Broadside Opinion

Brandon Minster, Staff Writer

A few months ago, my family became regular followers of the blog of Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old Australian girl attempting to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

Jessica was a perfect fit for my family. She appealed to my daughter’s inner sexual liberator, constantly on the lookout for a good girl empowerment story. Jessica also appealed to my inner misanthrope, always open to new tales of those who give society the proverbial mooning and set course for a life of solitude.

Just about every day Jessica updates her blog. A content-heavy website features a map showing her current location, typically in the middle of some ocean, and bearing the modern-era disclaimer that the map is not to be used for navigational purposes.

Also on the website are periodic video updates. My kids enjoy these the most. My son loves that the start and end of each video is Jessica fiddling around behind the lens, trying to find the camera buttons.
Intellectually, he knows she is sailing by herself, but it’s not quite real to him until he realizes she has to be her own camerawoman — then he cracks up.

My daughter also enjoys the videos, and it must be for the sight of Jessica, because heaven knows she’s impossible to understand.

She combines a voice so squeaky that I constantly suspect she has an on-board helium leak with an Australian accent my kids just aren’t prepared for.

I admit that when it comes to learning about Australia, the long-form name of which is, according to the CIA, “The Thunder From Down Under,” my kids are being short-changed by their home-school education.
While it’s true that their lessons in Australian social studies consist mostly of The Simpsons episode “Bart vs. Australia,” they’ve only seen parts of “Strictly Ballroom.” My son loves a series of books called Jack Russell: Dog Detective, written by Australians Darrel and Sally Odgers, but every time I try to do an Australian accent while reading, my audience grows restless.

As a result of this gap in their educations, I have to stop Jessica’s videos and translate things into a non-squeaky, non-Australian accent.

In January we checked Jessica’s blog and read about another sailor, American Abby Sunderland, who is just starting her own solo circumnavigation. Jessica wrote, “Despite the fact that there seems to be a lot of adults determined to see Abby and I pitted against each other as rivals, I only wish her the best of luck and am totally thrilled that there’s another girl going for the record!”

As an adult, I realized I had a duty to pit Jessica and Abby against each other. It would give them preparation for the real world, where people are constantly, needlessly, pitted against each other.

It’s a lesson I wish someone had taught me. I entered the workforce not realizing that every office only has room for one funnyman. When I threatened the established territory of the reigning office funnyman John, I created tension.

Lucky for me, the office curmudgeon, also named John, soon retired and I took the vacancy.

The main difference between a funnyman and a curmudgeon is not knowing when to stop, and while there are many things I don’t know, when to stop is what I don’t know best.

A quick review of my undergrad statistics text confirmed what I initially suspected: Jessica and Abby can’t both be the youngest solo circumnavigator. Evidently Abby is five months younger than Jessica. The Australian started three months before Abby, so Abby has two months of leeway between her and the record.

Our family has torn allegiances. We became emotionally committed to Jessica several months ago, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time translating her Aussie squeaking into intelligible language. However, Abby is from Ventura County, California, where my wife and I come from. It’s possible we have even seen her once at the mall or someplace.

All this news about the youngest sailors has made me realize something: my kids aren’t getting any younger. Maybe the next time I go to the marina in search of clam chowder I’ll help my daughter steal a boat.

She’s only seven; knocking nine years off the record will give us some time to enjoy the record for a little longer than the month or two Jessica Watson will have.

My sons might miss her, but she can just send home some videos of her operating her own video camera and they’ll be satisfied.

Stephanie Tran, Broadside Correspondent

While I wouldn’t say I prescribe to any belief system in particular, I would say I like to stay away from the Seven Deadly Sins. You know the ones: pride, lust, sloth, anger, gluttony, greed and, of course, envy. Over winter break, sloth and gluttony reared their ugly heads again, but envy began to creep in too. And where envy leads, “schadenfreude,” German for, “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others” is sure to follow.

It’s a little surprising that this term hasn’t popped up more in American popular culture, especially considering its insidious and already prevalent presence. No matter if another person did or did not deserve their pain, you can’t deny that sometimes you derive a little bit of smug satisfaction from his or her troubles.

