dailygamecock.com UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010
Students aim to help Haiti
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USC loses to LSU Lady Gamecocks’ threegame winning streak halted by Bayou Bengals in Baton Rouge.
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Ahmed Alsaadi works in a safer environment than his previous career in Iraq. With two jobs and a steady income, he now awaits the arrival of his family.
Iraqi expat living new life at USC Former military interpreter turns RH employee Jonathan Battaglia
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Trend-setting singers The Mix takes a look at fashion trends adopted by the fans of some of the biggest stars in music.
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Will Trevor Potter Gilchrist First-year economics student
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Columnists slice into the controversy surrounding plastic surgery.
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Video interview Doyle Stevick, co-author of “Fostering Global E n g a g e m e n t ,” b r i e f l y outlines his goals for the proposal in a video.
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A h med A lsaad i always had a target on his back. As an Iraqi working for the U.S. Army, his life was in danger wherever he went. Alsaadi, 25, was an interpreter for the Military Transition Team f rom 20 07 to 20 09, a key lin k between the Iraqi and U.S. armies during the American occupation of Iraq. He provided Arabic-English t ra nslat ions to t he I raqi ar my on life-threatening missions and community service throughout the countryside of Iraq. Now living in Columbia and working as a cashier at the Russell House, Alsaadi says his job was important to restoring order in Iraq. “ I c a n’t tel l you how muc h the Iraqis were happy to see us,” Alsaadi said. “You can’t imagine t he line of people just wait ing to get in schools so they can get medical treatment. It’s something amazing, it’s something which I can give credit to both sides: the Iraqi army and the U.S. military.” One of the most dangerous parts of Alsaadi’s job was to help bring food and supplies to Iraqi soldiers at treatment facilities. In July 2007, A lsaadi’s platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device. One Iraqi soldier died in the blast. “I was in a dangerous spot just because I worked for t he U.S. Army,” Alsaadi said. “There were many people that didn’t like people in the Army. I had a target on my back for being in the uniform and being a civilian working for the U.S. Army.” But for A lsaadi, work ing for America was a way toward greater opport unit y. H is prev ious job, which required him to work on cell phone towers in hot spots across Iraq, offered little pay and many of the same hazards. Wo r k i n g o n t h e M i l i t a r y Transition Team offered Alsaadi bet ter wages a nd al lowed h im t o i mprove h i s E n gl i s h . T he r e l at io n s h ip s he f o r g e d w it h American troops eventually gave him the chance to move to the United States in June 2009. “I always wanted to move to the U.S.,” Alsaadi said. “That was the goal since the beginning. Serving with the U.S. Army gave me that option.” If t he United States had not invaded Iraq and taken Saddam
Hussein from power, Alsaadi said his life would have t urned out much differently. A s a s t ude nt at a t e c h n ic a l inst it ute in Baghdad when t he United States invaded in March 2003, A lsaadi was not required to serve in Hussein’s Iraqi Army. A lsaadi, who was playing video games at his home near Baghdad International A irport when the Americans invaded, said he thinks he was the fi rst Iraqi to talk to an American soldier. “I saw a soldier, he was trying to direct me from the place because he said there might be bombs that might explode,” Alsaadi said. “So he helped me to stay away from this place. I said ‘welcome’ to him.” Life under the Hussein regime, wh ich rest r icted speech a nd Internet use, changed dramatically when the Americans invaded Iraq, according to Alsaadi. Most Iraqis now own cell phones and his family went from owning one computer to owning three, all with unrestricted Internet access. Islamic demonstrations, which are now common in Iraq, were prohibited while Hussein was in power. Hussein, who was president of Iraq for 24 years, didn’t want Iraqi’s congregating together and threatening his power. “I bel ieve ever y I raqi was monitored under Saddam,” Alsaadi said. “You didn’t have rights and you didn’t have the freedom to say no. Maybe you can say no, but you’re not going to be treated well.” Alsaadi, who works alongside two other Iraqis at USC and thousands