Campus in Brief

Speakers blasted music while students danced and knocked down pins Sunday night in the… Speakers blasted music while students danced and knocked down pins Sunday night in the Pittsburgh Athletic Association’s bowling alley at Hillel JUC’s Bowl-A-Thon.

This event raised money for Dimes for Darfur, a nationwide Hillel campaign to help child victims of the genocide in the Darfur area of Sudan.

“We’re here to encourage people to get active in the situation because, unfortunately, it is not an issue that is well-highlighted by the U.S. government,” said Amy Herlich, a sophomore at Pitt and co-organizer of the event.

Students at the event were able to sign up for more information on Darfur, including a mailing list for a proposed activist group branch on campus.

STAND, or Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, is a national movement on college campuses and in high schools to raise awareness of the Darfur situation.

“We’re going to do the same things we’re doing now, getting signatures, raising money, promoting education,” said Emily Haimowitz, a junior at Pitt in charge of starting the group.

The event was part of an ongoing effort by Hillel to raise money and awareness of the situation in Darfur. Other events held this year included bringing Rwandan hero Paul Rusesabagina to campus and a social justice Shabbat last Friday, where other campus groups, like Amnesty International and the Black Action Society, joined Hillel JUC members for dinner and to hear a speaker on the issue.

“I think they were inspired to co-partner with us on future events related to social justice,” Herlich said.

For Bowl-A-Thon, students paid $10 and enjoyed unlimited bowling and duckpin, as well as snacks and dancing, in the basement of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association.

“This was not our original location,” Herlich said. “I actually didn’t know it existed until one of the Hillel board members showed me a flier … It was the best option.”

One bowler agreed.

“I thought it was a good cause, something to do,” said James Franklin, a Pitt senior.

Anti-war group debates plans for pullout Gwen Kehr, Staff Writer

Student group Pitt Against War held a debate and discussion Thursday, assessing the immediate and staged plans of withdrawal of American military troops from Iraq.

The question wasn’t whether the United States should pull out of Iraq, but when. The opposing sides were immediate versus phased.

Vanessa Wills and Jonah McAllister-Erickson, both Pitt graduate students, presented points for both arguments in the William Pitt Union to a group of supporters.

McAllister-Erickson, who spoke in support of staged withdrawal, mentioned that analysts fear an Iraqi civil war if the United States pulls its troops out too quickly.

Wills, arguing for the immediate withdrawal, said, “The deadliest forces in Iraq are U.S. troops. We should end that and end that immediately.”

The Thomas Merton Center – a local progressive organization – endorses PAW, and meets weekly on Thursday nights on the sixth floor of the William Pitt Union.

Teach for America representative draws attention to “academic achievement gap” Jared Trent Stonesifer, Staff Writer

Teach for America held a recruitment seminar for students Friday on the 35th floor of the Cathedral of Learning.

Native Pittsburgher Cate Reed, placement director for the organization, helped to host the “Bridging the Academic Achievement Gap” seminar.

“We need to find ways to reach students,” Reed said. “I believe that education improvement is the Civil Rights Movement of our era. And I believe our country is in trouble if we don’t do anything.”

Teach for America, an organization comprised of college graduates from all majors, offers a two-year commitment to teaching in public schools, usually in urban or rural environments. Reed taught third through fifth grades in the District of Columbia.

Reed told a story about a survey given to Teach for America participants. A question asked teachers after their two-year commitment, if they think that the public has an accurate understanding of the educational problems facing under-privileged students. Only 2 percent answered yes.

The seminar, aimed at recruiting students to serve in Teach for America, represented an effort Reed strongly advocates.

“This is an opportunity to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves,” Reed said.