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Students want to aid Iraqi scholars
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Also by Pedro Oliveira Jr.:
- Research finds rapid evolution (December 13, 2007)
- CAN criticizes Horowitz funding call (December 13, 2007)
- Enough already: More snow hits area (December 12, 2007)
- Security bills rile UW GOP group (December 11, 2007)
- Students want to aid Iraqi scholars (December 11, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Iraqi students may come to Madison (December 10, 2007)
- Student participation necessary to bring soldiers home (October 16, 2003)
- Students support soldier's protest (February 6, 2007)
- Students try to stop Halliburton (October 10, 2007)
- Iraqi-Americans reflect on war (April 14, 2003)
by Pedro Oliveira Jr.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A University of Wisconsin student group discussed Monday the possibility of bringing one or more displaced Iraqi students to UW, in efforts to raise awareness to the cause.
The Campus Antiwar Network and its supporters hope to waive tuition and possibly support the students with grants to pay for room and board.
"Iraq is well-known amongst the ancient world as a center for learning," said Faraz Parekh, a UW senior and CAN member. "It is one of the first places to invent and implement a successful irrigation system, and under Hammurabi — two millenniums before the common era — one of the first written codes of law."
According to Parekh, Baghdad University had nearly 43,000 students in 1988, bigger than UW-Madison, which currently has a student body of 41,000.
"Most classes now function at 10 to 20 percent their usual capacity," he said. "It is estimated that between 250 and 1,000 professors have been killed, 78 alone in Baghdad University."
The Iraqi Student Project was founded in the summer of 2007 and modeled after the Bosnian Student Project, in which from 1993 to 1996, 150 Bosnian students came to U.S. colleges with tuition waived, UW freshman Jenny Wustmann said.
According to Wustmann, recruiters would work with Iraqis in Iraq, Syria and Jordan to impartially identify, test and screen students. The students would be recommended to colleges in the U.S. based on academic records, language abilities, economic need and likelihood of success.
"We are under no illusions that this project will, in any way, mitigate the pain that our government has caused the Iraqi people," UW sophomore Sam Finesurrey said. "However, we do believe it is one small step in the right direction — hopefully, the first of many."
UW sophomore Chris McKim said though he would support the project, CAN should modify its strategy and set logistic details regarding the ISP.
"I just feel that they're taking too much of a 'charging at the administration' approach," McKim said. "I feel that this is something [where] the administration would be willing to work with them, if they were to come to a table with a set plan on how they're going to do this."
McKim said he supports the idea, but not the method.
"Don't make it about the war, don't make it about the U.S. government, just make it about those kids coming to the U.S. to get an education," he added.
CAN hopes to place nearly 40 students in the U.S. as early as fall 2008, Wustmann said. The students would not be required to represent Iraq or participate in any extracurricular activities, but rather would be regular UW students, she added.
UW spokesperson John Lucas said Dean of Students Lori Berquam is yet to meet with CAN representatives and refused comment until then.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 2:39am):
This project looks really cool, it seems like something everyone can and should stand behind.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 9:43am):
The only reason this project exists is because helping Iraqis is a lot more sexy than helping poor underserved Americans. If CAN and pals directed their pseudo-colonialist liberal guilt towards more achievable goals, maybe they could actually end up doing something productive for once.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 3:10pm):
Cool idea!
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 4:25pm):
Let me fix that title for you: "MARXISTS want OTHERS to aid Iraqi scholars"
Same silly propoganda piece as yesterday. This is shameless issue advocacy, masquerading as "News."
How many deserving American students will have to be bumped off UW admissions roll to make room for these foreigners?
Who's campus budget will make up for the deficit inflicted by these tuition waivers?
Who's paying the travel expenses and security for the mysterious "impartial recruiters."
What percentage of "students" actually support this scheme? >10%? I'd guess <1%.
