Dr. Cornel West speaks on Democracy and What it Means to Be Human

The audience provided a standing ovation as the keynote speaker took the stage. “I hope I say something about democracy that unsettles you,” he said, dressed in his signature black and white suit with a scarf.

Dr. Cornel West spoke at the Charles E. Smith Center on Thursday for the University Writing Program’s forum on democracy and public argument. The forum was created to “contribute to a broader conversation for public debate on global society,” said Derek Malone-France, the executive director of the University Writing Program.

West’s lecture focused on the question ‘What does it mean to be human?’ and referred to many subjects, such as poetry, the Occupy Movement, Socrates and the upcoming presidential elections.

Referring to what society teaches youth about success, West commented that the primary goals seem to be “material toys, social status, a trophy husband or wife and to be well adjusted to injustice.” He proceeded to explain the importance of seeking the truth and paying attention to those who are suffering.

Defining poetry, he said that real poets “use critical imagination to try to make the world a better place.”

West emphasized how crucial it is to focus on the impact your life has on others.

Engaging with an audience diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity, West described the economy and the government as “survival of the slickest.” He called the recent bank bail out “hypocrisy” due to the discrepancy between the elite and the poor in the US. 

“How many Wall Street employees have been investigated and arrested. Zero. How many Jamals and Latishas have been incarcerated. Hundreds and hundreds.”

As members of the audience roared with laughter and exclamations of agreement, West clarified his position. “I’m not anti-American. I’m anti-injustice in America,” he said.

The University Writings Program decided to organize the question and answer segment by randomly selecting audience members. A number of post cards with a pen were attached to the bottom of selected seats in the Smith Center. Those who had the lucky seat could write their question and pass the post card to an usher.

Responding to a question about the predominately white participants in the Occupy Movement, West described the movement as “magnificent and desperate.” He then explained that “40% of black children are poor and 15% of blacks are underemployed.” Due to this reality, West commented that “it is hard to find time to sleep in tents.” However, he explained that if blacks are asked about the concerns the Occupy Movement is raising, they think very highly of it. He added that the lack of participation also “signifies relative failure of black leadership who are not focused on poverty but obsessed with getting elected.”

“Last thing I want to see is a take over of the White House by mediocre, mean-spirited individuals,” said West responding to a question about supporting President Obama’s re-election. “I don’t support candidates, I support principles.” 

Mentioning Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s portrait in the Oval Office, West said Obama must be authentic to what he is talking about if he wishes to uphold Dr. King’s legacy. “Respect, protect, but also correct,” he said.

West concluded his lecture with the last question, which referred to the contradiction within people who do not realize they are the problem. West explained that “all of us are part of the solution and the problem,” but it is up to us to choose which side we contribute more to. “Wrestling with the contradiction with us, the only thing that breaks it is the love of wisdom and justice.”

Federal Budget Cuts are Made... By GW Students!

GW students were able to accomplish a task Congress hasn't been able to do in over a year. Groups of students were able to agree to trillions of dollars in cuts from the Federal Budget over the next ten years. The only caveat: it was only a simulation.

Students from the GW Graduate School of Political Management and GW undergraduate students from the Political Science Department and School of Media & Public Affairs woke up early on Saturday morning to join professors from the Graduate School of Political Management, former members of Congress, and staff from The Concord Coalition to participate in an activity where they simulated the federal budget process.

The event titled: "Fixing the Federal Deficit- A Simulation" was sponsored by the Graduate School of Political Management. The Graduate School partnered with both The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan Arlington, Virginia organization that examines the federal budget, and the United States Association of Former Members of Congress.

The activity consisted of the students being divided into ten groups of anywhere from three to six students. In each group there was at least one former member of Congress who offered their own thoughts and discussed with the students the different aspects of each item that could be added to or cut from the budget.

The students were using an activity packet created by The Concord Coalition called "Principles & Priorities Group Budget Exercise Workbook." The book split items that could be cut - or in a few cases added to the budget- into five categories. One of these categories included "General Government Spending," and included items such as creating an infrastructure program to repair public schools across the country. The groups were forced to weigh the pro of improving schools with the con that it would increase the debt by 30 billion dollars over the next ten years. 

Some current federal expenses surprised students. Under the same category of general expenses the groups had to decide whether to reduce the federal subsidy for the AMTRAK rail company and other rail companies. The group I watched decided to agree to reducing the subsidy and thereby cut the deficit by 45 billion dollars.

Other major categories included Defense and Homeland Security, Health Care and Social Security, and revenue and taxes. One of the most debated issues in the group I watched was whether to increase the gas tax by 25 cents. The students wanted to do it but were concerned about how it would, if they were real politicians, affect them politically. In the end, they decided not to. Other major decisions the group made included not repealing The 2010 Affordable Care Act (known by some as "Obama Care") because a repeal would add 124 billion over ten years to the deficit according to the Concord Coalition's calculations. The group also decided to cut a major portion of Homeland Security's budget.

In total, the group I watched cut 4 trillion dollars from the federal deficit over the next ten years. 62% of the cutting was through tax cuts and 38% was through gaining new revenue. Almost all of the ten groups were able to meet the goal of cutting at least 1.2 trillion dollars, which was the goal of the Congressional Super Committee this fall. In the discussion that followed the exercise students mentioned that they learned how insignificant discretionary spending, spending that does not include programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and defense, is in comparison to the total budget.

During the discussion Political Management Professor Michael Cornfield, who organized the event, asked the students at the program their thoughts on whether the budget cycle should be every two years rather than the current annual cycle. All the students who responded to the question said they thought this would be a good idea because it would help politicians focus their attention on the budget rather than on how their choices in the process would affect their chances of reelection. Others said it would also help with long-term fiscal planning.

Former Congressman Dennis Hertel, a Democrat from Michigan who served in Congress from 1981-1993, believes that the best hope for solving the budget debate is educating the public more on the issues involved.

"The public is not engaged [in the details of the budget], but when they become informed they'll be able to reach the decisions we did," Hertel said.

He added, "It's taking way too long in this information age, ironically, for the information to come out."

Obama, Bono, Alicia Keys on Campus for AIDS Event

President Obama speaking at GW's Jack Morton Auditorium

President Barack Obama introduced new goals for the worldwide fight against HIV and AIDS at the Jack Morton Auditorium Thursday morning as part of "The Beginning to End AIDS" event.

