Tuesday, the Armed Services Committee met to discuss the controversial policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT),“which bars gays, lesbians and bisexuals from openly serving in the military. This year, Obama vowed to repeal the policy and instructed his top advisors to look into how to best implement the change.  The meeting demonstrated a marked shift from the Armed Service Committee meetings 17 years ago that instituted the policy under the Clinton administration. 

Pres. Obama meets with Admiral Mullen and Sec. Gates. Photo by Pete Souza, official White House Photo.

At the meeting both the  Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates endorsed the repeal. Sec. Gates stated that “I fully support the president’s decision. The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it. We have received our orders from the commander in chief and we are moving out accordingly.” Admiral Mullen’s endorsement was even stronger. He stated “No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens….For me it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” Read more…

The Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, Andre Bauer, recently stirred up controversy and found himself skewered on the Daily Show after comparing poor children on free or reduced lunch plans to stray animals. He stated, at a town hall, ”My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that.”

In  recession, where millions of Americans are struggling, Mr. Bauer’s comments are insensitive and ignorant. As a public official, he should have a basic understanding of why so many people are struggling. Further, Mr. Bauer ignores the root causes of poverty. Instead, he compares those who in need to animals, and animals who “don’t thing too much further” than getting food and reproducing. Read more…

The Vagina Monologues opened in Pigott Auditorium for the first time in three years at Seattle University March 11, 2009. Clara Ganey | The Spectator

“The Vagina Monologues” is coming to campus Feb. 11, 12 and 14, sponsored by the Society of Feminists. Directed by three Seattle U students and performed by 33 women from campus, the society has gone beyond previous years and decided to put on Domestic Violence Awareness Week, in concert with the performances.  Many clubs on campus have already come together to raise awareness on the subject, which affects more than one in four women at some point in their lives. Oxfam, Trans & Allies, Bonnie Norris and PHAT are all participating.

Yet the Society is looking to create a massive annual event, sparking discussion and change. It is looking for any interested parties who want to raise awareness on campus. Wynn Barnard and Andrew Battaglia , co-president of the Society of Feminists, are interested in programming: panels, presentations, videos, papers, etc.

Students, professors, faculty or clubs are all welcome to participate.  Wynn Barnard can be reached at barnardw@seattleu.edu for anyone interested, and tickets for “The Vagina Monologues” will soon be available at the CAC.

Poe in 1848. Courtesy of wikipedia.

I’m a literature geek, and as such, I’m nearly required to find references to literature and classic authors, that others might find obnoxious or boring, both interesting and fascinating.

So goes the tradition, and here is the story. Edgar Allen Poe died in 1849. One hundred years later, in 1949, on the anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe’s birth, a mysterious cloaked figure stopped by the author’s grave in the dead of night and toasted the author with a glass of cognac. Dubbed the “Poe Toaster” the mysterious figure, presumed to be a man, left three roses and a bottle of cognac at the site.

In the 60 years that followed, the mysterious man has shown up every year on Jan. 19 and followed the same tradition. Many have stood by and watched the figure: clad in black, wearing a hat, swathed in a scarf and carrying a cane. But no one has attempted to interfere and determine the person’s identity.

Read more…

Like millions of others around the world, I’ve been watching the tragedy unfold in Haiti. Tuesday, a 7.0 earthquake struck, levelling the capital city, Port-Au-Prince and decimating the country’s infrastructure.  It’s estimated that seven out of ten buildings were destroyed and thousands of people are still trapped, alive within the buildings. Even more aren’t. The number of dead, first estimated officially by the Red Cross at 50,000 two days ago, is a woeful underestimation.  No new official numbers have been released, and may not ever be known as bodies are being buried, with no documentation, in mass graves. But it could be anywhere between 100,000-200,000 people. 

Three million Haitians have been effected by the quake.  Medical care, food, water and temporary shelter is desperately needed. Now. Hampering the dispersal of the aid is the collapsed infrastructure. Roads are reportedly clear but the damaged airport and port of call has made it difficult to get aid in quickly. Further, security concerns in dispersing the aid has slowed passing out the aid. By Monday, an estimated 10,000 US troops will be on the ground to help the 9,000 UN troops already in the country. The security will help in aid dispersal, hopefully tamping down the desperation and frustration, whih is beginning to finally boil over. Looting and roaming gangs reportedly wander the streets, with fights over the scarce resources occurring. It’s become, simply, about survival. Read more…

Thursday January 14th, the creator of www.postsecret.blogspot.com will visit campus, bringing with him the insight he’s gained over six years of sharing the secrets of strangers. In 2004, Frank Warren started a community art project, asking people to send in their secrets on postcards.  400,000 secrets later, the project has become a global phenomenon. In flipping through the pages of one of his books or scrolling through his website, one cannot help be be shocked and calmed, disgusted and intrigued by the inner workings and outer actions of humanity. The secrets represent the best and worst in all of us, and within one of the postcards, I dare you not to find a little bit of yourself within the confessions.  And that is the allure of PostSecret. The anonymous project has exploded, transcending every conceivable border because of the fact that it connects individuals. They see, somehow, that they are not alone. As cliche as that sounds–there is something profoundly simple. Read more…