If these Marxists want this program, then let them raise funds themselves-- rather than insisting Wisconsin taxpayers and students foot the bill for their self-congratulation fetishism.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 4:38pm):
to 9:43, in case you didn't know ... CAN stands for Campus Anti-War Network. Its concern is with matters pertaining to the war in Iraq - therefore the people of Iraq are inclusive in this (obviously). There are many other groups on campus that look into matters on the homefront, WISPRIG, ALLUC, Life Society, etc. The REAL reason this program exists is because there is a DEMAND for it from Iraqi students and someone took the time to listen and come up with a plan. UW-CAN is not the creator, they are just siging on with the ISP. I don't see how this goal is unacheivable. I think its a great plan and something that will be able to get done as long as all the right avenues are followed. Good work.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 5:52pm):
right...because a 500 billion dollar war hasn't burdened your tax dollars, a war that was supposedly intended to make better lives for Iraqi's. Yet looking at these numbers it hasn't worked out so well. This is a project the government and/or the university needs to support. It's also a financial burden that the university and/or the government can bear. I think we're only talking a few students. This is especially true is certain student orgs. learned how to pay their own bills and a little fiscal discipline.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 5:58pm):
Why don't we work on rebuilding Baghdad University instead on bringing one or two Iraqis to UW? We would get alot better return on our money ($60,000+ or a couple of students) by rebuilding and helping the entire student body versus helping out only one or two people.
Anonymous (December 11, 2007 @ 8:51pm):
(5:58) That's a nice idea, but their is a civil war going on there, which is targeting intellectuals. A civil war that our government has been unable to control despite a surge in troops. Someday, I hope, the Iraqi Higher Education can be rebuilt, and I agree that American dollars should be involved in that process, but right now this not feasible and there are still students out there with a desire to learn. It's extremely un-American to deny them that opportunity. Lets do are part in helping in the crisis that is Iraq's "shattered" Higher Education System. At this moment the least and the most we can do is offer them a place in our American Universities.
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 1:23am):
The problem is that it is impossible to rebuild anything much less a functional school system in occupied Iraq. This is why bringing Iraq students here and fighting to end the war are our main priorities.
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 1:34am):
to anon @ 5:58... Its a lot harder than rebuilding the University my friend. When you are losing valuable members of your staff with years of experience under their belts, having parts of your remaining staff be threatened by kidnaps and assassinations it goes a lot deeper than the simple reconstruction of one college. And this problem expands out beyond the University of Baghdad, these are definitely not the only teachers and students affected. While what you presented is more of an ideal situation that what we're hoping to accomplish it can't happen at the moment - sectarian violence targets the schools, bombs, kidnappings, assassinations, etc etc. Most people are afraid to go to school, and that shouldn't be the case. So until this situation cools there's no hope of rebuilding and restaffing the current higher education system.
To anon @ 4:25... considering the fact we haven't had the chance to talk to the complete student body (and, probably never will given that there's 41,000 students here) and also considering that this is just the first steps, we don't know how much support we're going to have. As far as your financial concerns this is something we have to look into. The one question I can answer however is that the University is not funding a recruiter and neither is can - The Iraqi Student Project (which is a separate etnity) has two paid staffers, one in the United States who works in correspondence with interested groups such as UW-CAN, and one in Amman, Jordan in the refugee camps who seeks out interested qualified students.
However, rather than reading the newspapers that contains less than 1/3 of the information we presented Monday night I would strongly encourage you and any one who advocates your point of view to come actually talk to one of us and learn all the facts we have to give at the moment. It'd be helpful for both parties.
And just to clear the air, we're not all Marxists. I will ignore the fact that you tried to stereotype me.
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 7:27am):
Idiotarian @ 5:52pm dodges: "right...because a 500 billion dollar war hasn't burdened your tax dollars, a war that was supposedly intended to make better lives for Iraqi's."
*yawn* Nice wild goose chasing a red herring around a burning strawman. Now answer the questions.
Which individual Wisconsin students' dream will CAN Marxists sacrifice on their altar of ego-gratification?
Wisconsin can only admit so many students. Do you bump a few rich Saudis? Or does some poor kid from Pulaski have to give up his Badger dreams?
Again, who's campus budget will make up for the deficit inflicted by these extravagant tuition waivers?
Who pays the travel expenses and security for the mysterious "impartial recruiters"?
What percentage of "students" actually support this scheme? >10%? I'd guess <1%.
If the CAN Marxists can't answer a few simple questions about this program, then students and Administrators should tell them to hit the road with this specious guilt-mongering shakedown.
Wisconsin has already paid the ultimate price in precious American blood for Iraqi liberation from Saddam's fascist jackboot. Tell us again what Wisconsin owes them?
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 7:42am):
Idiotarian @ 1:23am drooled: "The one question I can answer however is that the University is not funding a recruiter and neither is can - The Iraqi Student Project (which is a separate etnity) has two paid staffers..."
Are these recruiters qualified to act on behalf of the University?
This stealth outsourcing agenda should come as a surprise to our trained international admission counselors!
http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/international.php
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 9:56am):
Bedwetter @ 1:23am whined: "The problem is that it is impossible to rebuild anything..."