Reassuring those in the audience and those watching live via YouTube of the country's devotion to the worldwide fight, President Obama set a new target for the treatment of HIV and AIDS and further monetary contribution on World AIDS Day 2011. With an original goal to provide treatment to 4 million people, President Obama raised the number to 6 million and committed a $50 million increase towards the treatment for HIV and AIDS

President Obama urged the support of the global community. "Make a pledge" he said to those countries who have not yet committed, and for those who did commit, "Donate the money you promised."

He also called for countries like China, who were once receiving donations to fight HIV and AIDS, but are now in a position to give back, to switch roles at the global level.

"To all Americans, we got to keep fighting," Obama stated.

Other notable speakers such as former President George W. Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., all resonated that where much is granted, much is expected.

"To whom much is given, much is required, " former President Bush said alongside President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania via satellite feed.

President Obama asked Congress to continue working together on this issue and put aside party lines. In a panel alongside singer Alicia Keys, co-founder and global ambassador of Keep a Child Alive, ONE cofounder and U2 frontman Bono and Senator Rubio stated, "Our example has been as much as a source of greatness as anything else."

Lindsay Maines, of Germantown, Maryland traveled to Kenya as part of ONE Moms, a group of American mothers who meet with other mothers in HIV-stricken countries.

"I took a picture of a mother and a father with their little two year old, and they said take this to your president and tell him thank you." Maines was "very proud" with President Obama's recommitment to the global fight on HIV.

Although tickets were not made available to GW students, some tickets were given to GW administrative offices, allowing a handful of students to enter the event. One of those students was junior Brian Steele who was reinvigorated by Thursday morning's event. "I signed up for the ONE campaign a while back, actually at a U2 concert, and I've done things for them like send emails. Like they said, I let it fall off so I hope to get involved again and be a part of this movement."

The event honored those who died from the disease, but took an optimistic look toward the future.

"We are going to win this fight, but this fight is not over, not by a long shot," said President Obama.

Dr. Patricia Nkansah-Asamoah, Alicia Keys, Bono and Senator Marco Rubio

To see more pictures from the event, head to the WRGW Twitter page.

-Jorge Gadala-Maria

Chuck Todd Interview (audio)

SMPA Director Frank Sesno's November "Conversation Series" continues at 7:30 tonight with NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and Political Director Chuck Todd. Sesno and Todd will discuss the chances of President Obama and the Republican candidates in the 2012 election, as well as the 24-hour media coverage around it. The Jack Morton Auditoriun will open its doors at 7:00 pm. The event is sold out, but all unoccupied seats will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis to early comers who join the standby line. The event is free and open to the public.

Todd gave WRGW News' Jorge Gadala-Maria a live, on-air preview of tonight's event earlier this afternoon. Listen and download below.

 Chuck Todd on the GOP Primaries and 2012 Election - Nov 28th, 2011 by WRGW News

http://www.mediafire.com/?z0f30ypj0pqmsf6

J Street U and Students for Justice in Palestine Talk about the Future of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

GW students are following the developments in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. On Thursday night two students groups dedicated to discussing the conflict presented two very different solutions to how the conflict should end.

J Street U, a new student organization on campus advocating for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Paletinian conflict, co-hosted an event with Students for Justice in Palestine in the Marvin Center to explore possible solutions to the conflict.

Both student groups had three of their members represent their organization. The evening was moderated by Jeff Richards, a GW student majoring in Middle Eastern Affairs. The evening began with Richards asking for people in the audience to gather in groups of three or four people, preferably with people they didn't know, and talk about why they had come to the event. 

Following the small group conversations, Richards revealed the purpose of the evening was to talk about the two-state solution that J Street U is advocating versus the one-state solution SJP is in favor of. 

Group founder Rory Silver read J Street U's opening statement. In it he said a two-state solution would return the borders of Israel to 1967 lines and would include land swaps and the sharing of Jerusalem. Silver also said that J Street's stance was that you could still support Israel overall while being critical of it at the same time.

In Rosshandler's opening statement for SJP, he spoke of a one-state solution where Palestinians and Israelis lived together in the same state under the same laws with no discrimination, "religious hierarchies" or "illegal occupations" of Palestinian communities.

From the beginning tensions in the room were high. After Silver described the event as a "discussion" in J Street's opening statement, Akkad, in his first remarks of the night for SJP, said that he disagreed with Silver's characterization that the evening was a discussion but that he believed it was a "debate." He explained this was how the event had been "presented to SJP." As Akkad said this, Silver could be seen slightly shaking his head. Silver later said that on the Facebook event page the night was described as a "discussion."

Both sides said that their solution would be the best one for sustaining a long-term peace in the conflict and agreed that the one- and-a-half state set-up currently in place was not acceptable. SJP, however, felt that the two-state solution was very similar to the current situation. They argued throughout the more than two hour event that the two-state solution was supported by Jews as "a last ditch effort to preserve Zionism."

SJP also argued that a two-state solution would hurt Palestine because of the geographic separation of the two Palestinian territories in a two-state solution: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. They used the unsuccessful separation of Pakistan from India into West Pakistan and East Pakistan (which later became Bangladesh) as an example.

Meanwhile, J Street U argued that a one-state solution would not work because of the built-in tensions between the two groups. They used the tensions in Belgium, a county where Dutch and Flemish people have had many conflicts over the years as an example of how a one-state solution would not be successful.

Tensions reached their peak during the Q & A session. Instead of questions, however, supporters from both sides began to comment on and question the validity of points made during the evening by the other side. Several times Richards reminded both sides to ask fair questions and to "keep it friendly" but both sides had a difficult time following this request.

Despite the tension, both organizations later commented that they hoped this was only the first of many events they would co-sponsor together to discuss solutions to the conflict.

GW School of Business Partners with DC Public Schools

The George Washington University's School of Business has partnered with local District public schools as part of a new mentor program between business students, local business professionals and students from Anacostia High School. 

Labeled the 2+2 Mentor Program, it will bring together high school students in the 10th through 12th grade and mentors to develop ideas and minds to help make an impact on their communities.

Liesl Riddle, the associate dean for MBA programs, said the plan was to focus on an area in the city challenged by unemployment.

"Dean Guthrie, Mayor Vincent Gray and the D.C. Economic Partnership have been working closely to identify ways to stimulate job growth in the District, with a particular emphasis on Ward 8," Riddle said.  "We are piloting our 2+2 mentor program concept with Anacostia this year. We are hoping to extend this model to other high schools in the District in the future."

