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Monday, February 7, 2011
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Democracy rally to support Egyptian people Student-powered organization raising awareness and support for democracy movement in Egypt Kristian Smith Student Life Editor With protests in Egypt continuing for a third week, UT students may be wondering what they can do to support those fighting for democracy. One group of UT students plans to address this issue by organizing a student gathering called “Students Unite for Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East.” Students will gather in the HSS amphitheater from noon to 2:30 p.m. today. John McCollum, senior in global studies and an organizer of the event, said he wanted to gather students to show support for people fighting for democracy in Egypt. “We live in a globalized world and movements for democracy and human rights are very universal,” McCollum said. “We have a responsibility and obligation to support anyone’s struggle for the freedoms we enjoy.” McCollum said students can stop by any time throughout the afternoon. Tables will be set up to distribute information on the current movements for democracy in the Middle East. Yellow ribbons and balloons, symbolizing peace and friendship, will also be handed out. The mission of the event is “to foster solidarity and increase awareness and domestic support for the grassroots democratic and human rights movements occurring throughout the Middle East.” McCollum said he and the other organizers want other students to learn more about the protests. “Americans are very afraid of things they don’t understand in other countries,” he said. “Just seeing the images (of the protests) makes people afraid. We want to tell people it’s not something to be afraid of.” Movements for democracy in the Middle East have been going on since mid-December of last year. On Dec. 17, 2010, the movement for democracy in the Middle East began in Tunisia. After four weeks of
demonstrations by Tunisians, the president of Tunisia was forced to step down. Protests then began in Egypt, a major United States ally. Protests have continued there for almost three weeks, and there are no clear signs of an end to these protests.
“
We asked (Noam)
Chomsky how we could
make a change in the world, and he said, ‘Do whatever you want to do.’
”
– John McCollum, on his inspiration for starting “Students Unite for Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East” after Chomsky’s lecture last week
McCollum said speakers will be at the event, including Shareef Amer, a UT law student from Egypt. He said other UT faculty and community members will be speaking as well. So far, McCollum said the event has received positive responses. “The administration has been very encouraging,” he said. “This is part of UT’s mission statement to do things like this.” McCollum said the Muslim Student Association, whose president is Egyptian, has also been very supportive as well.
McCollum said he and his friends were inspired to start the event after speaking with Noam Chomsky when he spoke at UT last week. “We asked Chomsky how we could make a change in the world, and he said, ‘Do whatever you want to do,’” McCollum said. “This was a little discouraging, because he did not tell us something specific, but it was also encouraging.” McCollum said they came up with the idea to gather students in support of democracy in the Middle East because there is not usually a diverse community interested in these types of issues. “We’re trying to do something local about an international issue,” he said. McCollum said he also has a friend studying abroad in Egypt who inspired him to organize this event. “She’s so excited to be there, and she thinks it’s great we’re doing this,” he said. Though McCollum and the other organizers have only been working on the event for about a week and a half, McCollum said it was something they wanted to see happen soon. “Things are moving very quickly in the region and with America’s responses, so it’s something that needs to be done quickly,” he said. McCollum said the Facebook event for the gathering lists more than 350 attendees, and he expects a good turnout at the event. Not all students who plan to attend think they can truly make a difference, though. “It’s a good cause, but the machine will put in place who the machine wants to put in place,” Robert Lumley, senior in engineering, said. Despite the outcome of the event, McCollum said it has been a good learning experience for everyone involved. “We’ve learned things that will help us down the road,” he said.
Diplomat to lecture on nuclear arms Ambassador to discuss new treaty on nuclear arms reduction Blair Kuykendall News Editor
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Phil Derryberry, graduate student in geology and tectonics, and Alex Spicer, freshman in psychology, high-five after winning a rally in a badminton match in the TRECS Bubble on Thursday, Feb. 3.
Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. will address community members, faculty and students at a Baker Center luncheon Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. His lecture is entitled “The Negotiation of the New START Treaty” and will center on last spring’s negotiations between the U.S. and Russia to limit nuclear arms. “Graham will be the featured speaker at an ambassadorial luncheon, where he will discuss the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ratified in January by the U.S. Senate in the larger context of the strategic arms control process,” Dr. Mike Fitzgerald, chair of the American Studies program, said. Graham’s visit to the state will include various other objectives as well. “Ambassador Thomas Graham is visiting East Tennessee to participate in the Women in Nuclear, Region II Conference being held on Feb. 6 through 9 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory,” Fitzgerald said. “In conjunction with the conference, Ambassador Graham will meet on Feb. 8 with UT faculty, members of the Baker Center Staff and officials from ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex to discuss the Baker Center’s Global Security Program. “The revised START treaty includes restructured inspection and verification techniques for nuclear programs, but will still allow several thousand nuclear arms to remain stockpiled by each nation.” “We are delighted to host Ambassador Graham as part of our Ambassadorial Lecture Series,” Carl Pierce, director of the Baker Center, said. Both the U.S. Senate and the State Duma of Russia have ratified the treaty. Controversy has recently been ignited around the negotiation of the START treaty, with Julian Assange’s Wikileaks pressing alle-
gations that the United States released intelligence on Great Britain’s nuclear program to reach the agreement with Russia. Graham is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on international disarmament, specifically involving chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Since the 1970s, he has been directly involved in negotiating U.S. weapons agreements at both the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks and the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks. The ambassador was also instrumental in the negotiations of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty extension (NPT), the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Currently, Graham is the executive chairman of the Board of Lightbridge Corporation. This organization is pioneering efforts to fuel nuclear power with thorium and carries out research efforts at Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. He divides his time between his roles on the boards of Mexco Energy Corporation of Midland, Texas, and CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. of Vancouver, Canada. The United Arab Emirates’ International Advisory Board has also enlisted Graham to keep its new nuclear energy projects non-proliferating and safe for the public. Graham has been instrumental in the negotiations of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty extension (NPT), the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The luncheon is expected to draw a strong crowd from the Knoxville academic community, and the Baker Scholars students have been encouraged to attend the forum as well. Tickets were sold in advance for the event and include lunch for the participants. If students would like to attend but have not elected to purchase tickets, seating will be provided for them in the back and along the sides of the auditorium.