AWOL - Issue 009

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE » FALL 2011 » ISSUE 009

REVERSING A CENTURY OF NEGLECT

ON THE ANACOSTIA

+ RACE AS A SEXUAL CONQUEST + PROTEST NATION + THE LOST AU PRESIDENT WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

2

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE » FALL 2011 » ISSUE 009

MISSION:

“I think it’s really dangerous that we often think that only bad people are racist, or that it’s only racism when the person committing the offense intended to hurt somebody.” - Danielle Evans, p. 5

AWOL is a progressive magazine run by American University students in Washington, DC. Founded in the spring of 2008 with support from Campus Progress, we are a recognized publication of American University.

We exist to ignite campus discussion of social, cultural and political issues, and serve as an outpost for students to explore solutions to local and global problems. We hope to build bridges between American University and the world around it, ultimately making our campus more inquiring, egalitarian and socially engaged.

AWOL is not affiliated with any political party or ideology.

Our stories have an angle, which is different from having an agenda; our reporting is impartial and fair, but our analysis is critical and argumentative.

EDITORS: EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Alex Burchfield & Kelcie Pegher MANAGING EDITOR: Amberley Romo DESIGN EDITOR: Emily Martin STAFF EDITORS: Lori McCue, Zac Deibel, Gustav Cappaert CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Emily Edwards, Joe Gruenbaum, Lindsey Newman, Sara Lovett, Jess Keane

Illustration by Emily Martin

p. 9

DESIGNERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, ILLUSTRATORS: Max Gibbons, Margaret Hayford, Becca Barton, Jess Keane, Nick Florko, Alexa Orndorff

WRITERS: Joe Gruenbaum, Allison Butler, Gustav Cappaert, Emily Edwards, Ean Marshall, Claire Dapkiewicz, Lindsay Sandoval, Sara Lovett, Rebecca Grushkin, Sarah Palazzolo

LIKE A STORY? HATE A STORY? Want to join AWOL? Write to us: awolau@gmail.com

SUPPORT // AFFILIATIONS

CAMPUS PROGRESS AWOL is published with support from Campus Progress / Center for American Progress (online at CampusProgress.org) and the support of AU Student Activities. Campus Progress funds, trains, and mentors students running a diverse and growing group of progressive campus media organizations.

Grants and assistance can help you build and maintain a web site, expand print runs, and promote your organization on campus. For more, visit CampusProgress.org/publications.

3

5

7

9

21

25

SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER

FIELD REPORTS

JABS AND JEST

03 PROTEST NATION: SCREAMING TO THE WIND

09 ISLAND OF DREAMS: REVERSING A CENTURY OF NEGLECT ON THE ANACOSTIA

21 PROFESSOR PROFILE: NATE HARSHMAN

by Sarah Palazzolo Figuring out the effectiveness of student protests

by Gustav Cappaert Exploring DC’s Kingman and Heritage Islands

05 “YOU’RE MY FIRST ASIAN” RACE AS A SEXUAL CONQUEST

13 AU’S FORGOTTEN PRESIDENT: NOTES FROM A TROUBLED CAREER

by Emily Edwards

by Joe Gruenbaum

Discussing the “diversity fetish”

Richard Berendzen and his colorful tenure as AU President

07 TROY DAVIS: REVISITING A CONVERSATION A letter for Davis’ supporters.

15 STUDENT GOVERNMENT: AUDITIONING FOR OFFICE

by Allison Butler Giving AU the edge in politics or on resumés?

16 PHOTO ESSAY: THE FIGHT AGAINST THE COAL INDUSTRY

by Ean Marshall AU’s resident quantum wizard talks Scrabble and science

23 AWOL NEWSWIRE

by AWOL staff Editors’ choice news cuts

24 BEARDS FOR A CAUSE: BEARDSS BUILD BETTER BUSINESS

by Claire Dapkiewicz Your new social organization for hipster gentrification

25 HOUSE RESOLUTION 57: FEELIN’ THE GLOBAL GROOVE ON H STREET

by Nick Florko & Alexa Orndorff

by Sara Lovett

Appalachia upturned

Check out a swanky jazz club, with jam sessions all week long

26 AWOL BULLETIN BOARD What AU clubs are up to

SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER

Informed opinion and provocative editorial

PROTEST NATION:

SCREAMING TO THE WIND

By Sarah Palazzolo // Illustrations by Max Gibbons

Worn plastic tents and hand-painted banners on ripped slabs of cardboard dominate the scene. Enthusiastic protesters blend in with the homeless, who camp on benches in the square—not to fight the system but because they have nowhere else to go. A group of five or six long-haired, flanneled protesters perform yoga next to a crowd of people listening intently to a teach-in on the civil rights movement.

Tourists meander through the square conspicuously, politely asking protesters if they could join them to pose for a picture. People wander around to look at the signs, assess the food tent and gaze with a mix of incredulity and admiration at these freedom fighters, or, more accurately, the ragged, sleep-deprived faithful.

Some of the college students in McPherson Square sleep in the tents with the protesters on weekends, only to return to classes and daily lives at universities. A few admitted that they already had jobs lined up after graduation. Since the movement is often portrayed by the media as a conglomeration of personal reactions to a sluggish economy, it is puzzling that students who are largely unaffected by high unemployment and its consequences choose to participate.

“It’s about solidarity,” one responded. “Just because we have jobs and career prospects doesn’t mean we should forget the people who

3

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

have been left behind by the system.”

“The system’s fucked up,” another added, noting that it clearly doesn’t take a layoff to see that.

Youth aren’t necessarily hitting the streets advocating self-interest. Protesters are grasping for control over the future of the economy to level the playing field for the next generation.

AU professor and social movement expert Cathy Schneider is excited by the prospect of a powerful youth movement in America.

However, getting people out on the streets is only the first step. In terms of sustaining the movement and actually beginning to change the system, she explained, a movement needs to have both a visible and structural presence. In other words, activists must not only work to get their message out, they must also have a forum in which to spread it.

Occupy Wall Street has a visible presence in national media, but Dr. Schneider would advise the movement to create a structural presence by identifying candidates who are likely to support and implement the goals of their movement. Even if they choose not to become a political party, which would be ineffectual in our strictly bipartisan system, movements need to stay engaged in the political

scene to enact change. She recommends studying the Tea Party’s example: with candidates who supported their platform, they were able to influence the national political discourse. “Let’s see if we can occupy the Democratic party,” Schneider says.

Campus activism follows some of these principles of social movements. Student Activities lists 194 student groups and organizations online. Most universities nationwide brand themselves similarly— if we don’t have a niche for you, you can create your own! Jump through these bureaucratic hoops and submit enough signatures, and you can join the ranks of the Student Activities database.

Student leaders who are trying to build a revolution—not just a résumé—should apply the same strategies that Dr. Schneider suggests.

Movements at the university level also require visual and structural strategies. Many clubs on high school and college campuses are focused on awareness. Yet awareness is only half the battle.

“It’s important on a university for people to become aware,” Dr. Schneider explains. “But if you want to have an impact, you need to have a clear policy of what you want people to do.”

AU purports to cherish political activism. It is a part of AU’s institutional identity. On the other hand, we are not taking to the streets en masse. Most people see the occupiers, and silently agree that the system is “fucked up,” but we’d rather not join them. We’d prefer a warm shower and a comfortable bed to a thin tarp blowing in the wind as winter encroaches on Washington. Awareness groups populate the quad every day, shouting about donating a few pennies to victims of famine or a flood, but we’re just on our way to class.

“It’s important on a university for people to become aware, but if you want to have an impact you need to have a clear policy of what you want people to do.” much a choice. That is not to say that students should not mobilize against unjust practices because they have already signed a check to the institution, only that the institution is not designed to be a democracy. Ideally, students should have a voice in the policies that affect them and the ways their money is spent. Student activists have this power to make changes in university politics that benefit the entire community.