The program will allow GW business students to apply their knowledge as co-mentors while also receiving guidance from a local business leader.

"Our innovative MBA students and alumni inspired us to initiate this program," Ridde said.  "Our MBA program focus on the positive ways business can impact society attracts a special kind of student, one who likes to give back to the community, utilizing business knowledge and skills to make a difference."

Riddle also mentioned that the business students benefit from the emotional and intellectual satisfaction of seeing how their business knowledge and skills translate into making a difference in a young person's life.

"All mentors who were selected are passionate people seeking to commit themselves to a valuable volunteer program," Riddle said.

Riddle also said that after the pilot, the business school hopes to extend the model to other District high schools in the future. The plan is to pilot the program for at least three years to give it a chance to grow.

Not Your Stereotypical Speakers featured at Hunger and Homelessness Event

Jackie Grimball has a masters degree from GW. Donald Whitehead is a published author and Emmy winner. But both are homeless.

Grimball and Whitehead were the featured speakers Tuesday at a GW College Democrats and Amnesty International co-sponsored event called, "Faces of Homelessness Panel," just one of the events and activities the University hosted in recognition of National Hunger and Homelessness Week.

According to the organizer of the event, College Democrat Community Service Director Dietra Backup, Whitehead and Grimball's stories were emblematic of a growing problem in America.

"The main point of tonight was to dispel misconceptions," Backup said, "that homeless people aren't stupid and lazy. That's something we [students at GW], being very fortunate, don't always realize."

Grimball and Whitehead spent the evening telling their life stories, including how they ended up homeless.

After a divorce, Grimball was left with three children and not a lot of money. She decided to go back to school at GW for her master's in special education.

She had never worked before in her life, but after receiving her master's she ended up working in a DC school district advocating for students with disabilities and juevenile delinquents who were in trouble with the law. Grimball's talent for advocacy led her to take a job with a private law firm while still working for the school district. Grimball began to charge steep prices for her services. Business at the law firm was going so well that she quit her job in the school district, a decision she later realized was a big mistake.

Shortly thereafter, the law firm began to see less cases and decided to pay her less as a result. Grimball suddenly wasn't able to pay her rent and was kicked out of her apartment. She lived an anxiety-filled ten days on the streets, sleeping on a park bench, before finding another job at a home for the mentally ill, where she was the only caretaker employed but not paid the amount she had been promised. She decided to leave the poor working conditions in April 2010, but that meant she was once again homeless.

She finally found the courage to tell her now adult children her predicament. However, she did not receive the help and support from them she expected. They were "ashamed" that their mother had become homeless and upset she was hurting the "family's name," she said.

At this point, Grimball decided to go to a shelter, despite her past reluctance. From that day in April 2010 until the present day she has been living at the Open Door Emergency Shelter for Women in DC. At the shelter, Grimball has met many different women from all different backgrounds.

"It has been enlightening and it's been wonderful, as weird as that sounds," Grimball commented.

Grimball said she has found the love and support at the shelter that she did not receive from her children, adding that it built up her character.

Grimball quickly discovered that telling potential employers that she was homeless was not a good job strategy. This past summer, she found a job as a DC-appointed advocate for the mentally ill. She said she's glad to be back in the court room, but still cannot afford to rent or own a home and remains at the shelter.

Donald Whitehead grew up a straight-A student in Cincinnati, Ohio. Throughout his early education, and then at the University of Cincinnati, Whitehead continued to be kicked out of school due to an addiction illness. His addiction then led to him living under bridges. Whitehead learned about homeless shelters and soup kitchens from a couple of other homeless men.

The worst part about being homeless is that "no one would look you in the eye or say your name," Whitehead said. "It becomes very lonely when no one calls your name."

Whitehead's life turned around after he was named the outreach coordinator at the Cincinnati shelter where he was staying. From there, he became the director of the Cincinnati Coalition of the Homeless, and later the national chapter, before his current position working for a non-profit program in Orlando that works with homeless Veterans.

Whitehead also wrote a book based on his life story called "Most Unlikely to Succeed," and received a regional Emmy for his performance in the Showtime movie "Open The Sky."

Despite his success, Whitehead never forgot about the tough times he once had.

Whitehead demonstrated a penchant for theatrics. He started his speech wearing a black winter coat which was unzipped revealing a yellow plaid shirt and blue jeans. He wore dark black sun glasses and some black rags around his neck, accenting his long black hair. At the beginning of his presentation he only introduced himself as "Donald" and spoke in a very quiet voice that made the audience lean forward in their seats to hear him.

As the presentation went on, though, Whitehead's voice became increasingly louder as he told the part where his life improved at a shelter in Cincinnati. He took off his jacket to reveal the plaid shirt. Later, as he began to tell the audience that he had been the director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, he took off his jeans and plaid shirt to reveal that he was wearing a suit, followed by removing the sunglasses, rags and wig, revealing his true bald self. Whitehead told the audience that besides his affinity for acting, he "dressed-up" like a stereotypical homeless person to show how he looked when he was homeless and that anybody, even those who are smart, can become homeless.

GW Professor Wins Prestigious Research Prize

GW Political Communications Professor Robert Entman

Once again, GW faculty are leading the University's push into a new generation of research. This past week, Professor Robert Entman received the the Alexander von Humbolt Research Award for his research and contributions to the field of political communication. Professor Entman, who serves as the Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs and as a professor of international affairs at the Elliot School, is the first recipient of the prize in his field and now holds the distinction of being the world's first political communications scholar.

“I am delighted to be the first Humboldt Award recipient recognized for contributions to political communication scholarship,” said Dr. Entman. “I appreciate this acknowledgment of the media’s fundamental role in shaping politics and democracy.

The award is given to a researcher for “discoveries that have a serious impact on their profession,” according to the Humbolt Award website. Given the vast application of the award across a variety of fields, Professor Entman’s honor is very distinguished. He will spend the next year at the Free University of Berlin researching the effects of the media on social inequality in Europe, and how it consequently contrasts with that of the United States.

“Inequality hasn’t been on the agenda” he said regarding U.S politics and media coverage. Professor Entman went on to state that the decline of workers unions and the rise of globalization are two possible factors for the disparity in inequality in the Untied States as opposed to those of Europe.

Professor Entman began his career in media research while writing for his student newspaper at Duke University, where he received his B.A. in political science. He stated that this experience allowed him to see the large affect that media had on politics, leading him to develop interest in what is now the field of political communication.

