VOL. 51, ISSUE 11 | DECEMBER 8 , 2010
Mace & Crown Student newspaper of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, since 1930
OLD DISPUTES COME TO A BOIL IN KOREA
Korean students worry about situation across the Pacific by
Christian Ernst News Editor
Tensions have been increasing of late in the Far East, as North and South Korea are at odds, having both taken military actions in disputed areas of the ocean off the coast of the peninsula. Not only could this cause major concerns for the entire world, but some students are already concerned with the actions. Alan Patrick is a student at Old Dominion and is of Korean decent. “My mother is Korean from Seoul, where I was born. My mom still has 8 sisters one brother in Korea the Seoul area,” Patrick said. Seung Kim is also a student at ODU, but he had remained in Korea until he was 14. “I’m Korean,” said Kim. “This may sound just simplistic justification of my race, but it is more than what it is hidden behind these words. Growing up, we (as students in Korea) have been taught to be nationalistic that even one will able to fine in pledge of allegiance. Also, Korea has this system where all the men are mandatory to serve the country around age of 21. So, this means that all my friends who have joined military are ready to go to war. So, most of my friends’ life is on the steak who have been in base camp.” Kim could also be drawn into the war, he said. He would be included in the draft process if war were to break out, and could need to fly back to Korea if he were called. Both students expressed concern as to what could happen if North Korea and President Kim Jong Il decide to take further militaristic action. The tensions between the nations have been heated because of military action near Yeonpteong Island, which is in disputed waters. Although North Korea claims the island, South Korea has legal claim to it according to the United Nations, who made the decision after the Korean War in the 1950’s. “What scares me is the situation as a whole,” Patrick said. “The fact I have multiple family members there t h a t are in danger while they did absolutely nothing. Also that South Korea has been bullied all of its existence from Japan to North Korea they just established a new rebuilt foundation South Korea is finally stable and healthy if it were to be taken over again I don’t know how long or if it would be revived depending the outcome.”
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“The biggest part that scares me is that now what North Korea would do?” said Kim. “And how China would react to this issues? Plus, what about the nuclear weapons that they have created? Because Korea is like a big city, that once nuclear bomb hits, not only million people will die, but due to so many buildings the radioactivity will be within Korea’s atmosphere that causes series of trouble.” China plays an important role in the situation, as it is so close to the problem and is currently North Korea’s closest ally. Although talks between the North and South have currently halted, China has been working on bringing the two to the table to work out something. The United States plays a similar role, as South Korea’s closest ally. Japan also supports South Korea, and both are working toward denuclearizing the Northern state. The students both said they hope that the United States would police the situation if it became any more heated. Neither student seemed to have a clear view of the situations future. “Looking at right now, this is the rising of a threat,” said Kim. “First, North Korea wants to be in power, and throughout communication she has been saying varieties of statements that she would destroy U.S.” Kim also said that he believed North Korea desires to be a superpower, and that this is just showing the things it can do to establish that. “What scares me is the situation as a whole,” Patrick said. “The fact I have multiple family members there that are in danger while they did absolutely nothing.” Patrick also said that South Korea is finally starting to establish itself after being bullied throughout its early existence, and that this could seriously damper that process. The future of the situation is murky, and both students seem worried. “I feel actions will be taken purely because this was unnecessary and South Korea does not want to be bullied and run over again so I feel they will do anything to prevent that,” Patrick said. “Hopefully a war does not happen but again both sides are not afraid to start one that’s the scariest part.” “Well, I’m a college student who came from Korea at age of 14, and news like this scares me in a sense of relationship between North Korea and South Korea,” Kim said. “I often joked around saying ‘we are all brothers and sisters, but just have tiny different belief’ and ‘North Korea is just bored with their bombs or not enough land to test bombs that they are doing such an action’, but now it is no time to joke around or stating those statement. I hope situation gets better soon.”
A Hampton Roads tradition: The Jingle Bell Walk see B8
Holiday play at University Theater brings Christmas cheer, tears see B1
“Bomb scare” no dud for ODU students Recent details from incident shift concerns back to campus safety Stuart Miller Editor in Chief
by
As Old Dominion University students prepare for finals, the last thing on their minds should be safety concerns. After the campus was shaken by a string of robberies the necessary measures were taken to prevent such events from happening in the future. The recent “bomb scare” that occurred on the 1500 block of 42nd street on November 29th has brought these safety issues full circle once again as students have been showcasing their displeasure towards the situation. “It was definitely an important issue that the university needed to address and they failed to,” said ODU student Sarah Vance. “I can’t believe we didn’t get ODU safety alerts for this!” The emotions have been mixed throughout ODU’s campus as more details from the original incident have emerged, showing exactly what the students’ intentions were. Again the safety on and around campus was called into question, but the difference this time around didn’t have everything to do with the lack of response. “Even though anyone can see that the students shouldn’t have been mixing chemicals,” said ODU student Zachary Mallette. “The response to see SAFETY A5