Student leaders on campus and student leaders who are occupying Wall Street may have admirable, well-directed ideals that are easy for the public to support, but they face a serious gap between support and commitment. Campus activism has been reduced to brainstorming sessions and events that demonstrate excellent leadership and initiative on an application, but fail to demonstrate enough passion in the real world to create real change. •

Sarah Palazzolo is a freshman, searching for herself and undecided on a major.

Perhaps the first system that needs to be changed is the mindset of our local campus communities. The “A New AU” campaign, while not directly linked to the Occupy protests, addresses essentially the same issue of structural inequality.

The campaign calls for increased decision-making powers for students to hold university administration more accountable to the needs of the student body.

“The basic thing is,” one movement leader explains. “We are students. We are the clientele, the customers of the university. We attend it, we are the ones that it should be catering to, and right now, that’s not happening.”

Here is where the A New AU campaign diverges from the Occupy Movement: victimization at the hands of corporate greed is not a choice. Enrolling and paying tuition at a private university is very

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

4

SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER

Informed opinion and provocative editorial

“YOU’RE MY FIRST ASIAN.”

RACE AS A SEXUAL CONQUEST

By Emily Edwards // Illustration by Max Gibbons

On the streets of Bangkok on another hazy August afternoon, couples pair off—getting groceries, picking their kids up, heading home. During the day, Bangkok is busy, dirty and loud—but it looks more like New York City than the scenes of Hangover 2. At night, swarms of prostitutes fill the streets and entice the throngs of tourists to visit their various clubs. Without a doubt, the majority of the tourists in the area at this time of night are white males, ranging from early 20’s, to late 50’s.

They flock here from America, Australia and Western Europe for a vacation of a lifetime to buy love for a few hours from women who epitomize their fantasies. Clashing with the images earlier in the day of happy, average Thai couples, the sight of boorish, disturbingly sex-driven white men buying an experience from young, beautiful Thai women raises the idea of race as a fetish. These men depict race as an experience—something to buy for a night. Interracial couples exist in Bangkok, but there is a certain demographic

5

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

of couples who are clearly not engaging in each other’s lives out of love. It is for conquest.

The men in Bangkok are tallying a sort of “hook-up bucket list,” by fulfilling their fantasy. While Bangok may seem a world away, the idea of a race-based hook-up exists at American. A white freshman girl at AU, who preferred to stay anonymous, said during her college experience she’s “always wanted to hook up with a black guy.”

The idea of race as a sexual conquest is nothing new. The slave trade in America reached an all-time high in the 1830s, as did the rape of female slaves, according to Dannell Moon in an article about the history of rape. The perceived notion of black women being “sexually promiscuous” predates slavery in America, dating back to European exploration of Africa, according to David Pilgrim in his essay, Jezebel Stereotype.

“Those who travelled to Africa found natives and misinterpreted

their different dress as lewdness,” said Pilgrim. “White Europeans saw African polygamy and tribal dances as proof of the African’s uncontrolled sexual lust.”

During American slavery, many male slave owners would rape their female slaves with the same misconception that African women, because of their body types or other physical features, wanted to have sex. Since these women were property of the slave owners, rape was entirely legal.

The sexualization of race is nothing of the past and not exclusive to white men exploiting women of color. For instance, there is a specific role that many Balinese men find themselves accidently undertaking: gigolos. These “Kuta cowboys,” as they are called, make a living offering female tourists—primarily from Australia, Europe, America and Japan—the fun, exotic and passionate experience of having a Balinese boyfriend. Typically, the “cowboys” find older, seemingly wealthy women, and offer them the appealing idea of having an abroad love affair. Sometimes these flings materialize into long-distance relationships in the form of women wiring money back to Bali. While there are plenty of relationships that evolve, most of the time the women are interested in the idea of having a trip to paradise, complete with an exotic fling with a local surf instructor.

While interviewing another AU student who preferred to remain anonymous, she mentioned a guy approached her while at a party.

“After some small talk, he basically told me that I was pretty… for a black girl. It was just like,” she hesitated. “Why was it necessary to define me that way?”

The same girl also mentioned how one time when she was dancing, a friend approached her and said he wanted to dance with a black girl.

“We were friends, but it was still upsetting; he had a preconceived notion about the way I would dance based on my race,” she said.

Like sexual exploitation of African slaves, in 1965, Calvin C. Hernton wrote Sex and Racism in America, where he describes white women’s sexual attraction to black men as an “honest curiosity, infatuation.” He says she’s “simply fascinated by his ‘black mystique’ (his mystery lends a measure of intrigue to his person), she may find the Negro ‘exciting’ due to his being seen as ‘exotic.’”

Hernton explains that this implicit racism is so deeply embedded in our society that one may not even recognize it as “racism,” but rather an attraction. The attraction, he argues, is rooted in the slavery-era taboo of interracial relationships. This includes stereotypes of the race, that state “‘black’ seems to be the summit of masculinity—it takes blackness to bring out the ‘femininity’ in otherwise frigid or near-frigid white women.”

Danielle Evans, a literature professor at American University who specializes in anthropology and African American studies, countered that the act of racism is not always black and white. “I think it’s really dangerous that we often think that only bad people are racist, or that it’s only racism when the person committing the offense intended to hurt somebody,” she said.

Mariel Kirschen, Deputy Director of AU’s Women’s Initiative, looked at the issue from a different perspective. “A lot of people

“After some small talk, he basically told me that I was pretty… for a black girl. It was just like... why was it necessary to define me that way?” think this is only offensive to women, you think of things like guys having ‘yellow fever,’ but it happens to guys, too,” she said. “Our society says that men shouldn’t be offended by things like this, because it’s something that makes them more attractive to the opposite sex, but really, you don’t want to be attractive by your ethnicity. You’re making further racial divisions, and it just reinforces stereotypes.”

Kirschen continued, “My friends have a bucket-list of things they want to do before they graduate, since we’re all seniors, and on that is stuff like have sex in a bathroom, etc. but some of them things like ‘hook-up with a Blasian [bi-racial, black and Asian],’ and by doing this it A) singles them out by their race, B) it objectifies them and C) it sexualizes that race.”

Race is so casual to our generation that saying something like “You’re my first Asian” is taken lightly, even as a joke.

Interracial relationships have different social implications than the “bucket-list” type of desire because this type of experience is purely sexual. It is something that a person only wants to experience as a sexual experiment.

Evans also mentioned the role stereotypes play in this mentality.

She believes even a positive stereotype is inherently racist. “A stereotype is inherently reductive, so no, it can’t ultimately be positive.

There might be things that you appreciate about a person, once you’ve gotten to know them, that were shaped or influenced by their racial or ethnic background,” she said. “But you have to get to know the person, and get to understand their particular experience of race, before you can know those things.”

Conquest should be defined as an act in which an effort to pursue a potential “hook-up” based on the illusion that someone of another race is some exotic, mystical or more sexual creature. In the words of Suheir Hammad, a famous spoken-word artist, “don’t seduce yourself / with my ‘other-ness’ my hair / wasn’t placed on my head / to entice you into some sort of mysterious, black voodoo… don’t build around me your fetish / fantasy.”

The fetish fantasty insults the person who is being stereotyped as a hook-up, but not actually to date. Consider those women who would be bought for their exoticism—the similarity between the assumption of Thai eroticism and hearing someone say that they have always wanted to have sex with a black man is striking.

“Stereotyping is a way of erasing complexity, and also of assuming that you have the authority to make up a person’s story instead of allowing them the agency to tell it,” said Evans. •

Emily Edwards is a junior studying international development and economics.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

6

SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER

Informed opinion and provocative editorial

TROY DAVIS:

REVISITING A CONVERSATION It was in my first SOC class at AU three years ago that I first heard the story of Troy Davis, an inmate on Georgia’s Death Row. Convicted of murder solely on the basis of eyewitness testimony, Troy had always maintained his innocence. Despite growing international support from high-profile public officials and organizations, Troy was executed in September.

Last winter, I wrote an article for AWOL on how AU students and professors had been involved in bringing justice to his case. With the help of professors Richard Stack and Gemma Puglisi, I was able to interview Troy by letter. Below is a portion of Troy’s letter, where he expressed his gratitude toward his supporters and offered his advice to AU students.