For those who are prospectively looking to devote their lives to research as he did, Professor Entman gave this advice: One must be “fascinated by the human purpose” and “making the world better.”

Students Pitch Business Ideas in an Elevator

A bright idea, two thousand dollars and an elevator. These are the integral parts that made up the fourth annual Pitch George Competition this Saturday. The competition was open to all graduate, undergraduate and even high school students.

The competitors started the primary portion of the competition by pitching their business idea to a room filled with judges and fellow competitors. They had to support their idea with market statistics and demonstrate a legitimate demand or use for their product or service. After they had finished, the competitors received some constructive criticism from the judges.

The event also served as a networking luncheon, giving competitors the chance to exchange business cards with the judges and fellow contestants.

The final round featured five contestants pitching their plans in an elevator which included a three-minute pitch in an elevator.

Prizes for the top three places were awarded in each age division. College students received $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second and $1,000 for third. High school winners received $750, $500 and $250 respectively.

In addition, all of the finalists received prizes such as legal assistance setting up their businesses.

Pitch George is just the first major competition of the year. In January GW will hold their Business Plan competition with more than $50,000 in prizes up for grabs. For more information on the competition or if you're interested in entrepreneurship visit GW's Office of Entrepreneurship.

Breaking: White House Shooting Suspect Arrested

A suspect in Friday's White House shooting is now in police custody.

Police arrested Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, this afternoon in connection to the shooting. Two bullets struck the White House, one cracking a window in the Obama family living quarters, the Secret Service said Tuesday.

President Obama was traveling to a summit in Hawaii at the time. No injuries have been reported.

The Secret Service discovered an assault rifle registered to Ortega-Henandez on Friday, minutes after hearing shots fired near the White House. ABC7/TBD reports that Ortega's family in Idaho Falls, Idaho reported him missing on Oct. 31. He has an arrest record in three states, according to U.S. Park Police.

-Joseph Rabinowitz

GW Soccer Reaches A-10 Championship

For the first time since 1992, GW’s Varsity Men’s Soccer team will play in the Atlantic-Ten Conference Championship. Last Sunday saw the team continue its undefeated home record, securing a 1-0 victory over Duquesne. The finals of the A-10 Conference, to be held this weekend, will be the last shot for Coach George Lidster, who is retiring after 24 years the University, to win a championship.

Senior Yoni Berhanu scored Sunday’s crucial goal, a 25-yard free kick in the 72^nd minute that earned Coach Lidster his 200^th win. Yoni has scored 3 out of 4 goals in GW’s last few matches, adding to his impressive record within the A-10 [10 goals and 23 points] and his overall career record [19 goals and 52 points] that places him just outside the programs overall top-10.

Berhanu and Coach Lidster have both received recognition within the Atlantic-10 Conference, securing both the 2011 Atlantic-10 Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year and Midfielder of the Week award this season. This is the third-such award for Berhanu, who in 2008, was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year.

The defeat against Duquesne marked a considerable turnaround for GW men’s soccer; the team began the soccer pre-season ranked 13 out of 14, but is now ranked the number two seed at this weekend’s championship. Seniors Berhanu, Mike Burke, Brice Carr and Jake Davis had a similar experience their freshman year, having to win one of the last games in order to qualify for the A-10s and hope to bring home the championship title in their final year.

A link to a free live video streaming of Friday's match can be found at GWsports.com. Weather permitting all five matches will also be streamed through the A-10's online home.

--Alida Wuenscher

Fraternities Crack Down on Hazing and Underage Drinking, Hope to Change Nature of Greek Life on Campus

Some of the University's Greek life organizations have started taking measures to protect pledges and the school community from the perils of hazing and underage drinking. The Greek letter associations' move toward more stringent anti-hazing and anti-underage-drinking policies comes one year after hazing and underage drinking allegations were leveled against four of the school's most recognized fraternities and sororities.

Last November, four Greek chapters came under fire after being accused of violating the University's no-hazing and no-underage-drinking policies. These chapters included fraternities Pi Kappa Alpha (also known as "Pike") and Sigma Phi Epsilon, along with sororities Delta Gamma and Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Other Greek letter organizations expressed their thoughts on the issue and also hope that the allegations leveled at the chapters serve as a learning experience. 

"At the end of the day, unfortunate situations can happen to anyone and have greater consequences," regarded Sigma Chi Public Relations Chairman Cody Scott. "I believe that going forward, fraternities and sororities alike will be working to strengthen their institutions promoting the safety and well-being of all their members."

According to the Center for Student Engagement's website, hazing is defined as "any action taken or situation created, intentionally, with or without consent, whether on or off campus, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule."

Additionally, any student who takes part in hazing activities faces conviction on a misdemeanor, and may also be subject to a fine of $1,000 or six months in prison.

The allegations leveled at the University's chapters proved alarming given the growing influence of Greek Life on campus. As of 2011, 25% of the University's students are Greek-affiliated, a figure that is growing steadily as the appeal of these organizations increases among the student body.

Occupy DC Movement Grows (video)

Created by Joseph Rabinowitz and Jen Wolfe

GW Students Become Involved in Occupy DC Movements

Ever slept in Freedom Plaza?

Miles Milliken has. The GW Sophomore majoring in Environmental Studies has slept in the plaza, located at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, more than once over the past couple of months.

He has become involved in a movement that goes by several names, an offshoot of the Occupy Movement that calls itself "October 2011," the month its participants began to "occupy" Freedom Plaza. The other most common name for the movement is "Stop the Machine: Create a New World."

Milliken was there from the beginning of the occupation of Freedom Plaza, when the movement was originally given a four day permit to set up camp. Besides sleeping outside in the plaza at night a couple of times in either a tent or under a tarp, Milliken helped in the movement's food tent where he prepared pots of soup and coffee to keep more than 200 protestors warm.

Lara Logan Talks Foreign Correspondence, War, Journalism on Kalb Report

Lara Logan (center) joined The Kalb Report at the National Press Club.

While other kids were at the beach, she worked at the newspaper. Such was the upbringing of CBS News' Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lara Logan during the year's final edition of the Kalb Report last night.

Logan, a correspondent for 60 Minutes from South Africa, spoke of how the injustices of apartheid instilled within her values to stand up against what she believed was wrong.  As an embedded journalist, Logan has spent years with soldiers in areas ravaged by war and would gladly trade the comforts of a hot bed for covering a story that puts a fire in her.

