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Immigration & National Security: Reframing the Post 9/11 DebatePresenter: Margaret Stock, Attorney; U.S. Army Reserve Military Police Corps lieutenant colonel; associate professor of social sciences, U.S. Military Academy; visiting fellow, Border Research Policy Institute, WWU· Which post-9/11 changes in immigration policy have improved national security, and which have not? What future changes should be considered? Information about each of the events and the speakers can be found at www.wwu.edu/fairhaven.

I know, when you are looking for a stress-buster, government information is not the first thing that comes to mind. But try this website. Unfortunately it only works during daylight hours on the East Coast.

In our first issue of the journal, Nadine Strossen, the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union shared the following concern with our readers in her article, ” Keeping The Constitution Inside The Schoolhouse Gate--Students' Rights Thirty Years After Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District.”

She wrote:

“Most importantly, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,[7] which the United Nations General Assembly adopted unanimously in 1989, broke all records as both the most rapidly ratified and the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.[8] Out of all 193 nation-states in the world, only two have not ratified this convention.[9] It recognizes broad rights for minors….
“Alas, though, of the two countries in the entire world that have not ratified this convention, one is our very own United States.[11] The only other country that is our companion in this tiny category of non-ratifiers is Somalia.[12] And that is only because Somalia does not have an internationally recognized government, so it is literally unable to ratify-an excuse that is not available to the United States![13] The United States Government's refusal to ratify this international convention protecting minors' and students' rights in part reflects our country's longstanding general isolationism concerning international law.[14] But it also reflects the recent subversion of young people's dignity and rights throughout our domestic political and legal systems.[15]”


This Friday, November 20th, will mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States has still not ratified this treaty in which the world community recognized the universal human rights and protection needs of children. During his presidential campaign, President Obama recognized the need to review our treaties in order to ensure that the United States resumes its role of global leadership in human rights. This Friday, on its 20th anniversary, would be a good day for the Senate to finally ratify the treaty. (It had been signed by President Clinton in 1995 but never ratified by the Senate)

For more information on the Convention on the Rights of the Child , go to Unicef website.




Understanding the Convention on the Rights of the Child

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The Western Gallery will present artist Geraldine Ondrizek's "The Sound of Cells Dividing" as its first major exhibition of the 2009-2010 academic year. The exhibit will be on display from Sept. 28 through Nov. 25."The Sound of Cells Dividing" will exhibit Ondrizek's recent film "Cellular" and its corresponding set of drawings of a blastocyst, a multiple-cell embryo, as well as her "Sound Wall" installation, which was created for the Center for Art and Technology (CAMAC) and housed in a 17th century monastery in France. "Sound Wall" will be recreated for the Western Gallery. In conjunction with the exhibition, Ondrizek will offer a lecture about her work on Wednesday, Oct. 21. For information on the time and location of her lecture, visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu or call (360) 650-3900.Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Wednesdays, when the gallery is open until 8 p.m., and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Live music and poetry readings frequently are presented in the Gallery on Wednesday evenings. For more event details, visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu/.

Many Americans, it would appear, seem conflicted about work and leisure. Charles Sylvester, a professor in the Physical Education, Health and Recreation Department at Western Washington University, is curious about why. He'll discuss the topic of work and leisure - including a few ways Americans might harmonize the two - at a public lecture from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Bellingham City Hall Chambers in downtown Bellingham.

Enhance your SQL Server, database and technology skills with a Western Washington University course. Designed for database professionals, administrators and developers, the SQL Server courses will provide practical concepts and tools. Five courses are available, from an introductory course to performance tuning. Complete three courses out of the five offered to earn a WWU SQL certificate. Attend an Information Session on Nov. 17, 6 p.m. at 405 32nd St., Room 360, Bellingham. Details are on the Web, www.ExtendedEd.wwu.edu or contact eesp@wwu.edu or (360) 650-3308.

Western Washington University is offering a travel course to Costa Rica, from March 20-29, 2010. The course, "Tropical Eco-Farming and Sustainability in Costa Rica," will examine how the country is using ecologically sound methods of growing food. Attend an information meeting on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. in WWU-Fairhaven 343, or Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. in WWU-Communication Facility 225. For details, visit http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/eesp/costarica/index.shtml or email eesp@wwu.edu.

Sandra Alfers , Department of Modern & Classical Languages, presents "Between Memory and Oblivion: German Language Poetry from the Camps." This talk introduces German language poetry written by prisoners in the Theresienstadt transit camp between 1941 and 1945.

This event gives students who are interested in law school the opportunity to meet and interact with law school recruiters as well as pick up information about multiple schools and the application processes for each one.

Earn a B.A. or B.S. in Environmental Studies from Western Washington University's award-winning Huxley College of the Environment. Visit with the program manager for more information, November 17, 10 am-1 pm, at Peninsula College in the PUB. Program details are on the Web at www.acadweb.wwu.edu/eesp/huxley/index.shtml or call (360) 417-6521.