- Emily Martin

7

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

8

FIELD REPORTS

In-depth examination of the issues that matter

Photo by Jess Keane

ISLAND OF DREAMS:

REVERSING A CENTURY OF NEGLECT ON THE ANACOSTIA

By Gustav Cappaert

In 1995, Congress paved the way for DC’s city amusement park. It would be parked on two man-made islands in the Anacostia River.

Its backers envisioned a high-tech learning center complete with 3-D movies, planetarium, and virtual reality simulators. The Washington Post promised a “place where people of all ages could test their sports skills, experience a sense of weightlessness in a crystal-shaped room of mirrors, play with computers or watch magic shows.”

National Children’s Island would become a DC landmark—our very own Coney Island. Its developers promised 6,000 visitors every day.

My photographer and I meet Daniel Rauch, a wildlife biologist with the District Department of Environment. Equipped with binoculars and a clipboard, Rauch is counting birds.

“When I was hired, I thought I’d be counting pigeons and swallows,” Rauch says. But the DDOE has identified 150 bird species on two islands that might have been home to roller coasters and arcades.

To get to Kingman and Heritage Islands, we cross a vast parking lot. Semi-trucks and city vehicles sit empty below an elevated Blue Line Metro track. We walk across a wooden footbridge, where an area resident is fishing with his grandchildren.

I ask them if they know this area was almost turned into an amuse-

9

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

ment park. The grandfather tells me he wishes they had. He gestures to his grandson, “Not him, though, he’s more of a nature type.”

Fifteen-year-old Stephen tells me he has been coming here for almost eight years. Back then, he tells me, there was no entrance. He discovered the islands by pushing his bike through a line of trees. Now, he and his friends ride their bikes up and down the islands.

“Do you know about psionics?” he asks. “In two weeks, I can give you methods to train your mind to influence the world around you.”

Perhaps sensing my skepticism, he went on. “I have the ability to read energies. This place has very strong energies from a lot of different people.”

CREATING THE ISLANDS The Army Corps of Engineers created Kingman and Heritage Islands in 1916. Back then, the Anacostia was a shallow, muddy river bordered by extensive marshland. Engineers lifted sediment from the bottom and dumped it in the marshes to combat malaria and open the river for shipping. In the process, they created 46 acres of dry land.

Over the next 90 years, many developers came forward with plans for the island. In the 1930s, it might have been a recreation center,

complete with an ice rink and swimming pool. In the 1940s, it was to become an airport, serving something called the National Skyway. In the 1980s, it was briefly considered for a federal prison.

The name “National Children’s Island” came about in the late 1960s.

That plan would have ushered in the bicentennial with several playgrounds, a museum, library, petting zoo and carousel. Meant to open on July 4, 1976, construction never began due to tight budgets and ballooning estimates.

In 1991, then-Redskins owner Jack Cooke had plans to create a parking lot for a brand new stadium next to RFK. The DC Council allowed him to pave over 19 acres on the site, but plans fell through.

National Children’s Island was reborn when Contessa Bina Sella di Monteluce, a European philanthropist, raised $6 million to form the Island Development Corporation. The Island Development Corporation contracted with Washington, DC in 1993. In 1995, Congress approved the transfer of the islands from the federal government to DC. Local groups like the Anacostia Wildlife Corporation and the Earth Conservation Corps worried about its impact on the environment and on the stability of the surrounding community.

“No one would propose a theme park for Rock Creek Park or Theodore Roosevelt Island! Why do they target the Anacostia?” read one anti-development flier. A large segment of the community wanted to reclaim the island as parkland.

Others wondered whether DC was getting a raw deal. By hurriedly handing control of the islands to a private developer, the city would lose out on money that could include a share of parking or admissions fees. Proponents of the plan claimed the project would create as many as 2,400 jobs and generate millions of dollars in sales tax revenue.

In response to these objections, former Mayor Marion Barry negotiated a 99-year lease with developers, which the DC Council approved with a 7-6 vote. “The kids of Washington are going to enjoy this park,” said Barry in a Washington Post article from 1997. “The land over there is fallow, with nothing but snakes and rubbish on it.”

Just as it appeared that something would be built on these two islands, the DC Financial Control Board nullified the lease. Once again, the islands were thrown into uncertainty.

A HAVEN FOR SECRETS Lofty plans for airports, theme parks and stadiums obscure what actually took place on Kingman and Heritage Island: nothing.

The island became a dump site, a refuge for the homeless and a part of local folklore. In 1941, a Washington Post headline read, “Hungry Wild Dog Devours Kingman Lake Squatter.” Later that month, a follow-up article detailed an expedition to catch the “wolf-like dog whose master’s bones were found on the island Friday.”

Stories circulated about Joseph Malone, a “modern Robinson Crusoe” who for more than six years lived in a makeshift campsite on Kingman Island’s southern tip. When renovations to the island began in the early 2000s, about a dozen homeless people had made Kingman Island into a permanent home.

“We used to talk to one of them,” said John Dillow, executive direc-

Photo courtesy of STUDIOS Architecture

tor of Living Classrooms, the non-profit that took over management of the islands in 2007. “He used to say he had the best view on the island...and it was true.”

While the island has undergone many renovations, rumors about its history persist.

“Back in the ‘80s there used to be big crime and drug wars going on, so rival drug gangs used to meet out here and dispute over turf,” Dillow said. “Apparently the bridge was set on fire to stop that connection.”

During the controversy over National Children’s Island, rumors spread that the Island Development Corporation wanted to introduce riverboat gambling to the Anacostia.

CLEANING UP ANACOSTIA Anecdotes aside, Kingman and Heritage Islands, and the Anacostia River as a whole, are coming out of a century of abuse. Not by evil developers or big corporations, but bad planning, weak regulations, racism and apathy.

“People would clean up an alley and literally dump it here,” said Dillow. “The people who used it the most were the park police, who would do all their helicopter training on the island.”

Other than occasional police raids to evacuate squatters, the island was forgotten. The last bald eagles in the District of Columbia abandoned their nests on Kingman Island in 1946.

“From my perspective, it’s not a legacy of controversy, it’s a legacy of neglect,” said Uwe Brandes, former vice president of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation. For three years, Brandes oversaw the implementation of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a $10 billion plan to clean up the Anacostia River and promote sustainable development on the waterfront.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

10

FIELD REPORTS

In-depth examination of the issues that matter

Photo courtesy of STUDIOS Architecture

Pollution on the Anacostia River comes mostly from storm drain and sewer runoff. A third of the District is served by a system that combines sanitary sewers and storm drains. When those sewers reach capacity—as they often do during heavy rains—a mixture of rainwater, street runoff and sewage pour out of outfalls over the Anacostia. Along with trash dumping and lingering industrial pollutants, the river is a toxic place to swim and fish.

“The river also contains a surprisingly high amount of animal waste,” said Brent Bolin, a spokesman for the Anacostia Watershed Society.

Barges used to carry waste from the National Zoo to a riverfront dumping site where the National Arboretum is today. “Now they package that stuff up and sell it as fertilizer,” Bolin said.

The Watershed Society, founded in 1989, was among the first to work on cleaning up the river. Bolin told me that its goals remain much the same today.

“Right now the river is sort of seen with a stigma,” said Bolin. “We’re focused on cleaning up the river and bringing people to the river.”

One of the Society’s first projects was the Anacostia Community Boathouse. The boathouse hosts local crew teams, including American University’s team.

Earth Conservation Corps, another non-profit, is housed in a former steam-pumping station down the street from Nationals Ballpark.

“Our founder, Bob Nixon, found this building when it was buried by a mound of trash,” said Kellie Bolinder, the interim executive director of Earth Conservation Corps. With the help of Navy Seabees, Earth Conservation Corps’s first project was to redo the pumping stations.

Earth Conservation Corps hires unemployed youth from Southeast DC to clean up the riverfront and promote conservation in the community.