"War coverage asks more of you," Logan said.  "The story is bigger than you.  I didn't do it because I'd become famous, I did it because I wanted to."

On embedded journalism, Logan discussed the rules embedded journalists abide by given the amount of judgment calls reporters must make and the bond of trust they develop over time.  She said she never encountered a story that was more important than her integrity.

"Your job is to be a true journalist, not be vilified for giving your opinion when asked," Logan said.


Earlier this year in February, Logan was sexually assaulted in Cairo during the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak.  In spite of the experience, she still continues to report, but with a new fear that not many journalists have spoken up about.

"You carry the idea of 'It's not gonna be me' and then one day it is.  I hadn't thought of that before," Logan said.  "I went back because journalists are anarchists.  We don't like to be told what to do."


Logan spoke of giving a voice to the unheard stories in order to give them a place in history.  This is part of what has motivated her to remain embedded in war zones for long periods and not be a "parachute in, parachute out" reporter.


She gave parting advice to aspiring journalists in the audience trying to break into the field in light of advancements with social media and quick access to news.

"One thing that's endured is people's demand to know the truth," Logan said.  "Believe in the truth, find your niche and don't expect someone to do it for you."

Metro's Upcoming Military Open House Offers Employment for Veterans

As the economy struggles onward, many Americans are still unemployed. By the end of the year, more people will attempt to join the workforce. Along with the high school and college graduates, there will also be an influx of returning veterans. The impending departure of all American military forces from Iraq by the end of this year will leave those who choose not to remain with the military jobless.

The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, better known as Metro, will be hosting the second annual Military Open House. The event is scheduled for this upcoming Monday, November 14 in an effort aimed at helping retired, former and transitioning military service members find employment and gradually re-adjust to civilian life.


On October 21, President Obama announced that after nearly nine years of war in Iraq, all but 160 of the approximately 40,000 soldiers will return home by the end of next month. The few who remain will provide security for the American embassy in Baghdad.

According to the United States Department of Labor the unemployment rate dropped last month to a six-month low of nine percent. Since April, the DOL announced that an average of 90,000 jobs have been added per month. Even so, many Americans are having trouble finding steady employment.

Metro has announced it is looking for hundreds of new employees to fill current and upcoming vacancies within the agency in a massive hiring effort known as “Metro Forward." The positions include:

• Civil engineers
• Mechanical engineers
• Electrical engineers
• Architects
• Construction inspectors
• Construction project managers

Metro is also looking to fill open operations positions including:

• Police officers
• Bus operators
• Information technology workers
• Signal/Communications employees
• Electrical technicians
• Fare technology workers
• Bus mechanics
• Rail car maintenance employees

The open house will be located in the lower lobby of Metro’s headquarters on 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington D.C. All veterans interested in attending should register by Thursday, November 10 at wmata.com/military. Special assistance will be provided for disabled veterans.

GW Overrun with Western Business Clad Middle Schoolers

This Saturday was the sixteenth annual Greater Washington Conference on International Affairs, or GWCIA. GWCIA brings middle school students from throughout the Mid-Atlantic and beyond together for an educational debate about major international issues.

GWCIA is designed to provide a valuable educational experience for participants. Debate is conducted in a professional manner and atmosphere according to parliamentary procedure. Delegates interact with their peers while they gain valuable experience debating current world issues. The conference, held at GW, emphasizes diplomacy and negotiation as a means for solving conflict.

GW students staff the event. As members of the International Affairs society, the staff is equipped with experience and knowledge of international relations and Model United Nations.

“I thought the conference was really well organized. I had a lot of fun, this was my first time staffing a Model UN conference,” said Grace Aucella, a GW freshman who worked the conference as a crisis staffer for the African Union committee.

This years conference highlighted a variety of topics, both historical and contemporary, covering diverse sets of interest and regions of the world.

"It was a good experience, since I usually compete in Model UN, it was good to get a new perspective of how a conference is run. I really enjoyed working with the middle school students because it is nice that they are so interested in international affairs at such a young age,” said Avani Singh, another freshman staffer.

GW Unveils New Emergency Alert System

Two suspects were arrested on campus after a deadly Halloween last Tuesday morning. Concerned students spread the word to their friends, but the University's emergency communication system failed to let students know about the shootings around DC, the suspects' proximity to campus or the suspects' arrest on 24th and New Hampshire. The first official word from GW came hours later, via a tweet, and later an email explaining, “GWPD was notified of armed suspects on the I Street mall area. Both suspects have been caught by MPD.”

The next day, GW Executive Vice President and Treasurer Lou Katz sent out a message explaining that technical issues delayed the notification system. He also announced that a new system would be implemented to improve communication and notifications on campus. GW activated the new system Friday, incorporating GW’s Banner System, which already has students' email and phone numbers, and serves as the basis for sending communication and notifications in case of an emergency.

In a phone interview with WRGW,  Senior Associate Vice President for Safety and Security Darrell Darnell told WRGW that with the new alert system, students should look for texts and emails whenever a credible threat is identified on campus. Once an alert is sent out, students are to follow instructions and stay calm, he said. Responding to the delay in notification last Tuesday, Darnell cited server problems at Division of IT that prevented the alert from being sent. He stressed that while the new system cannot be 100 percent foolproof, thanks to multiple ways of sending out notifications, alerts will be sent out as quickly as possible.

Darnell recommends students follow a motto of, "If they see something, say something," and call UPD or 911. Students can keep up to date with campus advisories by going to http://campusadvisories.gwu.edu/ and information about being prepared for an emergency can be found at http://www.gwu.edu/safety.

Students are invited to a Safety and Security Forum at the Jack Morton Auditorium this Thursday at 6:30 pm, where Mr. Darnell and other GW security personnel will be on hand to answer questions and listen to feedback. The forum will be broadcast live via webcast; further details will be released this afternoon.

On a related note, this Wednesday at 2 pm there will be a nationwide emergency alert system test. Throughout the country, and even in other countries, FEMA, in coordination with the FCC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be issuing a 30-second emergency broadcast through all radio and television channels as a first test of a nationwide emergency system.

Youngest Congressman Shares His Story

Aaron Schock is the youngest serving Congressman.

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) spoke to a group on GW students Tuesday at a College Republicans and Young America's Foundation cosponsored event. Schock, 30, told the Marvin Center crowd about his journey to becoming the youngest serving U.S. Congressmen.

"It's great to be back on a college campus," Schock said. "Most of the days I get to spend with people that are three times my age, so it's kind of fun to come back to a place, where people kind of look my age."