Feel slightly guilty about that? Too bad you probably started feeling schadenfreude way back in elementary school. The boy with the coolest sneakers just got them soaked and you feel happy? Schadenfreude. The most popular girl just tripped down the stairs and you’re feeling smug? Schadenfreude. Your despised teacher got sick for three whole weeks and you’re celebrating? Schadenfreude.

But school isn’t the only place where schadenfreude shows up. Reality shows, with their relationship dramas and angry catfights, are probably your biggest source of schadenfreude right now. Even if you don’t know that certain model or survivor personally, you certainly can enjoy seeing him or her be humiliated on national television. Schadenfreude could even crop up in work, especially with the competition for jobs out there right now. Instead of feeling sorry that your obnoxious co-worker didn’t keep their job, but you did, you feel schadenfreude.

You probably feel schadenfreude on a daily basis. It’s hard not to laugh at people when they’re down. But ultimately, concentrating on the good things in your life, instead of the bad ones in others’ lives, will make you feel better about yourself. Of course, I myself found the term while browsing through a fashion magazine, which did contain some awkward celebrity photos to laugh at. So I should probably think over my own schadenfreude before I tell you all to do so. But until that happens, your atrocious outfit still makes me laugh.

The George Mason University Student Government is preparing for a major Haiti Disaster Relief effort starting Feb. 8. Students, faculty and staff will be able to help through donations throughout the Fairfax campus and online.

There will be three ways to make a contribution. First, collection containers will be set up at certain locations on the Fairfax campus to collect donations.

Second, those with meal plans will also be able to donate their meal plans directly to those in need.
Lastly, Mason will collaborate with a soon to be announced partner and host an online drive.

On Tuesday, Jan. 12, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti and caused massive damage to one of the world’s poorest nations.

Estimates claim up to 200,000 people might have died in the disaster. There have been at least 50 aftershocks with magnitudes 4.5 or greater, which have further caused destruction in the country.

Over 1 billion in international aid has been pledged to help rebuild the struggling country, but more is needed.

The capital, Port-au-Prince, must be rebuilt and hundreds of thousands transplanted to other parts of the island to enable successful recovery.

Reports state that up to 1.5 million Haitians are homeless, their homes and towns being destroyed.
Now, more than ever, is a good time to donate and help rebuild this poor nation.

With cities being rebuilt, millions of those affected are literally picking up the pieces of their lives from the ground.

We can – and we should – play our part in the recovery effort that is underway.

As students, faculty and staff of George Mason, we have the power to make a difference. On 8 February join student body President Devraj Dasgupta, Vice President Tyler King and the rest of the Mason Community and make a difference by being part of a successful campaign.

Let’s help Haiti together! Get ready, help is on the way.

Drew McCusker
Executive P.R. Committee

This Wednesday at the most recent Board of Visitors meeting, one issue stood out above the rest that were discussed: the budget.

It is no secret that the proposed plan by former Gov. Tim Kaine may not be pleasing to many Virginia residents.

Education was among the top areas that has taken a significant hit. George Mason University’s budget has been cut several times over the last few years.

This has left the Board and the administration with the difficult task of working to decrease the potential financial shortcomings.

As the entire Board assembled for the afternoon portion of the meeting, Dr. Alan Merten gave his customary President’s Report on the university to the Board.

He began by saying that the leadership at Mason is what has brought the young institution to the heights it has quickly reached, and I cannot help but agree.

While President Merten was not referring to himself, few students probably realize the amazing job he has done with regard to fundraising during his tenure at the university.

President Merten regularly meets with political leaders from all over the state to continue to keep Mason and its strong programs fresh in their minds.

With help from the Board and diligent administrators, plans have been created to make up for the money that has already been and what likely will be cut from the university.

At earlier meetings in the fall, the Board decided not to raise tuition mid-year, despite the fact that other schools in Virginia chose to do so to cope with budget issues.

Unfortunately, this will not likely be the case for the price tag on tuition for the fall of 2010.

Nevertheless, the Board and administration continue to creatively seek methods to produce funds for the university while trying to keep tuition fees as low as possible.

The Board discussed a way to raise money for the university using the resources that Mason already possesses, such as increasing Patriot Center ticket sales from events.