11

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

Earth Conservation Corps graduate Raynard Smith remembers pulling 5,000 tires out of Lower Beaver Dam Creek in one day. “People find cars, playground sets,” said Smith. “There’s a lot of stuff that shouldn’t be in the river that’s in the river right now.”

DC hopes to open the Anacostia for swimming and fishing by 2032.

“Baptisms used to take place in this river,” said Bolinder. “People in the grandparent generation can say, ‘I swam in this river, I fished in this river when I was a kid.’”

Today, swimming in the Anacostia is illegal. Fish caught in the river are high in bacteria and heavy metals. The National Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that two-thirds of Anacostia catfish have cancerous lesions. Bolin described the subsistence fishing that still takes place.

“Starve to death today, or die in 10 years.”

Despite warnings, swimming still goes on. “Every day in July I’d see someone swimming in this river,” said Bolin. In June, local politicians and activists wore Tyvek suits—which look like biohazard suits—and jumped into the river, taking care to keep their heads above water.

Clean or not, the tide is turning. People want to use this river.

SEEING THE ISLANDS Kingman and Heritage Islands are at the center of the Anacostia clean-up effort. In 2002, DC Mayor Anthony Williams launched his campaign with a boat ride in Kingman Lake. After a court battle freed the city from its commitment to National Children’s Island, a new plan could take shape.

For the first time since the islands were built, that plan is being executed. A community-driven voting process has finally paved the road to consensus. Plans are in place for new trails and a LEED plati-

num certified environmental education center. The first phase of trail improvements was completed last month.

In 2007, the city handed management responsibility to a Baltimorebased non-profit called Living Classrooms. Founded in 1985, Living Classrooms brings school groups, summer camps and families to Kingman Island and other natural areas around DC. Over the last three years, 1,700 students have learned about ecology on Kingman and Heritage Islands, and 5,000 volunteers have contributed almost 40,000 hours toward cleaning up the island. The park sees over 1,000 visitors every month.

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE It takes about 20 minutes to walk from one end of Kingman Island to the other. Start at the north end, where the busy Benning Road separates you from Langston Golf Course (one of the first to allow black golfers). The National Park Service owns the Langston Golf Course, which takes up the northern half of Kingman Island.

Walk south past a community garden and a construction trailer.

Peering into the thick maples, you can see hints of the failed beginnings of other projects and occasional pieces of Styrofoam debris.

Further down the trail, a lone dumpster sits in an overgrown lot.

Keep walking past decorative boulders and patches of fresh cement.

Walk below the graffiti-ridden underside of the East Capitol Street Bridge and emerge in a sunny garden, where you find benches, birdhouses and a backhoe.

Photo by Jess Keane

Signs of the islands’ future outweigh its neglected past. From the bridge between the islands, you can spot great blue herons fishing in the muddy expanse of Kingman Lake. Walking the trail that loops around Heritage Island, the sight of stadiums, bridges and parking lots disappears. The thick trees teem with chirping birds and insects.

On a lucky day, you may see a bald eagle in the sky. Since 1992, the Earth Conservation Corps has gradually reintroduced the species to the river.

John Dillow, the executive director of Living Classrooms, speaks excitedly about plans for canoe portages, boardwalks and river overlooks. Plans for the centerpiece of the restoration project, the environmental education center, were drawn up in 2005. The building is expected to cost at least $20 million. In 2009, architectural plans won an American Institute of Architects award for “Best Unbuilt Building” in the DC area.

“It’s a very cool building, a very expensive building,” said Dillow. “If someone showed up with a check it could easily become phase one.”

Until that happens, Living Classrooms and the DC government are saving Kingman and Hertigage Islands by letting them remain natural spaces.

“You come here and you’re like, ‘I’m literally a couple miles from the Capitol,’” said Dillow. “And you think, ‘This is a pretty cool place.’”•

Gustav Cappaert is a senior studying political science. He is a staff editor of AWOL. Photo courtesy of STUDIOS Architecture

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

12

FIELD REPORTS

In-depth examination of the issues that matter

AU’S FORGOTTEN PRESIDENT

NOTES FROM A TROUBLED CAREER

By Joe Gruenbaum

On Saturday April 7, 1991, Richard Berendzen got a haircut. He stopped by the office for a few hours, then he met his wife for lunch.

cause it’s coming from their own projections—none of which is from the child’s own needs and wants.”

“Ed Carr called,” she said. “He wants you to call him back as soon as possible.”

Such was the course of many afternoons throughout Berendzen’s childhood: “It happened every few days, or once a week for a while, or not for a month.” But it happened, off and on over the course of four years.

Ed Carr was the new Chairman of American University’s Board of Trustees, and trustees did not normally deal with university presidents directly. President Berendzen thought it was unusual but “[Ed] was new to the job, so I thought maybe he had a different approach.”

Berendzen returned the call. Ed asked him to come to his office in downtown Washington immediately.

Within the hour, Berendzen resigned as president of American University.

Berendzen grew up in a tumultuous household in Dallas, Texas.

His domineering mother verbally abused his father and controlled every aspect of her son’s life. But she had problems of her own.

“My mother was mentally ill for most of her life and for all of mine,” writes Berendzen in his 1993 book, Come Here: A Man Overcomes the Tragic Aftermath of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Berendzen, who had no comment for this article, said that as a child, “All I knew was that she was wildly unpredictable. Labels like manic, paranoid, delusional and psychotic came years later. Sometimes she would be furious for no apparent reason; then, in a snap, she could suddenly become incredibly loving, supportive and fun.” His parents’ relationship was equally tumultuous due to his mother’s controlling nature.

Yet where her domination of his father was meant to tear down and destroy, she nutured young Berendzen into exactly who she desired him to be. His mother fueled Berendzen’s intellectual development, giving him all types of fiction and poetry, all of which he devoured.

She wanted to inspire Richard and to render him completely dependent on her—and she wanted that dependence to be more than emotional.

Berendzen’s mother worked an assortment of odd jobs. One of her longer-term jobs was in a darkroom processing film related to medical studies. It was there that she first raped Berendzen on a metal processing table.

Richard’s abuse did not stop there. One afternoon not long after the darkroom, his mother again asked him to ‘Come here’—a phrase which inspired the title of his book.

Dr. Wanda Collins, the director of the American University Counseling Center, says pedophiles project inappropriate thoughts onto the child. “[They] can imagine the child is provocative and may want that kind of attention,” said Collins. “But it’s not true, its only be-

13

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

“To experience pleasure and disgust for the same reason and almost simultaneously created overwhelming confusion and torment,” writes Berendzen.

“For someone who is abusing children, they can rationalize things for themselves but it doesn’t put the child’s best interest at the center of their behavior,” said Collins. “Children need affection but they don’t need sexual attention from adults.”

According to ChildHelp, a leading national non-profit for helping victims of child abuse, 7.6 percent of all child abuse cases are sexual abuse, and over 90 percent knew their perpetrator in some way.

Hard work, success and achievement defined Berendzen. He went to MIT as an undergraduate, then to Harvard where he completed his PhD in physics and education.

“‘All of a sudden, it clicked: I have an obscene phone caller,’ she told the Washington Post in a 1991 interview.”

As president of American University from 1980 to 1990, Richard Berendzen accomplished an incredible amount, both for the University and for himself. He raised the average SAT score by 200 points, slashed admission rates and raised huge amounts of money. He did so with “a relentless personal PR campaign,” according to Washington Post reporter Peter Carlson. “He traveled the country, speaking to groups of teachers and students and appearing on any interview program that would have him, expounding on education or outer space or anything else that anybody wanted him to talk about.”

He shamelessly promoted American University and himself, and it produced results. Berendzen worked 100-hour weeks, and attended three or four parties every Saturday night. The effort was a good way to push the thoughts of his abuse away—he just stopped wondering about it, stopped worrying and went to work. He became so absorbed in that bubble of success that he believed he could wish away his past.

“If you work very hard, somehow you don’t remember it anymore.

And I learned after a while that if you work 60, 80, 90 hours a week, 100, you don’t remember it,” Berendzen writes.