He then launched into a brief version of his impressive rise to Congress. Schock got off to an ambitious start at an incredibly young age working by forming his own company, working with DOS formatting software and doing database management, at a book store chain. The impressive part was, Schock was only in the fifth grade.

Many other impressive accomplishments followed, including working a ticket-brokering job that would net him nearly $18,000 annually when he reached seventh grade, and began investing the money that he earned with an online trading account. He was relatively successful until the tech bubble burst and his portfolio bottomed out. 

Schock got his first taste of politics when he attempted to graduate a year early from high school and was held back by the school board. Schock earned all of his high school credits by the end of his junior year and attempted to go off to college a year early. Shock said the school board prevented his early departure because of the state money the district would receive for his school attendance. 

When he realized it was about the money, Schock said he showed up at the next school board meeting with a personal check for $8,400 written out to the school system, the exact amount of the school's state aid. The board turned him down and forced Schock to take gym for his senior year for a single credit hour.

He wanted to change the rules. Schock decided to jump in the race against the previously unopposed Peoria school board president. He managed to collect the necessary number of petition signatures, but the school board member hired an attorney and challenged his petition. Some of the signees simply wrote ditto marks and not a full signature, and the court decided this invalidated Schock's petition. 

Determined to win, Schock still ran as a write-in candidate. He defeated the incumbent president, and three years later, Schock became the youngest Illinois school board president at the age of 23.

He later followed up his early election victory by successfully running for a position in the Illinois House of Representatives in 2005. He served for four years, quickly moving up the ranks in the Democratic state legislature. 

Schock joined Congress in 2009 at the age of 28. Two years later, he was reelected with nearly 70% of the votes.

GW to host GOP Foreign Policy Debate

WRGW has been given a tip on Tuesday night by a GOP candidate campaign representative that the George Washington University has in fact been chosen to host a GOP debate on foreign policy.

More details will be released tomorrow.

Stay tuned to WRGW News for more info.

UPDATE on Shooting Near Campus

GW's official Twitter has announced: "At approximately 11:15 PM, GWPD was notified of armed suspects in the I Street Mall area. Both suspects have been caught by MPD."

Reports continue that dorms and streets are blocked off.

No GW Alert or campus-wide Crime Alert has been issued.

WRGW has obtained some raw footage and pictures from the scene. (used with permission by Anna Hoover)

Please stay safe out there as there have been at least 6 shot tonight in DC.

UPDATE on Shooting Near Campus

Dorms are blocked off, and MPD has swarmed campus as a suspect in a shooting that occurred near 28th and M streets. The suspect(s) were caught at 24th street. There are unconfirmed reports that dorms are being blocked off, and traffic (both foot and car) are being diverted from the scene.

At this point, almost an hour after the event, there has been no official GW Alert, Crime Alert, or Campus Alert. Stay tuned to WRGW News for more information as this story develops.

BREAKING NEWS: Suspects caught in 28th and M Shooting

BREAKING NEWS-

Unconfirmed reports that the suspects in the Georgetown shooting have been caught at 24th street in Foggy Bottom, near campus.

GW has yet to send out a Campus Alert.

Stay tuned to WRGW News for more information.

Cinematic Titanic Hits GW

Mystery Science Theater 3000 comedians reunited for a live screening and performance.

The comedian alumni of Mystery Science Theater 3000 reunited for a live performance of their famous riffs Thursday at Lisner Auditorium, taking on the notably bad 1976 film "Rattlers."

Cinematic Titanic is the new feature-length movie-riffing show from the creator and original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which earned a place on Time's list of "100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time." Like MST3K, the show was created by Joel Hodgson and features the same team that first brought the Peabody award winning cult-classic series to life: Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff, and Mary Jo Pehl. Cinematic Titanic continues the tradition of riffing on the horribly great and just plain cheesy movies from the past.

In "Rattlers," a herpetologist must team up with an attractive war photographer to uncover the mystery behind a spate of killer rattlesnake attacks.

The Show began with introductions and stand up performances by the stars. Despite several technical difficulties with the movie pausing, the comedians kept the nearly packed auditorium laughing.

Joel Hodgson and the rest of the cast met with fans after the show to sign pretty much anything with a smooth surface.

Controversial Kuwaiti Filmmaker Talks Middle East and More

An event titled “Turning Motion Picture into Emotion”, sponsored by GWU’s Institute for Middle Eastern Studies, saw award-winning Kuwaiti filmmaker, Walid Al-Awadi, discuss his documentaries on 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan Wednesday. Walid’s 1995 chronicle of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait earned him the "Best International Film" award at the Houston Film Festival and his latest film, "Tora Bora," recently premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Initially trained as engineer, one of the two jobs deemed acceptable by his parents, Walid found his true inspiration through filmmaking. Inspiration, he argued, is the most important thing in life and despite facing a “red” bank account on more than one occasion, he remained  committed to the trade.

Walid spoke about his determination to cover the events of September 11th despite voiced concerns that, as a Kuwaiti national, such an undertaking would be too controversial. Despite the success of his initial project, PR reps told Walid to expect 100 people for his screening of ‘Dreams Without Sleep’ at the Lincoln Center in New York City. However, Walid played the film to a packed audience. 

Well-received in the West, Walid nevertheless faced some criticism back in Kuwait for a perceived ‘pro-American’ approach.

For Walid filmmaking is about the characters. "Dreams Without Sleep" told the stories of five people’s different experiences during the events of 9/11. Walid’s recent film ‘Tora Bora’ followed the story of two parents searching for their son who fled to Afghanistan to join a terrorist network.

More information on Walid’s latest project, ‘Tora Bora, can be found here.

GW Alum Discusses Social Change

The Inspirational Lecture Series made its debut on Wednesday with Justin Zorn, a 2008 GW alum, current Harvard scholar and founder of Banaa.org. Zorn led a discussion about sparking social change in Funger Hall with about twenty people, including GW students and faculty.

“I came to GW without ever really being at the center of a movement before,” said Zorn. His story began in 2004, when he entered GW as a freshman and the Darfur crisis began.

Zorn started a student group on campus and spoke to people who had been in different movements and grass-roots initiatives in DC. He found out that, “U.S. citizenship is the most powerful of all tools,” he said. “You can walk into a congressman’s office and ask them to co-sponsor a piece of legislation.”