Also, some future revenue can be seen in projects like the Mason Inn and the Hylton Performing Arts Center at the Prince William campus, both of which are set to open later this year.

The objective with many of these projects has not been expansion for expansion’s sake, but rather strategic business-minded planning on what we can provide to the community that can also help raise our funds in the long term.

Mason students have also been trying to do their part to advocate for their alma mater to the state. Student Body President Dev Dasgupta and I went to speak in front of members of the Virginia legislature to explain the university’s strength in programs including global education and science and technology.

The intention was to showcase how unique Mason is in these areas in relation to other Virginia institutions and our need for funding. Student Government also organized and sponsored a great initiative, called Letters to the Legislature.

This program sought to minimize potential budget cuts from Richmond by sending as many letters signed by Mason students as possible. Furthermore, an organization in which I currently am involved in, Mason Ambassadors, is planning to hold a university-wide auction in early April to directly benefit Mason’s scholarship fund.

Additionally, a new potential ally may help George Mason’s cause. Ken Cuccinelli became the first Mason alum to hold higher office for the state of Virginia when he was elected this past fall as Attorney General.
He received his law degree from the one of the university’s highest-ranking programs, Mason’s School of Law, which comes in #41 in U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of top law schools of 2010.
This is a significant achievement, particularly considering the age of the school.

It is a possibility that having a Mason alum in Virginia office may help focus even more attention on the university in respect to future funding. Regardless of the current budget situation, many remain hopeful. One of the Visitors said, “The legislators are acknowledging past deficiencies” in regard to the funds allocated to Mason from the commonwealth.

Nevertheless, we can all do our part to fight for the funds our university needs to continue to thrive. Because when the budget is cut, we all suffer.

For more information about the Board of Visitors, please visit bov.gmu.edu

Gleason S. Rowe
Student Representative, Board of Visitors

Justin Lalputan, Broadside Correspondent

About two weeks ago, I heard a story about how China attempted to hack Google in order to gain access to the e-mail accounts of human rights activists, and frankly it didn’t surprise me.

I have gotten used to China’s attempts to control what its people can or cannot do on the Internet, from the time the Chinese government blacked out YouTube and then moved on to block Twitter and Facebook.

What did surprise me, however, was that this time around, the United States was actually berating China for its attempted hack in.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has openly attacked China for its alleged censorship, which has evoked a response from China: “Any accusation that the Chinese government participated in cyberattacks, either in an explicit or indirect way, is groundless and aims to discredit China,” said an unnamed ministry spokesman.

My question is, why are we even getting involved in this? With all the crises that are currently going on in the world, the hacking of Google doesn’t seem very important, and yet the United States government seems to think it is.

They’ve even gone as far as to further stress relations with a country that is both very powerful and one that we owe billions of dollars to.

A Chinese state newspaper said that the United States was attempting to impose “information imperialism” on China, and, sadly, I am forced to agree with them. China is a sovereign nation — it can do whatever it wants and the United States has no business telling it what to do.

This is one of the reasons why so many countries all over the world dislike us, because sometimes the United States feels that it has the power and responsibility to meddle in the affairs of other nations.

Not to say that sometimes that isn’t good. When people are being murdered or put in inhumane conditions, I fully support the United States in any endeavor that they undertake to aid them.

What I don’t like is when the United States starts meddling in the affairs of nations like China, whose citizens aren’t being put in inhumane conditions.

If the Chinese government wants to block the Internet in their country, then they fully have the right to do so. It is not the job of the United States to push our values down the throats of other nations.

We don’t even have any proof that the Chinese government was directly involved with the attempted hacking of Google. Google was able to trace the hackers to their location in China, but there is no direct proof that the Chinese government ordered the attempt or was even involved.

Honestly, it is obvious that the Chinese government was behind the attempt, but we have no proof, and proof is exactly what the United States government needs before it starts slinging around accusations.

In fact, China has a few complaints of its own for the United States. Zhou Yonglin, the deputy chief of operations for China’s National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team, said that he logged attacks on 262,000 Chinese computers by Trojans, which can allow a hacker to access the infected computer, and more than 16 percent of these attacks came from computers in the United States.

I simply think that China can do what it wants and the United States shouldn’t involve itself so much in the affairs of a nation that is functioning perfectly fine.

