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Arizona Daily Wildcat
The independent student voice of the University of Arizona since 1899 friday, february , dailywildcat.com
tucson, arizona
N. Korea escapee speaks at UA Credit By Matt Lewis ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT “Free North Korea” chants resonated across the UA Mall Thursday morning, as part of a rally sponsored by local churches and organizations, as well as student clubs UA LiNK, UA New Abolitionists and UA Navigators. The rally began at 7 a.m. at Himmel Park, where about 100 people prayed for freedom in North Korea. After a brief prayer, they marched down Speedway Boulevard to the Mall, where they handed out several fliers and spoke with those walking by. Carina Groves, an international studies senior and one of the rally
About 12 local and student organizations participated 100 people marched 450 T-shirts were handed out 4,000 flyers were handed out
organizers, said that there were events happening all over the world this week in an effort to raise awareness. A man attended the rally who escaped from North Korea. He is referred to as Tom to protect his identity. Student organizations, churches and other local groups helped raise about $1,600 to fly Tom to Tucson to speak at various events throughout the week. The money came from donations of friends and family and was raised in about a week. According to Groves, there are only 97 refugees in the U.S. “The fact that we could get one out here … it’s a really big deal,”Groves said. Tom flew from South Korea to speak in Tucson this week to promote freedom for North Koreans. Tom came to the UA because of his friendship with Robert Park, a missionary who entered North Korea and was detained for more than a month. Park met Tom while in South Korea.
Park and others wanted Tom to speak and tell those in the Tucson community his story. Tom made it to freedom with only one arm and one leg. He swam across the Tumen River between North Korea and the People’s Republic of China. He was heading south through China when Chinese officials caught him. Worried he was going to be sent back to North Korea, Tom prayed. There happened to be a Korean translator nearby, who came up and asked if he could help. The translator told the Chinese official that Tom was mentally ill and on his way to a mental hospital, so he was released. He made it into Laos and had to cross by foot to Thailand with a crutch. He was captured and tortured before being released. He eventually made it to South Korea and has been living there for three years. According to Tom’s translator,
Jung Sook Kim, he came here to let people know about the serious human rights violations currently occuring in North Korea. “It is really impressive for me that the American community is concerned about human rights in North Korea,”Kim said. About a dozen organizations were part of the events that have been going on all week to spread the word about human rights violations in North Korea. Even kids on Rodeo break came out to show their support. Hannah Yoon, a seventh grader at Alice Vail Middle School, said she was there because of encouragement from her mom. Yoon’s family is originally from South Korea, and Yoon presumes she might have North Korean relatives. Groves hopes the news of these rallies leaks into North Korea. “(We hope) they get the message that we are going to stand behind them when they are ready,” she said.
Rodney Haas/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Demonstrators hold signs denouncing the North Korean government during a rally on the UA Mall Thursday. The demonstration was organized by the student group LiNK to draw attention to the human rights violations occurring in North Korea.
Fun and charity at UA Derby Days By Bethany Barnes ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT Sorority members were put to the test during a field day event on the UA Mall on Thursday. Derby Days, a philanthropy event hosted by fraternity Sigma Chi, will benefit the Diamond Children’s Medical Center, part of the University Medical Center. Sororities compete to raise the most money by putting on various events throughout the week. Derby Days is Sigma Chi’s first big philanthropy. They are partnering with 11 campus sororities and hope to raise a combined $10,000. Participating sororities tried to capture the Derby flag, ran through a Derby obstacle course and competed in an egg walk. Coaches, members of Sigma Chi, also had to compete in a “Fear Factor” competition as part of the field day. They ate pickles, pig ears, hot sauce, pig skin and beef liver, according to John Bethune, an undeclared freshman and Sigma Chi member. All week, sororities have had jugs on the Mall to collect spare change for the penny wars and have been stealing hats from Sigma Chi members for points in the Derby Hunt. Stephanie Beneze, a retailing and consumer sciences sophomore and sorority member, said she thought participation had been great, especially since it is Sigma Chi’s first big event. Business administration senior and Sigma Chi member Jason Flam agreed: “A lot of people have been donating,”he said.“We’ve been getting a lot of support.” Many students said it was great to have fun while raising money.