The group also wrote op-eds for small local newspapers. “We held some rallies,” said Zorn, “but after all that excitement we realized there’s only so much we can do at 19 years old.”

The group's focus then shifted to targeting GW and former President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg to not provide revenue to the government of Sudan. They were able to get 36 student organizations to have a rally on campus. Zorn and his group got the president’s attention, but it was not what they expected.

“We had a good conversation, but we felt like we lost,” said Zorn. Trachtenberg offered to provide a scholarship to students of Sudan. The group agreed and decided to expand on the idea by creating a program to bring a large number of Sudanese students who can “contemplate what they can add to peace globally,”  Zorn said.

The group created a how-to kit for other campuses to establish the same scholarship program. They were able to get eight schools to provide full scholarships. The group also created a modified Common Application. They received 170 applications, “which totally blew us away,” Zorn said.

There are currently three Banaa scholars, one at GW and two at Rochester University. Makwei Mabioor Deng is the Banaa scholar at GW. He spent 16 years at a refugee camp in Kenya and wrote the first Dinka language textbook for grades 1 to 3. The first half of the book was published in 2009 when he started at GW. The second half was published this year.

“Education is one thing that can bring change,” said Deng, “and this is why this program is very important.”

Even though the Banaa program has experienced some successes, Deng and Zorn were honest about its shortcomings.

“The purpose of this program was to bring all Sudanese together as scholars because there is nothing common among us in Sudan,” said Deng. “We haven’t done as much as we need to, but at least we’ve done as much as we wanted.”

Zorn said the group is trying to keep GW actively engaged in the program and that University has fallen behind in its commitment.

To learn more about Banaa, visit their website.

Claiming Your NetID is Not a Trap

GW students know how to spot spam. However, for the past month, many have been confused by emails from the University seemingly asking for confidential information to secure their NetID and change their password. Some students were reluctant to make the switch.

"The password they want us to make is overly complicated," said Ben Laman-Maharg, a sophomore in the Honors Program. "And the emails they sent us to make the change seemed like spam. I had to call them to be sure that it was not spam."

According to GW's Division of Information Technology, the emails are legitimate and necessary as the university is tightening web security. The emails ask students to claim their NetID Account by accessing a linked webpage and inputting their GWid, birthday and last name. Then, students are asked to change their passwords into longer and more complicated codes that must include an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a symbol. This complicated password is to help prevent hackers from acquiring sensitive data, and even access to GW's servers. After creating the new password, all GW related log-ins are affected, from GWmail to Internet access through the GW1X or GWireless networks.

DIT's Rachel Belvins said in an email to WRGW News that the identity and access management program is the first part of a phase to "allow for simplified account creation and deactivation, password synchronization across IT applications and improved self service user account management services such as a reset process for forgotten passwords."

Ms. Belvins said that through GWToday articles and targeted emails towards users that have not yet switched, DIT will be able to meet the December 1 goal of first switching all students over to the new system so that they can focus on switching the staff then faculty.

DIT hopes to have the entire program finished by March, and they want to remind students that for more information on account claiming, the new identity and access management program, or other IT-related questions to please contact division of IT at 202-994-4948, email them at IThelp@gwu.edu or go to their website http://ITsupport.gwu.edu.

Huntsman Brings Campaign to GW

John Huntsman, Jr. discussed his economic and foreign policy with students.

Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman spoke before a packed Jack Morton Auditorium Tuesday night, marking the first visit by a 2012 presidential candidate to the GW campus since President Obama's in April.

The former Utah governor and ambassador to China spoke on fixing an ailing economy, reducing the "heroin-like addiction to foreign oil" and strengthening diplomatic ties with allies like Israel and India.

"All I want... is a foreign policy that says we're going to lead with economics," Huntsman said.

His plan for economic recovery would include the repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act and "Obamacare," a focus on domestic natural gas production for transportation and the adoption of a flat tax like the one his "good friend Rick Perry" talked about earlier in the day. He criticized President Obama's handling of the economy, including bailing out businesses seen as too big to fail.

"Capitalism without failure is not capitalism," Huntsman said.

Huntsman vocalized his support for continued counter-terrorism initiatives, claiming, "We must remain vigilant." But he also announced that he would bring home the 100,000 troops currently serving in Afghanistan.

Looking towards the general election, Huntsman attacked President Obama's "hope" campaign as a message of style over substance.

"You can win on a mantra, that don't mean you can lead," he said.

Though critical of the current president, Huntsman made no apologies for leaving his job as Utah governor to accept President Obama's nomination for ambassador to China.

"I worked for President Reagan, I worked for President Bush, I worked for President Bush," he said. "I'm of the firm belief that when your president asks you to step up and serve in a time of war, during a time of economic hardship, you stand up and put your country first."

Jack Morton quickly reached its 260 person capacity for the College Republicans-sponsored event. CR members could RSVP for priority seating prior to the event, while coordinators granted non dues-paying members entry on a first-come, first-served basis.

Huntsman spokesman and GW alumnus Tim Miller said his candidate does well with youth voters because of the sense that he includes them in the debate on topics such as the national debt.

"He's doing a lot of college visits," Miller said. "He has a positive message that resonates with young people."

Following the speech, students swarmed to the front of the auditorium, clamoring for a picture with the presidential candidate.

"I liked how moderate he was," GW senior Veronica Brown said. "He really spoke to me as a less right-wing Republican."

Despite polling below 2 percent in most national Republican primary studies, Huntsman maintains a focus on youth voters. He appeared on the popular Colbert Report Monday and jokingly requested that Stephen Colbert join him as his vice presidential running mate.

Huntsman is the second 2012 presidential candidate to campaign at GW this year. President Obama revealed his budget deficit reduction plan in the Jack Morton Auditorium shortly after announcing his candidacy in April. Republican candidates Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich both came to campus in February, several months prior to officially announcing their runs for the Republican presidential nomination.

"I don't think this is his year," GW sophomore Daniel Ceisler said, "but I don't think this is the last we'll see of Jon Huntsman."

- Joseph Rabinowitz

Restaurant Review: An Asian Chipotle?

When I went to visit the new Asian Chipotle restaurant in Dupont Circle, I ended up walking right past it. Like an idiot.

That's, of course, because its name isn't actually "Asian Chipotle" (although I still intend to refer to it as such). No, the restaurant's real name is "ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen," and it's a brand-new spin-off restaurant owned by Chipotle. If you're worried that a restaurant whose specialty lies in delicious, gut-busting, assembly-line burritos couldn't possibly deliver good Asian food, think again, for I have been to the top of the mountain and have experienced ShopHouse firsthand.