Collins agrees that it is possible to entirely repress memories throughout the course of a lifetime. “You could think of it as a degree of dissociation that would take place on a continuum,” she explains. “On one end of the continuum there is someone who has a bad weekend but then can go to class and be very present and separate the events—but you still remember what happened. But maybe on the other end of the continuum is someone who had a traumatic experience and completely represses the memories.”

On March 23, 1991, Susan Allen, owner of a home day-care service and the wife of a Fairfax county policeman, picked up the phone. A man named either Bob or John, a “gynecologist,” asked if she had an open family, if she let her kids sleep in her bed and if she let them see her naked.

“All of a sudden, it clicked: I have an obscene phone caller,” she told the Washington Post in a 1991 interview.

Allen told the unknown caller what he wanted to hear and that he should call back tomorrow.

“I answered his questions in the way I knew he wanted them answered,” she said. “So that he would be satisfied, so that he would think he’d found his true love in this world and he would call back.

And he did. He fell for it, hook, line and sinker. And he asked, ‘Would we include his child in our sexual goings-on in the house?’ And I said, ‘Well, my husband’s the head of the household, and he makes those decisions, and I’ll have to talk to him. Next time I talk to you, I’ll let you know.’”

Fairfax police installed a tracking device and tape recorder in Allen’s phone before the man called back the next day. Over the next two weeks, the man called about thirty times, discussing sexual topics: incest, molestation and sex slaves. The man claimed to be keeping a four-year-old Filipino girl in a cage in his basement.

The calls were “filthy beyond your most horrible nightmares,” said Allen. “And 99 percent of it centered around children.”

The police traced the calls to American University. Public Safety traced the calls to the president’s office. The next day, the chairman of American University’s board of trustees called Berendzen.

In his original resignation letter, Berendzen cited exhaustion. A few weeks later, the allegations became public, and the police pushed formal charges against him. Berendzen had been forced to resign because of his lewd calls to home-care services like Allen’s. In less than a month, the gleaming reputation of the Harvard-educated university president had vanished.

The calls themselves were not those of a perverted man, but of someone searching for answers, someone trying to explain. The Washington Post interviewed Fairfax county prosecutor Robert Horan who said, “I don’t want to dignify the calls by saying they were sort of cerebral, but they were sort of cerebral,” he says. “They were probing. They were essentially, `We do a lot of togetherness, do you?’”

If Berendzen had addressed his abuse sooner, the calls might not have happened. According to Stop it Now, a sexual abuse mobilization effort, studies show when victims of sexual abuse receive treatment,

“If you work very hard somehow you don’t remember it anymore. And I learned after awhile that if you work 60, 80, 90 hours a week, 100, you don’t remember it.”

the likelihood that they themselves will abuse is low.

Berendzen was treated at Johns Hopkins psychiatric hospital in Baltimore. Under the powerful drip of sodium amytal, he finally came to terms with his childhood; for the first time, he admitted what had happened to him as a boy.

“People who grow up in an environment where there is some type of trauma can spend their childhood and adolescence surviving it in whatever way they need to,” said Collins. “It’s often not until they get away from home for the first time—maybe when they’re in their first significant romantic or sexual relationships, or when they have kids who are the age that they were when the abuse occurred—that their own memories of abuse might be triggered. They may also experience depression or anxiety that can motivate them to get into treatment.”

Berendzen’s fall from grace was meteoric. In his book, he writes of weeks, months, whole years of depression, even after Hopkins. Some of his colleagues didn’t return his calls. Nevertheless, his wife, Gail Berendzen, stood by him, and his children also allegedly understood.

Even the AU community saw an outpouring of sympathy.

Berendzen had resigned the presidency, retreated to Virginia for a time, and it didn’t seem as though he would teach again. Until he wrote his book, until people knew what had happened to him as a child, he was isolated.

Berendzen eventually returned to American University to teach. After the media waves from the scandal subsided, he quietly continued his work at NASA—where he is currently the director of the DC Space Grant Consortium—and at AU. Though he retired from teaching in 2006, he still holds emeritus professor status.

When he returned, he was even more respected than before. One student who took astronomy with Berendzen remarked on RateMyProfessors.com in 2005, “Berendzen is a must for any person trying to fulfill their science Gen Ed.” Another student remarked, “Most inspirational class I have ever taken.” And yet another wrote: “Fabulous prof.

One of a kind!” • If you believe a child is being abused, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD. It is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and offers crisis intervention, information and support. All calls are anonymous.

Joseph Gruenbaum is a freshman studying international relations, economics and philosophy.

Kelcie Pegher contributed to this article. She is a senior studying print journalism, and co-editor-in-chief of AWOL.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

14

FIELD REPORTS

In-depth examination of the issues that matter

STUDENT GOVERNMENT:

AUDITIONING FOR OFFICE

By Allison Butler

Many extracurricular activities at both the high school and college level are modeled after government structures: from Model United Nations, to Mock Trial, to Youth and Government and, most notably, Student Government. AU’s student government has three branches— student media even mimics the traditional role of media as “watchdog.”

Without a doubt, the skills students gain in AUSG and similar organizations are valuable for “real world” politics. Student Government can prepare individuals to be leaders and have meaningful discourse on controversial issues.

These skills are applicable to most workplace environments rather than to specific public service careers. Employers in many fields seek staff members that have developed skills like leadership, public communication and interpersonal interaction, all of which Student Government positions hone. Along with these marketable and valuable skills, participating in Student Government campaigns can foster more unexpected talents like managing one’s public image, which can prove useful across the job market “I’d say Student Government helps kids to be leaders and that benefits their future regardless of their career,” Class of 2015 President Conor Siegel said.

Generally, students seem to be more interested in these broad skills and how Student Government makes them appear to employers, rather than whether it prepares them for a career in public service.

As the workforce becomes more and more competitive, young people are feeling pressure to set themselves apart from the rest of the application pool. Any activity in organizations beyond the classroom can help provide that edge.

American University history professor Allan Lichtman says he believes the key is not the activity an individual is involved in, but the position they hold within that structure. According to Lichtman leadership is one of the key qualities employers are looking for.

“Any time you take a leadership position, that puts you out there,” Lichtman said.

However, being in Student Government and being captain of the swim team both show leadership. Students can demonstrate they have taken initiative, worked with a group and been responsible for others in many more venues than just Student Government, although Student Government is, without a doubt, a great place to do those things.

“I think SG helps prepare people to be members of local, state, or national governments, non-profits, businesses, you name it,” AU Student Government President Tim McBride said.

AU has already demonstrated its ability to help prepare an individ-

15

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

ual from Student Government to break into “big kid” politics. Sophomore Deon Jones served in his high school Student Government, then the Undergraduate Senate his freshman year at AU, and then went on to run for DC Neighborhood Advisory Commission, where he won a seat.

Certainly there are issues that Student Government does not address, both in campaigning and holding an elected office.

On Sunday, October 23, the Undergraduate Senate spent several minutes of the session debating policy related to the door of the Senate office being open. While the debate may not be worthwhile, it is eerily reminiscient to our current Congress.

But in all fairness, Student Government just does not cover all of the issues faced in traditional politics. AUSG does not debate the debt ceiling, national marriage legislation, social security or abortion. Additionally students running for Undergraduate Senate do not have to worry about justifying large campaign donations, polling or phone banking.

It seems Student Government is not meant to perfectly approximate the wider government. They have different goals, different func-

“At the end of the day, we aren’t a government, we’re a programming and advocacy organization.” tions and a completely different constituency than any local or national governing body and are as unique in their organization as the schools and students they serve.

“When you’re campaigning for a high school or college campaign it is primarily directed toward students who share your views,” said Youth and Government President Jonathan McCreary. “You do not have to worry about broad policy.”

Student Government clearly does not mirror broader politics; rather it uses the components and structures of politics to complete both political and non-political goals within the AU community.

“At the end of the day, we aren’t a government, we’re a programming and advocacy organization,” McBride said. •

Allison Butler is a freshman studying journalism and political science.

MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL IN APPALACHIA:

THE FIGHT AGAINST THE COAL INDUSTRY

By Nick Florko // Photos by Nick Florko & Alexa Orndorff

Appalachia’s coalfields resemble the landscapes of dystopian science fiction. Each week, the explosive equivalent of a nuclear bomb is detonated in these mountains, leaving only black, jagged crags of upturned earth. The small communities surrounding these mining operations have suffered under corporate hegemony and oppression since the turn of the century; the region struggles with overwhelming poverty, unsafe drinking water, astonishingly high levels of cancer and other respiratory and neurological conditions, as well as deep social tensions. Despite these problems there is hope to be found in the persistence and dedication of those struggling under coal rule. Dedicated activists continue to dismantle corporate hegemony through various non-violent tactics, making the Anti-Mountaintop Removal movement one of the strongest social movements in recent US history.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG Âť FALL 2011

16

FIELD REPORTS

In-depth examination of the issues that matter

Kayford Mountain, WV: Mountaintop removal sites scar the pristine landscape of Appalachia. With little regard for the diverse ecosystems throughout the region, coal companies detonate approximately four million pounds of explosives daily, exposing seams of coal hundreds of feet below mountain peaks.

When the blasting is complete, the remaining rubble is dumped into neighboring valleys and streams—effectively destroying the ecosystems and poisoning the drinking water.

Signs like these litter mountaintop removal sights. They prevent coalfield residents from stepping foot on land that has been in their families for generations. The sign pictured above separates resident Larry Gibson from his family cemetery.

17

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

Sylvester, WV: Coalfield residents continually face the risk of disaster.

Residents of Sylvester, WV live below the Brushy Fork Impoundment, the world’s largest coal slurry impoundment. Brushy Fork holds nearly nine billion gallons of toxic coal processing byproduct. With no emergency plan, the possible collapse of Brushy Fork spells disaster for those living in its shadow. Community coalitions, such as the Sludge Safety Project, continue to advocate against the creation of slurry impoundments through mass mobilizations and legislative lobbying.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG Âť FALL 2011

18

FIELD REPORTS

In-depth examination of the issues that matter

Whitesville, WV: Signs allegedly reporting the safety of mining operations are often deceptive. The towns surrounding Whitesville, WV were forever changed in the wake of the Upper Big Branch disaster, which killed 29 miners on April 10, 2010. Despite numerous studies indicating that the disaster was caused by a failure to enforce federal mining safety regulations, only menial charges have been brought against the mine owner, Alpha Natural Resources (formerly Massey Energy).

Eolia, KY: Appalachians continue to fight back against the oppressive legacy of corporate control in the region.

Coal companies utilized the “broad form deed” at the turn of the century to purchase the mineral rights of land— often by coercion or deceit.

In modern day, these deeds, signed generations before, are used as the coal companies’ justification for surface mining in and around private property. Kentucky Anti-MTR activists —Kentuckians for The Commonwealth—succeeded in banning the use of the “broad form deed” in 1985.

19

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

Twilight, WV: Large machines toil throughout the day, clearing debris and extracting coal from blast sites. This backhoe teeters just feet from the edge of a mountain, hundreds of feet above one of the few remaining homes in Twilight, WV–a town ruthlessly bought out by coal companies. The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition continues to raise money to buy one of the last remaining privately owned parcels of land in Twilight, in effect preventing coal companies from taking over the town.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG Âť FALL 2011

20

JABS AND JEST

Innovation, wit and cogent wisdom

PROFESSOR PROFILE

NATE HARSHMAN TALKS SCRABBLE AND QUANTUM PHYSICS

By Ean Marshall // Photo by Amberley Romo

Associate Physics Professor Nate Harshman is a theoretical physicist who focuses on particle physics and quantum information theory. He has published over 20 articles in scientific journals, has written for the Chicago Tribune, and has appeared on the Discovery Channel for a segment on science in pop culture.

Harshman sat down with AWOL writer Ean Marshall to talk about Google searches, Scrabble tournaments and quantum physics.

was a section on twin paradoxes, which is a problem in modern physics.

Even though I didn’t understand it, and actually I didn’t really understand it until I was in college, I was hooked in that when you do physics, it transforms the way you see the world. And what I really liked about physics was that based on these assumptions, since I do mathematical physics, you can say that this is a true answer. That’s not easy to do in most disciplines, where you can precisely define a problem and say the true and false of it.

What first made you interested in theoretical physics?

What is entanglement in terms of quantum physics?

I first fell in love with physics when I was five years old, and I saw the television program “The Cosmos” by Carl Sagan. It was a PBS documentary series, and it talked about the universe, relativity, quantum mechanics and evolution—all sorts of science. But in particular, there

21

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

It’s a special way in which a whole system can contain more information than the parts. In classical mechanics, if you have a system, the different parts of that system may be correlated: if you measure widget A, you may learn about widget B, if you make measurements of the dif-

ferent parts of the same system. In quantum mechanics, those different parts of the system may share information that cannot be explained; there’s just too much information for classical physics to explain. Typically, we talk about this in the context of different atoms being entangled.

This really means that if you have an atom on one side of a river and an atom on the other side of a river, and you’re making measurements on one atom, that atom has an effect on the atom on the other side of the river. The only way this works is that sometime in the past the atoms interacted with each other. So even though they are spatially separated, they share the same quantum state. Since they have the same quantum state, they have quantum correlations, or entanglement, and by measuring them with classical physics measurement, it seems very paradoxical.

Any biological or physical applications of this concept?

There’s a debate right now whether we need entanglement and quantum correlation to explain photosynthesis, because photosynthesis is a remarkably efficient process for converting light into chemical potential energy. Can we understand that energy without the use of quantum mechanics? In terms of physical applications, one of the reasons people study this is that they’re hoping to make a new generation of information processing devices. For example, people talk about quantum computers, which solve certain kinds of problems regular computers can’t do; they’re called hard problems. For example, the way we encrypt financial transactions over the Internet is using something called RSA encryption, which is based on the fact that it’s really hard to write a computer program to factor large numbers into primes. If you have a big enough number, like a number with hundred digits, the computer can’t figure out its prime factors.

It just takes too long. So you can use a code system based on secret knowledge of prime numbers of these big things. If you had a quantum computer, which could exploit quantum coherence and quantum entanglement, then it could factor these numbers exponentially faster. People also want to build quantum computers because you can do a more precise simulation of quantum mechanics, and there are many quantum mechanical systems. Every single computer is built on transistors that were designed using quantum theories. So if we can model quantum mechanics better, we can make better materials.

How long do you think we have until this becomes a reality?

Quantum computers have been fifteen years in the future for the last fifteen years, so there has been progress, but progress hasn’t been as fast as people expected. Now there’s been recent progress on things like quantum sensors, where you use entanglement to make precise measurements. But the biggest quantum computers are still not big enough to really solve problems. The system has to be isolated from its environment, but you still have to control the interactions externally; then you want the computers to have a bunch more quantum systems, because the more atoms and electrons there are, the more efficient they will be.

So you’re trying to make it big but isolated, yet still able to control it.

There are about seven or eight competing systems, and the computer is not sure which one will solve the problem first.

Are Microsoft and Apple investing a little bit in these technologies?

Well, Apple has at least one quantum project. IBM has a history of funding this kind of stuff. There was recently an article by someone who said that if you had a quantum computer, you could speed Google’s search algorithm, so Google is certainly paying attention.

So the search engine would be even faster and more precise?

Yeah, you could do a Google search with better precision and at a much faster time.

What made you come to AU? I’ve been here since 2003. Before this I was at Rice, where I had a temporary job. I applied to 50 jobs, and I got the one at AU. I’m very happy. DC is a great place to be. AU is a research university, but has a great liberal arts department and great professors.

Is there any way AU could improve the representation of the physics department?

Yeah, definitely. They’ve improved a lot the past few years. We have a new building, even though it’s the Sports Center Annex, it means new facilities for us, and that feels nice. I think what we need to do is get more students. We need more professors, and to get more students, we need to get more people, more applicants in the sciences and raise the profiles of sciences on AU’s campus.