It is NOT "impossible"... it is difficult-- like everything worthwhile.
It would be less difficult if Marxist bedwetters stopped undermining the sincere aspirations of our Iraqi allies to better themselves.
Put away the sanctimonious patrimony and stuff your stealth surrender strategies.
Let them win.
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 10:05am):
idiotarian @ 8:51pm snarked: "It's extremely un-American to deny them that opportunity."
"UN-AMERICAN"!? Isn't that term strictly verbotten among our Leftist uber menchen? Is it now permitted when you're patronizing the unter menchen? Or does someone need to got to Marxist re-education camp?
What's "extremely un-American" is this constant drumbeat of defeatism from the hate-America Left.
Behold their Hall of Shame.
http://www.zombietime.com/hall_of_shame/
Anonymous (December 12, 2007 @ 11:11pm):
Dear sir or madame (ANON @ 10:05, 9:56, 7:42, 7:27),
Do you really think calling us names (idiotarian, bedwetter) helps make you look any more reasonable? Drop the middle school tactics and please(!) stop stereotyping us. I will repeat again what you so cooly ignored, I AM NOT A MARXIST. Also, I do not hate America as Left as I may be. I strongly disagree with some of our actions as well as our inactions as a country. But I realize my privelege to live in such a country and am grateful for all the opportunities living here gives me.
To answer one of your questions, again, the students, along with filling out the application to be a part of the program, must apply to their school of choice like any other student (as well as apply for student visas that our government has to grant them).
However, we get the point, you're against this program. No matter how many of your questions we answer either now or in the future, you won't go along with it. And that's too bad, but to each their own. Ciao.
Zach Heise (December 12, 2007 @ 11:38pm):
"We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted."
I'm not going to lower myself to your standards of completely disregarding the policies of the newspaper, but merely point out that no one has been paying attention to you after reading the first word in your comments. I certainly haven't, because I know it's not going to be anything worth answering.
As always, we'd like to welcome your dissenting opinions to our Monday-night meetings at 8:00PM. There you can meet your favorite "Marxists" and ask them these questions yourself, and of course be ready to run out of questions when you realize that the rest of us left second grade a long time ago.
CAN has always prided itself in treating other organizations with respect, even though we often disagree with their stances and policies. The fact that you are apparently incapable of such simple decency only proves that while you bluster quite amusingly on a newspaper's website, I would stake all of my Bolshevik Bedwetting Revolutionary Trading Cards
Anonymous (December 13, 2007 @ 6:14pm):
CAN rep muttered: "No matter how many of your questions we answer"
LMAO! You mean like... one?
Nobody's interested in meeting with your puny gaggle of self-absorbed, intellectual frauds.
The real question: Why is this shameless Marxist propaganda, masquerading as "News"?
Anonymous (December 14, 2007 @ 6:07pm):
I've answered two, because those are the answers that I have for you at the moment.
And the thing is my dear friend, people are interested, on the Monday of the last week of school which is laden with projects, papers, and tests I'd say we had at least 15 new faces in the room who came specifically to hear about the ISP despite what the week held. And despite that, two out of the first three comments allude to support. Interest is interest. Support is support. You get the deal.
As far as Marxist propoganda? You're really stuck on this notion that we're all Marxists in CAN. You could be mistaking CAN for the International Socialist Organization, two seperate bodies. But, besides that, your arguments are resting on the fallacy that CAN is a Marxist organization, and while we may have 3 or 4 they do not dictate the actions of the group as a whole and are definitely not the sole inspiration or motivators behind our projects, our main goal, stop the war, and that's something people of many differing political ideologies can agree with - marxist, socialist, liberal, libertarian, anarchist, moderates, democrats (you get the point right?) So to conclude, CAN is not Marxist, but thanks for your concern.
And unless you've fallen, suffered some sort of brain damamge and forgot the definition of "news" it basically stands as this - the presentaion of new or interesting information. I don't feel wrong in assuming that to a lot of people this IS news. So, sorry, you'll just have to stomach through it because majority rules.
Happy Holidays.
Anonymous (April 6, 2008 @ 5:18pm):
This idea strikes me and feel how important is the sympathy that such students bear in mind. They will save clever students from being lost and won't have the chance to pursue their studies.I have an idea here to add. Many Iraqi students arrive with their families to US. Their sons and daughters stopped their studies there and hoping that US universities will grant them opportunities to pursue their studies.
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