I’m all for free speech and freedom of communication, but if China doesn’t want its citizens to have that, then that’s China’s prerogative.

In this instance, the United States needs to mind its own business and focus on other matters that are more important and are better uses of our time.

Michael Foley, Broadside Correspondent

As you read this, college students nationwide are irresponsibly managing their finances. Last year, the average college undergraduate carried $3,173 in credit card debt, the highest level since the data was collected in 1998. In 2004, college students had on average $2,169 in credit card debt.

With college costs surging and the cost of living in the D.C. area increasing, the need for more education in personal finances needs to increase as well. As a peer educator for the Are You Credit Wise? financial literacy program, I would like to lend a few tips on how college students can better manage their money.
I’ll start with the basics: credit cards. It can be your savior in an emergency or the devil in disguise.

With today’s job market becoming more competitive year after year, employers are beginning to pay special attention to an applicant’s credit score to see how responsible they are at handling their finances and, in some cases, their life.

Let me give you the most commonly disregarded trait about a credit card: interest rate. If you were to charge $1,000 to your credit card and only make the minimum payment each month, it will take you five years to pay it back. You end up paying more than $1,000 due to interest rates, not to mention all the additional time you will spend paying it back.

For now, take the following tips with you on the road when it comes to knowing your credit history, managing your credit and debt and budgeting.

Your Credit History:
-Know what a credit score is. It’s pretty much an evaluation of an individual’s credit worth. Scores range from 350 to 800 and remember: the higher, the better.

-Lenders will review your credit report to see if you are a good risk. Do not put yourself in a bad light with these lenders. It could mean not receiving a loan for a car, a house and more.

-Improve your credit history by paying your bills on time, paying off your debt entirely instead of moving it around and not opening unnecessary lines of credit. You are entitled to receive your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once per year. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com today and get yours.

Manage Your Credit and Debt:
-When it comes to credit card bills, pay more than the minimum. If you’re going to be late with your payment, call the credit issuer and let them know.

-Know your interest rate. This might bump up the pressure to pay more each month and to not use your credit card as much.

-Not all credit cards are the same. Like finding the right pair of shoes that’s your size, you have to go out and find a credit card that fits you. Flexibility, interest rates and late payment policies should be three of the most important aspects of a credit card you’re trying to find.

Budgeting:
-Budgeting is nothing more than a balancing act. Cut your personal expenses to make your budget work. Keep track of all your checks written, bank fees, ATM withdrawals, ect.

-You want to look at your spending and compare your needs and wants. Do you really have to eat out that often? Control impulse spending.

It has been predicted that our generation will be hit the hardest with the growing national debt.

Economists believe that our generation will be forced to pick up most of the tab. Putting everything aside, we will be met with an economic challenge that will test our personal responsibility to manage our credit and budget our finances.

You have an opportunity to set yourself above the average; make the right decisions when it comes to your money and become credit wise.

Justin Lalputan, Staff Writer

I sat down on Saturday night with my father the week before spring semester and we weighed our options for sending me back to college. My total bill came up to $8,012, not including books. We looked at our bank accounts and decided that the best option would be to take out a loan, and my father jokingly told me, “You better get a good job and pay this back.”

I laughed, but his words echoed in my head, and they haven’t left yet, because, honestly, there is no guarantee that I will be able to pay off this loan anytime soon.

Let’s say that each semester I borrow $8,000. I’m a freshman, so by the time I’m finished with my senior year, I will be $56,000 in debt, not including interest. Then I have to get a job and start paying off the mountain of debt in front of me, while handling bills and other everyday necessities.

This is a pretty extreme example – obviously I can work off some of my debt while I’m in college, but unless I win the lottery, I’m going to be faced with a large amount of debt in an economy that’s just starting to recover from an economic recession.

Some of my friends have asked me why I even bother going to college. I can start out debt free and work, while living for free in my parent’s house. Why not just take the education that I have now and work my way up from the bottom – my father did it, so why shouldn’t I? My response is simple: this isn’t the world that my father grew up in.

Nowadays, it’s harder to succeed, and I won’t be able to achieve the standard of life that I want unless I go to college; however, I do agree that there is a measure of risk involved.