I read on your personal profile about the Scrabble Tournaments. So what were some of the winning words?

Oh, well. It’s so hard to go back. I actually have records of them all. I haven’t played in tournaments since 2001. I figured out that I could be a good physicist, a good husband, and a good Scrabble player, but I could only do two out of three, and so I chose husband and Scrabble player.

So in this particular game, my words are not particularly good, not a bingo. A bingo is when you have a pile. Oh I had two, ‘sliming’ and ‘tilting,’ those aren’t very good. But they’re worth a lot of points. That word was worth 72. The key in Scrabble is to play bingos, you want to play all tiles at once, because you get a 50 point bonus. If you want to do well, you have to know all the two-letter words and three-letter words. There are about 96 two letter words and three hundred and some three letter words. You need to know all of the j, q, x, z and k words up to four letters.

And then you need to know the bingo words. The way I would study it is, for example, if you have the six letters ‘tirade,’ and if you have anything from this sentence: ‘Angry talk by PMS hag,’ any letter from there and you add ‘tirade,’ and you have a seven-letter word. I didn’t make up that particular mnemonic device—that was not a very flattering one.

So there’s actually a mathematical component to this linguistic game.

Oh yeah, absolutely. It’s all about finding patterns. Here’s another one: ‘bizzess’ is an acceptable Scrabble word. •

Ean Marshall is a freshman studying film and media arts.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

22

JABS AND JEST

DECEMBER 2011

Innovation, wit and cogent wisdom

AWOL NEWSWIRE

ISSUE 009

MORE MONEY, MORE PROBLEMS

T

THE SEVEN BILLION CLUB

T

he United Nations Population Fund stated the world’s population reached seven billion people on Halloween of 2011. Such a milestone marks both an awesome occasion for the celebration of humankind and a chilling indicator of the global need for food, water and shelter. Despite these concerns, on November 3, NPR blogger Bill Chappell explained that many other species have reached seven billion, and are reportedly doing quite fine. For example, there are 18.6 billion chickens recorded ruffling their feathers on the face of the earth. Marine fish don’t even have a population, but we know that somewhere between eight hundred million and two billion tons of fish populate the world’s oceans. The next time you feel guilty squishing an ant, don’t fret; ten billion billion ants populate the planet (that’s not a typo—literally, ten billion billion). Humans are number nine on the list, edged out by termites, whose global tonnage outweighs the entire human population by over one hundred million tons. Let’s not forget the global bacteria population of four quadrillion quadrillion, or one trillion tons worth of microscopic organisms living everywhere around us. Perhaps, then, doomsday-ers might be well served to consider the context of the human population before condemning humanity to apocalyptic overpopulation.

Instead, we should be proud of our achievement, joining the “Seven Billion Club” as one of the more (but hardly the most) populous species on the planet. -Zac Deibel

23

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

he proportion of graduates with debt in 2010 in Washington DC is 96 percent, according to a report called the Project on Student Debt. American University’s Class of 2010 graduated, on average, in $36,206 of debt. The national average for college students who had student loans was $25,250, which is up 5 percent from the previous year. According to the report, about two-thirds of the most recent graduating class graduated with student debt.

American University intends to raise their tuition by 3.8 percent for next year, according to the 2012–2013 budget plan. Washington DC ranks number 17 nationally among students with the most debt. -Kelcie Pegher

GLOBAL CLIMATE THREAT

A

fter acknowledging in 2009 that global climate change poses a national security threat, the Defense Department’s science panel recently urged the CIA to reveal its classified climate research to the public, according to a recent report by The Guardian.

The increase of greenhouse gasses directly influences the economic, political and social conditions of countries—particularly in the third world—within the international security purview of the US. The report even suggests creating an independent federal agency—a move that would circumvent the CIA’s cagey communication. This year’s array of abnormal weather patterns, hurricanes and drought makes the withheld CIA information especially pertinent, as scientists and university researchers continue digging for more information. -Alex Burchfield

RED RED WINE

D

espite assertions that red wine strengthens the heart, a new study suggests that drinking may be just as bad as it’s cracked up to be. In a study of 10,000 nurses, researchers found that women who drank alcohol regularly had a slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who stayed sober.

For women who drink every day, that means the cancer risk is about 15% greater than nondrinkers. The extra risk increased to 50% in women who averaged more than 30 drinks a week. More troubling: the risk is associated with long-term drinking habits, not drinking heavily over a few months. The study also shows no difference in risk among different kinds of alcohol. Scientists theorize that alcohol may boost the level of hormones like estrogen in the blood, which could raise the risk of cancer. There’s no evidence, however, that drinking less than three times a week had any adverse affects on breast cancer risk.

So raise a glass for heart health, but not too many for breast cancer risk. -Lori McCue

BEARDS FOR A CAUSE:

BEARDS BUILD BETTER BUSINESS

By Claire Dapkiewicz // Logo by Becca Barton

At American University, students have formed a bold new coalition in response to insulting rumors that students do not live in the DC Metro area, but simply study in their adopted city. The coalition will prove that AU students are capable of escaping campus, thriving in Washington, DC and contributing to the city’s culture. Motivated by a profound and esoteric appreciation for areas of DC that the general populace is unable to understand, this revolutionary group will benefit both the student body and the city.

Uniting under their slogan, Beautiful Edifices Actually Really Don’t Save Society, or BEARDSS, passionate members hope to modify the city’s unattractive image of students. Unlike an alarming number of AU students, BEARDSS members are not lulled by the charm and convenience of the big box stores and brands of Tenleytown (or the Target in Columbia Heights). Passionately aware of underappreciated, colorful areas of the city, BEARDSS fears precious local culture is at risk of being displaced by hasty attempts to spruce up neighborhoods. The urgency of BEARDSS lies in protecting these areas from mainstream culture. By strategically patronizing specific venues, BEARDSS’ mission is to simultaneously re-educate fellow students while protesting the negative effects of gentrification.

As few have encountered an organization like BEARDSS before, BEARDSS is accustomed to explaining its agenda to the uninformed masses. Unlike tedious “tried and true” approaches to counteract reckless gentrification, BEARDSS methods are pointed and immediate. Dated concepts based on community involvement and building, which unnecessarily waste time and effort, pale in comparison to BEARDSS revolutionary “flash occupation” method, which requires only tasteful discretion and two free nights a week.

In order to instigate its “flash occupation” method, BEARDSS first meticulously combed the entire city for at-risk venues. An at-risk venue is defined as one in distinct disrepair and eccentric charm, surrounded by a disaffected neighborhood that is unable to fully appreciate its character. Initial reports indicate that BEARDSS bolsters businesses, stressing their importance—without their patronage, it is evident that cultural treasures would be in danger of unnecessary demolition.

For maximum efficiency, BEARDSS trimmed the final selection to three or fewer at-risk venues across the city. In the final step, BEARDSS members descend upon the selected sites every weekend—flooding off-campus locations for the night, and then cabbing it back to re-group and debrief. This patented “flash demonstrat-

ing”—enhanced by their preferred uniform of protective plastic eyewear, durable canvas slippers and reinforced jeans of a particular tightness—is executed to exhibit BEARDSS dedication to at-risk neighborhoods and the primacy of cultural preservation.

BEARDSS’s current campaign on U Street epitomizes the movement. In order to maintain the charm of the four-block neighborhood, including such attractions as Town, the 9:30 Club and Ben’s Chili Bowl, BEARDSS members fist pump, queue for indie bands and wipe chili from their chins with perfectly synchronized determination. If it were not for BEARDSS, the surrounding U Street area would simply disregard the cultural importance of these venues, as evidenced by the fact that BEARDSS hardly ever encounters locals while they demonstrate on the dance floor, at a concert, or while eating their vegetarian chilidogs.

BEARDSS activists maintain that the selfless surrender of their weekends is hardly a sacrifice—the cause comes first in their hearts and social calendars. The preservation of at-risk cultural sites, keeping the bulldozers of change at bay, is far more valuable to BEARDSS members than studying or folding laundry. Re-defining what it means to be invested in a community, BEARDSS intends to continue employing its members to send a signal to any student, citizen or city official who cares to notice; they appreciate the unacknowledged DC just the way it is. • Claire Dapkiewicz is a sophomore studying history and literature.

