North Quad and
a trip participant, said she doesn't
understand whythere were prob-
lems with funding the trip, as it
had been a well-known goal to
fund the travels duringthe year.
"Since our theme is Interna-
tional Impact, the whole goal was
to fund, or partially fund, an inter-
national service trip," she said. "I
think everyone was aware of that
throughout the year.
- YounJoo Sang
contributed tothis report.


travel registry, others, like
Rackham student Eric Schewe,
weren't, which made evacuat-
ing them more difficult, God-
frey said. However, Godfrey
obtained Schewe's information
from his HTH Insurance poli-
cy. To make this process more
efficient, Godfrey said he wants
to synchronize insurance infor-
mation with the registry in the
future.
Schewe and his wife Val-
entine, a Ph.D. candidate at
Columbia University, were con-
ducting research in Cairo when
the protests began. Schewe said
Godfrey contacted him - the
only University graduate stu-
dent in Cairo at the time - and
coordinated with Columbia
University to have them evacu-
ated out of Egypt together on
Feb. 2.
After the couple left Egypt,
they spent three weeks with
family friends in London before
returning to work in Cairo.
Schewe, who is currently in
Cairo, said in an interview via
Skype that he is now listed on
the travel registry.'
"At the end of the day, we
were never really in direct dan-
ger," he said.
After a bus bombing in Jeru-
salem last month that killed one
out the two parties reaching an
agreement. Under this scenario,
Aharoni said, "both sides contin-
ue with what we know as unilat-
eral measures ... the conflict will
not end, it will transform."
Regardless of the outcome,
Aharoni said violence is unavoid-
able. The only question is how
much violence will occur, she
said.
The second panelist, Mark
Tessler, the Samuel J. Eldersveld
Collegiate Professor of Political
Science at the University, took a
different approach in discussing
the regional tension. He empha-
sized-how the recent uprisings in
places like Egypt and Libya could
have an impact on Israeli-Pales-
tinian relations.
As Tessler pointed out, the
Israeli-Palestinian issue isn't
a motivating factor of those
involved in the ongoinguprisings
in the Middle East.
"(For) the people who are
coming out in Egypt, Israel is not
part of the equation at all," Tes-
sler said.
However, despite Israel's non-
involvement in the developments
thus far, the uprisings in the
Middle East present an oppor-
tunity for Israel to take a stance
on the issue, which could have
repercussions on Israeli-Pales-
tinian relations, Tessler said.
"The question is, how should
Israel respond?" Tessler asked
the panel. "Is this a challenge or
an opportunity? Does it change

person and injured 30 others,
Godfrey said he heard back from
four University students study-
ing abroad in Israel within an
hour of the explosion because
of contact facilitated by having
the students' information in the
registry.
The travel registry also
allowed the University to reach
all students in Japan within a
few hours during last month's
earthquake, Godfrey said.
He said all students would
benefit from using the registry
as a lifeline in times of crisis.
Godfrey said he urges every
student to use the service when
traveling for University-related
business, personal pleasure or
otherwise.
Students may lose out on
assistance without the connec-
tion the registry provides to the
outside world, Miller said. He
added that students shouldn't
assume they don't need to use
the registry when traveling
to stable countries. Students
could end up in the hospital and
unable to arrange medical and
travel plans.
"You can't assume just
because you're going to a place
that seems politically stable and
all of that (that) you'll be safe,"
Miller said.
things in a fundamental sense?"
According to panelist Victor
Lieberman, the Marvin B. Beck-
er Collegiate Professor of His-
tory at the University, the recent
revolts and the Palestinians'
push for statehood each spell
trouble for Israel. The resigna-
tion of former Egyptian Presi-
dent Hosni Mubarak may lead
to the emergence of latent anti-
Israel sentiment that Mubarak's
regime suppressed, he said.
"Democracy in Egypt will cre-
ate a larger space for (anti-Israe-
li) voices to be heard than was
the case when Mubarak was in
power," Lieberman said.
Accordingto Lieberman, "The
Arab world at large ... is pushing
for a more principled anti-Israel
position."
But Lieberman said he
believes the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict can only be settled by an
external force.
"The Palestinians won't
accept any concessions," Lieber-
man said. "I don't see how the
situation will stabilize with-
out external intervention from
America."
In an interview after the
meeting, LSA junior Dafna Eis-
bruch, an executive board mem-
ber of J Street UMich, said she
was pleased with the diversity of
opinions expressed at the panel.
"I was really grateful to the
panelists for putting some seri-
ous analysis into the prompts we
gave them," Eisbruch said.

mh 'LIKE' THE DAILY ON FACEBOOK'

WILL YOU BE IN ANN ARBOR
THIS SUMMER?
Write for the Summer Daily.
E-MAIL BETHLB@MICHIGANDAILY.COM

p