Jelani Reynolds, a pre-business freshman and Sigma Chi member, said he thought it was important for everyone to remember the purpose of the event. “Yeah, it’s fun to do all the events, but the main point is it’s going to the children,” Beneze said.“And it gets Greek Life out there.” Beneze said she has enjoyed the events and remarked that the competition between sororities has been friendly. Tara Thovson, a pre-public health sophomore and sorority member, said she was surprised at the amount of support they‘ve seen from people who are not affiliated with Greek Life. Other events for Derby Day included Sign a Sig on Tuesday and Derby Darling Skit Night on Wednesday. For Sign a Sig, Sigma Chi members wore white shirts with ∑X on them, and sorority women found them and signed their name on the shirts to receive points for their sorority. Derby Darling Skit Night, featuring skits created and judged by children from Diamond Children’s Medical Center, was put on by the sororities. “The purpose of this event is to build team unity between coaches and participants and compete for the coveted title of Derby Darlings,” said Michael Colletti, Sigma Chi’s recruitment chair. Sigma Chi will host a volleyball tournament today at the Student Recreation Center, which will be followed by closing ceremonies and a benefit concert. “It has become very near and dear to our hearts, and we are trying to make the event as successful as possible to ensure it remains a lasting legacy at the UA, generating money for decades to come for the Diamond Children’s Medical Center,” Colletti said.
Lisa Beth Earle/Arizona Daily Wildcat
Sigma Chi fraternity members Daniel Tellez, an engineering freshman, and Collin MacCabe, a psychology freshman, carefully slather shaving cream on balloons to prepare them for a balloon shaving contest.
According to Colletti, the winning sorority will receive a trophy, a team picture, a letter to their national chapters and a date dash with Sigma Chi.
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cards to face changes By Alex Newman ARIZONA DAILY WILDCAT
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, which went into effect on Monday, aims to reduce credit debt for people under 21. The CARD Act introduces various new requirements for credit card companies to follow, such as giving cardholders a 45-day notice before increasing interest rates or changing their annual or late fees. It also gives them the opportunity to cancel their account before those changes occur. Especially relevant to college students are the new rules which state that credit card companies cannot give people under 21 credit unless they can prove they have the ability to pay. If they don’t bring in a regular paycheck, they must find someone to co-sign for them. These provisions were not part of the original legislation, but were later added by Congress to the CARD Act, according to Jeanne M. Hogarth, who works on the Federal Reserve Board’s Division of Consumer and Community Affairs. “I think Congress was hearing horror stories about the level of credit card debt that students were facing and really, really trying to address this by saying, ‘We have a set of people who are not yet quite ready for full blown credit on their own, let’s find a way to give them credit experience to lead to a positive outcome for them,’” Hogarth said. Hogarth, who oversees all of the board’s federal education outreach efforts, spoke at the UA on Thursday about how the CARD Act protects consumers in this financial market. Hogarth emphasized that consumers can now do a lot of things with their credit cards, besides charging purchases. They can transfer balances from one card to another, part of an effort to bring regulations up to speed with the changing technologies. “As things change in the marketplace policies and regulations … our educational and outreach efforts have to change along with them. We were seeing rise in risk-based pricing,” said Hogarth, reflecting that credit card companies give out lines of credit to those with bad credit and simply charge a higher price, in the form of more fees or higher interest rates. Hogarth said several people have asked her if these changes are a result of the current financial crisis, but the Federal Reserve Board has been working on this project since 2006. It wasn’t until May 2009 that Congress turned the projected policies into law. The act’s provisions will go into effect throughout this year. These policies are meant to hold lenders and consumers accountable. One specification of the act requires that those who have no stable income have a co-signer serves as a safety net. “That co-signer might serve as a mentor or a coach to you and help you not make the mistakes maybe they made when they were 18 or 19,” Hogarth said. “The bad news is you have this co-signer on your credit card, and you’re maybe not going to be able to do everything you want to do.” If someone doesn’t have a steady paycheck or someone to co-sign, they can sign up for a secured credit card. This means putting down a security deposit, which then becomes their credit limit. The problem with this is finding the money for your security deposit, Hogarth said.
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