more in the United States, said he is enjoying the freedom in the States. “Right now, I have the freedom to say whatever I want,” Alsaadi said. “I know I don’t need to offend anybody, but I can say whatever I want and nobody can say you don’t need to speak loud about that.” W it h t wo steady jobs, a n apartment and insurance, Alsaadi said he is t r y ing to gain some financial footing before the rest of his family moves to the United States. A s for his relat ives and friends who plan to stay in Iraq, Alsaadi said he thinks conditions will improve, even when American troops begin to leave the country in August. “We’ve been in the dark and now we’re going to the light,” Alsaadi said. “Whatever’s happening right now, it’s something that has to happen for Iraq to become better.” Comments on this story? E-mail sagcknew@mailbox.sc.edu
Students, facult y and alumni of USC are continuing to raise mone y a nd awa rene s s towa rd relief efforts in Haiti. The Met hodist St udent Network, in partnership with the campus chapter of the NAACP, has collected more than $1300 since last Thursday. The money is being donated to Partners in Health, a n i nter nat iona l orga n izat ion that brings modern medical care and attent ion to impoverished countries worldwide. “Ha it i is one of t he last cou nt r ie s t hat cou ld af ford a disaster like this,” said Kathryn Lew is, a second-yea r g raph ic design student. “They need help now, and a lot of it. We need to continue to dig deep and keep it up, and not let the disaster fade into the back of our minds.” The Met hodist St udent Net work a nd t he Nat iona l Association for the Advancement of Colored People are also drawing up plans for a benefit concert that will provide aide to Haiti. This is scheduled for next month, and
more details are expected to be fi nalized soon. Un iversit y President Harris Pastides recognized the studentled initiative and commented on the efforts. “ T h e Un i v e r s it y o f S o u t h Carolina is a caring institution. Students, faculty and staff quickly began looking for ways to assist t he people of Hait i,” Past ides said. “One student e-mailed me to say such a natural phenomenon c a n h app en a ny w here i n t he world, and when it does, it’s our opportunity to help.” In addition to fundraising, two physicians with associations to the University will travel to Haiti Tuesday to tr y and aide people whose lives have been devastated by the earthquake. Dr. Mike McKenzie, clinical director of the General Medicine Clinic in Student Health Services, will join a group from First Baptist Church for a week long trip to Hait i. Because t he eart hquake Haiti ● 4
Gregory Bull / The Associated Press
U.S. military airlifts earthquake victims from Port-au-Prince’s General Hospital Thursday in an attempt to ease pressure on the filled hospital.
‘Global Engagement’ plan hopes to culture all students QEP proposal to expand study abroad opportunities, build foreign language programs at USC Paul Bowers
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
The Qualit y Enhancement Plan, part of USC’s re-accreditation process, is a blueprint for improving the University that will be cobbled together from faculty-written proposals, which can be downloaded at www.sc.edu/provost/qep. USC explored the fi rst of four proposals, the “The Tenth Dimension,” Wednesday. Today we look at another, “Fostering Global Engagement.” The proposal includes expanding study abroad opportunities, building up foreign-language programs and creating a Global Engagement Program that can be added onto a degree like a minor or an honors recognition. For Doyle Stevick, co-author of the proposal, the idea of a globalminded education is no fl ight of fancy. It is a necessity. While teaching at Indiana University, Stevick had a student named Benjamin Nathaniel Smith in one of his Latin classes. Smith, who had graduated from a high-ranked Illinois high school and was studying criminal justice, was a white supremacist. “You don’t necessarily grow up thinking that people coming out of elite high schools and universities can be so racist,” said Stevick, who is now an assistant professor in USC’s College of Education. July 4, 1999, Smith went on a minority shooting spree, killing two and injuring nine. “I had to come to grips with the fact that our education system did nothing to challenge his beliefs,” Stevick said. The shooting brings up a question about the nature of academics — Is an education solely about learning a marketable skill or should it alter your character? “Fostering Global Engagement” is about the latter answer. Stevick and his seven co-authors are pushing for a more globally minded education Global ● 4