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

24

JABS AND JEST

Innovation, wit and cogent wisdom

HOUSE RESOLUTION-57:

FEELIN’ THE GLOBAL GROOVE ON H STREET

By Sara Lovett // Photo by Emily Martin

“This show is brought to you by the letters H and R and the number 57,” drawls Jimmy “June Bug” Jackson as he strolls toward the stage.

“Let’s give it up for our guest drummer, Emily!” He situates himself behind his tarnished brass drum set, where a recent SPA alumus sat moments before.

June Bug introduces bassist Marky Mark, who sits downstage left.

Marky Mark nods his glistening head at the early-evening crowd before tossing back a swig of liquor from the bottle at his side. Big Paul perches on the edge of a bench in front of a grand piano. Grant, a young professional musician and Boston Conservatory graduate, struts onstage with his saxophone in hand and his head held high.

Like the others, he has come to HR-57 for two reasons: to experience jazz and to prove that he is one of the best musicians in DC. Chatter simmers as music electrifies the air. Musicians shuffle seamlessly on and off stage, trading places with newcomers and regulars. This Thursday night typifies weeknight jam sessions. Performers challenge their skills as they battle to keep up with the established musicians. The intense competition intimidates the talented players who frequent the club.

Dr. Clarence Lusane, an SIS professor, discusses the historical interpretations of jazz across cultures in his course, Jazz and International Relations, which he teaches in the spring. Lusane explains jazz culture expanded rapidly and, by the 1930s, had become a global phenomenon. Lusane attributes jazz’s immediate globalization to its “universal appeal.”

“That’s me in that painting,” he says. In lively hues, it depicts a jam session at the club’s former location 10 years ago.

All over the world jazz has represented and continues to represent not only freedom, says Lusane, but the voice of the people. Lusane explains, jazz has taken different forms representing “working class interests, anti-Apartheid interests [and] aspiring middle class interests.”

In almost all cases, jazz has served as a means of passive resistance.

It has proven to be an irrepressible expression of freedom and hope in times of desolation.

The club was first established in 1993 as a center for jazz preservation. In early 2011, HR-57 moved from Dupont Circle to its current location on H Street, in the Atlas District. According to one musician, the Dupont club was large and ritzy. Owner Tony Puesan sought a venue closer to HR-57’s community of players and listeners after his lease expired on the former location.

The beauty of jazz is its ability to fuse cultural influences. “[It operates] as a collective but [allows] for individuality,” says Lusane. By examining the evolution of jazz, one discovers the values of a nation. At the root of the music lies a cause, a dream or a goal. That root is one small but vital piece of a much larger identity. Jazz is a type of peaceful activism, which generates effective international communication.

House Resolution 57, passed by Congress in 1987, inspired the HR57 Center for the Preservation of Jazz and Blues. The document legally affirms jazz’s status as a national treasure. The resolution deems jazz as a unifying force that transcends cultural boundaries, a statement reinforced by the club’s clientele.

Washingtonians and Eagles alike can immerse themselves in jazz culture and hear legends like Wynton Marsalis, Hank Jones, Lionel Hampton, Donald Byrd, McCoy Tyner, and Antonio Parker at HR-57.

Entry to the club is $8 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (informal jam sessions) and $15 on Fridays and Saturdays (organized performances). Musicians hint an HR-57 blues club might be on the horizon. News about the jazz club and the HR-57 foundation can be found at www.hr57.org. Visit the club by walking to 816 H Street NE from the Union Station Metro stop or by taking the X2 bus from Chinatown toward Minnesota Ave. •

While waiting for his turn, guitarist Bill Freed admits he still gets nervous when playing here, despite extensive experience playing jazz.

Illustrating his veteran status, he points to a canvas on the wall.

Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) introduced the resolution in an effort to sustain and advance the culture of jazz. It emphasizes youth involvement as an imperative factor in the perpetuation of jazz as an art form. Young adults struggling to express themselves often find jazz an effective vehicle for communication. This universal language allows individuals not only to participate in this art but also to become connected to one another.

25

Although jazz began as a distinctly African-American art form, modern jazz culture transcends national and ethnic boundaries. It has evolved as a consequence of historical events and has served as an anthem for the oppressed. African-American slaves, South Africans suffering under Apartheid, and European Jews during the Holocaust sang soulful ballads as they yearned for freedom.

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE

Sara Lovett is a freshman studying public communication and Spanish.

THE AWOL BULLETIN BOARD Have something to say? Say it in AWOL. The Bulletin Board is designed to give a voice to AU clubs and organizations, but it’s open to everyone.

We accept submissions of 250 words or less: send articles, press releases, or diatribes (but not advertisements) to awolau@gmail.com.

SIGMA CHI SUPPORTS CANCER RESEARCH Each year, the Kappa Rho chapter of Sigma Chi at American University celebrates its Derby Days philanthropy event. The 13th annual Derby Days is themed “Happy Days” and follows the previous year’s record donation to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation with an engaging series of activities and events. The Huntsman Cancer Foundation is located in Salt Lake City and is one of the largest cancer research centers in the country.

This year, Derby Days events will include a sock-hop, trivia night, dinner auction, and many other fun activites. All members of the university community, as well as any other neighbors or friends, are strongly encouraged to compete for prizes throughout this weeklong fundraiser. Feel free to come support the event this year and look out for tables in MGC, advertisements and publicity across campus. All proceeds go towards Huntsman’s research, as a testament to the continued partnership between Kappa Rho and the Foundation.

- Joseph Rice

AU PLAYERS’ SMASHING AUTUMN AND EXCITING UPCOMING SPRING SEASONS AU Players took on a hefty load this season with three very different shows. Director David Mullins started off the season with Heaven and Hell (on earth): A Divine Comedy, a series of scenes and monologues that all touched on life as a young adult. The individual vignettes blended both comedy and drama to craft a message about how Generation Y deals with heaven and hell on earth.

AU Players’ next undertaking was Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, directed by Adi Stein.

The play was a direct adaptation of Joss Whedon’s original production starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. The show is a comedic musical about a wannabe super-villain trying to be accepted into the prestigious Evil League of Evil. AU Players’ stage version included a Rocky Horror style sing-along night at which audience members were invited to join the cast in song and dress.

The final installment in AU Players’ fall season is The Musical Theater Cabaret: One Moment, directed by Michael Litchfield. AU Players puts on a musical theater cabaret every year in the fall, performing songs from a variety of Broadway musicals. This year’s cabaret is features numbers from Songs for a New World, The Last 5 Years and more. The Musical Theater Cabaret: One Moment will be performed December 1, 2, and 3 at 8 p.m. and at 1 p.m. on December 3.

- Jess Keane

A NEW AU: CAMPUS ACTION This fall, student groups from all across campus, such as the Student Worker Alliance, Latino and American Student Organization, Students for Choice and the Black Student Association came together with the Community Action and Social Action Coalition (CASJ) to instigate change on campus. The New AU campaign was conceived as a means of increasing democracy, accountability and transparency on the part of the AU administration. Starting with a week of action in October, students convened a town hall meeting to flesh out student concerns with university policies and actions. Later in the week, over 30 students rallied together and delivered a letter outlining student concerns and proposals to fix the problems on campus.

In response to student action, President Kerwin released a new “Statement of Principles on Social Responsibility,” outlining new university policies concerning contracting with external corporations. While this is a great first step for the administration, much more is needed to make this campus the open, democratic environment that students deserve. Students will continue to pressure the university to take these steps as the year continues.

For more information, email NewAUCampaign@gmail.com - Ethan Miller

WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » FALL 2011

26

LIKE AWOL? HATE AWOL? WANT TO GET INVOLVED?

AWOLAU@GMAIL.COM MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL IN APPALACHIA PHOTO ESSAY p. 16

1

www.AWOLAU.org

AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE MAGAZINE