Now, time for a quick disclaimer: ShopHouse's menu is based on cuisines from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. As I have never visited any of these countries nor tasted their food, I can't attest to ShopHouse's authenticity. What I can attest to, however, is the fact that they serve up some very tasty food.

If you've ever been to a Chipotle before, ShopHouse will feel instantly familiar to you. The layout is almost identical to Chipotle's signature bare-bones, functional design. Ordering should also be a familiar process. You walk up to the counter and make one fundamental decision: do you want chicken, steak, chicken-pork meatballs or tofu? Once you've made your choice, everything else falls in place. Type of rice (or, if you prefer, rice noodles), vegetables, sauce, and crunchy toppings. And with that, you have your meal.

For my first meal, I requested grilled chicken on jasmine rice, with grilled green beans and caramelized onions, spicy red curry sauce, green papaya slaw (it's okay, I had no idea what it was, either), and crushed peanuts to top it all off. While there was something distinctly Chipotle about the food, it was also a wholly new and unique taste experience, and I enjoyed it very much. Be careful, though, the spicy red curry sauce is in fact very spicy, and unfortunately, ShopHouse doesn't sell any milk to neutralize the burning (which I feel is a major oversight). I was still feeling it on the Metro ride home ten minutes later. Be warned.

To those of you who find the idea of a simple bowl of rice and toppings boring, ShopHouse also offers sub-like sandwiches. I have yet to try one, but my roommate ordered a chicken-pork meatball sandwich and informed me that it was actually better than the bowl. I intend to order one on my next visit.

When it was all said and done, I walked away from ShopHouse with a full stomach and a very satisfied feeling, even in spite of my burning mouth. I would definitely recommend this brand new restaurant. The best part about it? The DC ShopHouse is the only one in the country (so far), so make the trip, enjoy the food and gloat about it to your friends at other schools. That's what I did, anyway.

Science and Engineering Hall Groundbreaking Ceremony

This past Thursday the University broke ground at the location for the future Science and Engineering Hall. GW President Steven Knapp, faculty, students, and neighborhood partners took part in the special ceremony that occurred in the now open lot on H and 22^nd Streets NW at the site of the old University Parking Garage.

With an expected completion date of 2015, the new building will have 400,000 square feet above grade and 290,000 square feet of space for teaching and research laboratories for faculty and students. Not only will faculty and students of the Columbian College and School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) be conducting research in the new building, but so will researchers from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The Science and Engineering Hall will be the first new building the School of Engineering and Applied Science has received in more than 50 years. One reason for building this new facility is that the current classroom space for the SEAS is spread over multiple locations around campus and includes many outdated classrooms and labs.

Despite losing the University Parking Garage, GW will still maintain a minimum of 2,800 parking spaces around campus at various lots and garages. The new building will have 380 parking spaces underground, something very important in an area already lacking in parking.

At a cost of $275 million, the new building comes at a time when the cash strapped University is already more than $1 billion in debt. Fortunately, GW will avoid slipping further into debt, as the new building will be financed by lease payments from The Avenue apartment complex, research contracts, and philanthropic gifts from the GW community.


Click here to view photos from the ground breaking ceremony.

Professor Reveals Findings on Child Development

Dr. Rochelle Newman gave a lecture this past Thursday in Funger Hall on how early perceptual abilities from infants can later affect how they process language.  Newman, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, received her bachelor's in speech pathology and now studies language processing in adults.

Dr. Newman discussed how one thing infants often recognize when they are four and a half years old is their name. This serves as a sign that their auditory system is in development.


"What happens is you use a sound that an infant knows and see if they can recognize it," Newman said.  "They may not know what it means to them, but they know it's a sound pattern they hear fairly often."

When sounds are funneled down the ear canal, they strike the same area. According to Newman, this differentiates from sight because when something hits our eyes, it reaches different sensor receptors.


However, because an infant's auditory system is not as well-developed as an adult's, an infant cannot separate different sources of sound.  This is especially noticeable when infants are in noisy environments.


"We might expect that infants would have difficulty in noisy environments," Newman said.  "We know that second language learners who have less knowledge about the language have problems in noisy environments. Infants will suffer the same problem."


Newman demonstrated this with the headturn preference procedure. A child would sit in a parent's lap, a light would flash and a voice would say the infant's name, often over noise. In cases where the infant would recognize the sound as familiar, they would pay more attention to it.


"When testing with older infants around nine months to 13 months, the amount of time they spent looking at the source saying their name increased," Newman said.


The results of this experiment, Newman explained, showed that infants younger than nine months may not be able to acquire useful speech information in real world settings. By developing perceptual skills over time, they can better develop their language skills.


One of these particular skills is segmentation, which is an infant's ability to separate streams of speech into individual words.


"This is important because parents don't just talk to babies," Newman said.  "There aren't pauses in the words when speaking the same way there are breaks when typing a sentence."


The other skill is statistical learning: an infant's ability to recognize consistent patterns in what they hear.


Newman's ongoing work includes a large, longitudinal study with infants that critically examines what skills that develop during infancy are particularly important and how they correlate with sound.

White House Opens Gates for Garden Tours

On any given day in Washington, one can see crowds of sightseers gather outside the White House’s age-old gates for a glimpse of what lies beyond. This past weekend, however, those gates were opened for the Executive Mansion's 39th annual fall garden tour.

The event, which has been a little-known staple in Washington, was started in 1972 by First Lady Patricia Nixon as a way to showcase the White House grounds to the nation and the world.

Visitors strolled around the South Lawn driveway, passing by magnolia trees planted by President Andrew Jackson, the Kennedy and Rose Gardens and informational placards telling the tale of the ever-evolving White House landscape.

The newest addition to the grounds, the Kitchen Garden, was prominently showcased. Planted by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009, the garden now supplies the vegetables for all of the Obamas family dinners as well as for meals at Miriam's Kitchen in Foggy Bottom, an organization devoted to feeding the Districts homeless.

The President’s Own Marine Band provided the public with an assortment of music to add an air of officialness to the event that only the White House can provide.

Although no numbers are available for how many people actually attended the tours, press liaisons noted that they expected bolstered attendance compared to previous years because of people in town for the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Dedication, as well as the George Washington and Georgetown Universities parents weekends.

For those who missed the tours, The White House will open it’s gates again for its annual spring tours in April.