The Western Gallery will present artist Geraldine Ondrizek's "The Sound of Cells Dividing" as its first major exhibition of the 2009-2010 academic year. The exhibit will be on display from Sept. 28 through Nov. 25."The Sound of Cells Dividing" will exhibit Ondrizek's recent film "Cellular" and its corresponding set of drawings of a blastocyst, a multiple-cell embryo, as well as her "Sound Wall" installation, which was created for the Center for Art and Technology (CAMAC) and housed in a 17th century monastery in France. "Sound Wall" will be recreated for the Western Gallery. In conjunction with the exhibition, Ondrizek will offer a lecture about her work on Wednesday, Oct. 21. For information on the time and location of her lecture, visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu or call (360) 650-3900.Both the lecture and the exhibition are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Wednesdays, when the gallery is open until 8 p.m., and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Live music and poetry readings frequently are presented in the Gallery on Wednesday evenings. For more event details, visit http://westerngallery.wwu.edu/.

Winter Advising & Registration is Western's advising, orientation and registration assistance program for Winter 2009 new students.Participants will meet with helpful academic advisors, receive course registration information, become familiar with important campus resources and make connections with other new students and WWU community members.Transfer students may attend on Nov. 7, Nov. 17,Dec. 5 or Jan. 5. Freshmen must attend on Jan. 5. Post-baccalaureate students should contact Academic Advising at (360) 650-3850 or advising@wwu.edu to schedule an individual advising appointment. Advance reservations are required. For complete program details and to reserve your space online, visit http://www.nssfo.wwu.edu/.

Not that you asked, but I’ve decided to tell you about my (roughly) five favorite books about Middle Eastern archaeology. I’m just a buff in the field, but I recently read a terrific book and decided to blurb/blog (blurg?) about it and four other faves. In no particular order…

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of our oldest literary masterpieces. With its themes of quests for immortality and concerns about the proper way to live as a king (or a person) it is still fascinating.

It is easy to forget that the Epic was lost to memory for millennium. David Damrosch has constructed his The Buried Book, as he notes, like an archaeological dig. It begins with the most recent layer, and moves farther back in time.

The first chapter is about George Smith, an Englishmen with a unique ability to translate ancient texts. A printer by trade, he used to visit the British Museum on his lunch hours, and contrary to the stereotype of Victorian England, the scholars recognized this lower class tradesman for the find he was. He was able to bring the ancient tale of Gilgamesh into modern language and, in 1872, discovered one of its most greatest attractions: a story of the world flood with unmistakeable parallels to the one in Genesis.

Next Damrosch tells the story of Hormuzd Rassam who discovered the texts but was cheated of some of his fame because of English prejudice against foreigners – surely he was no more than the hired digmaster, working for some proper British supervisor!

The book then covers what we know about the writing of the Epic, which is rather surprisingly much – even including the name of the scribe who is credited with putting the final version together. Even more amazingly, while we only have two thirds of the text of this final work, we have some of the Sumerian poems from which the Assyrian version was compiled – which is as if we had some of the early texts Homer had used to compose the Illiad.

Finally Damrosch shows us what can be glimpsed through the veils of time about the historic person Gilgamesh – or more properly Bilgamesh. Take this little tidbit. One ancient scribe compiled a list of all the kings who had ruled in Sumeria. His collection of the monarchs of the city of Uruk can be divided into recent historical figures (with reigns from 6 years to a few decades) and ancient mythical figures (who supposedly ruled for thousands of years each).

These two groups are neatly separated by a king who supposedly ruled for 126 years. I don’t think you need to be a scholar to speculate: “this one isn’t completely a myth. They knew something about him but he was so legendary that they had to credit him with a century of rule to account for everything he supposedly accomplished.” As you may have guessed, that king was Bilgamesh.

The Buried Book is great fun.

According to WWU’s AS Review, it’s a good time to talk about transportation — and they are correct! There are a few things that I want to share with you today, lurkers, so listen up!

First of all, AJ and I are in the AS Review! The article is concerning ways that students can get home over the holidays. You probably know a lot about that already if you’ve been reading this blog, but you still might want to check it out.

Okay, enough self-promotion! Time to get serious. There is another article in the AS Review that discusses the ways in which the WTA is changing — pretty important stuff! Like all of us, the WTA is feeling the strain of these tough financial times and the board of directors is currently grappling with budget cut options. One option is to cut service by 10%, with the affected routes determined by ridership. Since they’d still be “in the red”, as the AS Review puts it, the other option is to make those service cuts as well as discontinue Sunday service.

If you think like I do, you’re probably saying: “NOOOOO! I need to be able to go places on Sundays!” It’s a little more complicated than that, though — WTA needs to be able to afford to fill essential positions, pay their employees fair wages, and provide them with reasonable benefits. Since their staff is stretched thin, canceling Sunday service would be fairer to the workers who make the bus system we know and love possible. Though the service changes (if they’re approved) won’t take place until June 2010, you can make your voice heard at the public hearing this week, with whatever you feel should be done. As stated on the WTA’s Rider Alert page, the hearing will take place at 8:00am on Thursday, November 19th at Whatcom County Council Chambers (311 Grand Ave, 98226).

Oh yeah, and there was a power outtage this morning. Heh.

And another thing — Amtrak trains going out of Bellingham the day before Thanksgiving are selling out fast! Get on it if you want to get out of town that day.