Volunteering Helps Students Get in Touch with Community
Dear Editor in Chief,
As students at American University, it's easy to temporarily lose yourself in the stress of writing papers, studying for exams and carrying internships. Sometimes in the midst of all the madness, we lose sight of what it is to be human, to have a heart.
The Red Cross helps prepare communities for emergencies, support survivors of disaster, and keep people safe every day. In January, I started donating a great deal of my time to the Arlington Red Cross. The more I've became involved, the more passionate I've became about their purpose. I've been working mainly on marketing an event called "March Mania," an annual fundraiser. Everyone who I volunteer with is so enthusiastic and through my experience, I've been able to break away from the "AU bubble." I know that my efforts, in combination with others' efforts, will help numerous people in need. I feel more in touch with the community because I know that I've made a difference. It truly is an enlightening feeling.
I ask you to reflect on your own life. Remember that one simple compliment to another might brighten their whole day. Remember there are other people in this world who long for assistance and kindness. And remember, every hour you spend volunteering could may another's hour healthier and happier.
Sincerely,
Michaela Thayer
Junior, SOC and SPA
Cross-cultural controversy
I have been reading with interest Jeff Lambert's cross-cultural dispatches from Zagreb, Croatia. In the course of my research, I have had many opportunities to travel to the countries of former Yugoslavia, including Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. I, too, found Zagreb fascinating, but also I found other capitals, including Ljubljana, equally so. I think one of the things Americans traveling in the region find so perplexing is the regional animosities among the different peoples, especially since I have found nearly everyone I have encountered there open and engaging. Of course, conflicts in the Balkans are nothing new, dating back centuries. Travelers have long noted these perplexing conflicts, most notably the classic "Black Lamb and Gray Falcon" by Rebecca West, written on the eve of World War II.
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One of the advantages Americans have is the ability to move among the cultures and countries, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each. We have the possibility to promote understanding rather than rancor.
Unfortunately, Lambert's March 5 column on Slovenia does just the opposite. I do not pretend to be an expert on Balkan politics and history, but surely to call Slovenian erasure of citizenship the equivalent of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Hercegovina is hyperbole at best, and certainly contributes nothing to understanding the region. Slovenia has chosen a path of integration with Europe, certainly not the only direction a country can move, as Lambert points out. But it is certainly more than currency integration. Many of my Slovenian friends strongly believe that membership in the European Union provides a way out of the terrible ethnic politics of the Balkans, and gives Slovenians (and other countries) the opportunity to be part of a greater entity, one that may prove to finally lay some of these conflicts to rest.
As I write these words from the lovely city of Ljubljana, Slovenia, I also hope Lambert has the chance to visit other capitals and countries of the region, including Belgrade, and that he is not so quick to pass judgment on them as he has been on Ljubljana and Slovenia.
David C. Culver
Professor of Biology
Clarifying the facts on partial-birth abortion
Without delving too much into Caleb Enerson's straw men of the pro-choice position, I feel that his writing on the topic of partial-birth abortion/dilation and extraction (D&X) in the March 5 issue of The Eagle warrants a critique in particular. He writes on the legitimacy of the argument for D&X:
"The fact that killing a partially born child can be consideed acceptable is simply mind-boggling ... It's not even like partial-birth abortions are mostly done for the health of the mother, which is, bluntly, a lie used by pro-choicers to defend the practice."
I wish to raise two points I feel Mr. Enerson may have overlooked. The first is that abortions performed after the 21st week are very rare, with only 1.4 percent of abortions in the United States falling into this category (according to the very reliable Guttmacher Institute). At present, there is no doctor in the United States willing to perform D&X procedures on a live delivery that has been carried to term. The point is that Enerson's statement against abortion of "partially-born" children is fictitious, because the vast majority of states do not allow abortion in the third trimester and there are no doctors willing to perform the procedure in the third trimester.
Second, recent legislation, including the 2003 federal ban of D&X the Bush administration signed, does not affect only live fetuses. The legislation is poorly worded enough to apply to children who die while in utero, taking the safest surgical options for removal of the fetus off the table. While Enerson may feel this is irrelevant, I bring it up to demonstrate that the D&X procedure is used for the benefit of the health of the mother. D&X procedures are far safer than labor and delivery for a dead fetus, and reduce chances of bleeding requiring transfusion, infection requiring antibiotics, organ injuries, and cervical laceration.
I would express my disagreement with several other of Enerson's points but, as I feel his statements on D&X were the most misleading, figured it most important to correct those.
Colin Fleming
Senior, SPA