It’s been proven time and time again that even college graduates are finding it hard to acquire jobs. MSNBC and CNN both acknowledge the fact that many college graduates simply can’t find job offers after they graduate.

Matt Dumont, who graduated from Abilene Christian University with an English degree, said, “I’ve had a couple times that I was told that I was one of the top applicants, went in for an interview and then I just never heard back from them.”

Applications to the Peace Corps have gone up 16 percent since 2008, and applications to the AmeriCorps, The Peace Corps’ domestic counterpart, have tripled, with the majority of applicants being recent college graduates.

Gary Beaulieu, director of internship and career services at Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind. said that, “students are looking for something to do, kind of delaying the entrance into the workforce.”

However, despite all this information that suggests that college may not be the most secure investment, I’m still willing to take out the loans and go into debt. I firmly believe that the economy is going to turn around and when it does, it will be easier for me to get a job.

Also, while it is true that I might not get a job, I have enough confidence in myself and my abilities that even if I don’t get my dream job right away, I have what it takes to survive until I do.

So is college a risky investment? Yes. Without a doubt, college is probably the riskiest financial venture that I will undertake in the next 15 years, but the benefits are simply too good to not take the risk. And besides, some people will spend just as much, maybe even more, when they’re not going to college and get less than I will in return.

So the only thing for me to do is work hard and start climbing the mountain of debt in front of me.

Alan Moore, Broadside Correspondent

In November 2009, the University of East Anglia’s Hadley Climate Research Unit (CRU) was caught red-handed fabricating data on climate change. Phil Jones, the head of the CRU, which purportedly consists of some of the pre-eminent climatologists in the world, has resigned in shame. Michael Mann, a Penn State University climatologist who is also at the heart of this collusion, is under investigation. This false data was used by climatologists all over the world to justify anthropogenic, or caused by man, global warming. The ramifications of this scandal, unimaginatively dubbed, “climategate” by the press, have sent shockwaves through the debate on climate change.

On the same front, NASA is being sued for allegedly manufacturing data on anthropogenic global warming after officially changing their opinion of 1934 being the hottest year on record to 1998 without providing a shred of evidence.

The effects of this travesty are reaching all corners of the globe. India is refusing to go forward with spending their time and treasure to combat this falsehood. Australia has stood against the eco-radical agenda by shooting down a climate change bill similar to the cap-and-trade monstrosity currently being considered in Congress. And absolutely nothing binding came from the Copenhagen conference, due in large part to the skepticism of the nations in attendance and despite the personal pleas from President Barack Obama, who can’t seem to get anything accomplished these days.

There is absolutely and unequivocally no consensus in the scientific community that global warming exists and is caused fully, or even in part, by humans. It is shocking that these discredited climatologists base their data on the temperatures from the last 100 years. The Earth is billions of years old and has witnessed many variations in temperature. To use such a limited time span to explain temperature changes for the history of the planet is utterly ridiculous. That’s like saying that because it rained today, it must have rained every day this year. Even still, these charlatans couldn’t show an increase in temperature without fudging the data.

I encourage you to research this for yourself. Take a look at the book, Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years by George Mason University’s own S. Fred Singer. Singer, a world- renowned atmospheric and space physicist, analyzes historical data from two millennia.

Do eco-radical liberals come from such privileged lives that they really think there aren’t serious problems in the world like starvation, poverty, war and disease? How do they justify creating problems literally out of thin air? A fact not lost in this scandal is that the climatologists were earning and stood to earn millions more in research grants. I suppose in their eyes if there is a profit to be made then that justifies lying.

The fact is that these eco-radicals amount to modern day alchemists who wasted their lives trying to turn lead into gold. In the end, no matter how much you want something impossible to be true, sometimes it just doesn’t add up.

With this “climategate” scandal, global warming is no longer a legitimate scientific fact – it’s a punch line.
It is time that we take the necessary steps to reduce funding for all climate change initiatives at Mason . It is obvious now that eco-radical groups like the Environmental Awareness Group, the Mason Office of Sustainability, the Center for Climate and Society, the Climate Change Communication Center and the Department of Climate Dynamics base their conclusions on “junk science” and are simply no more than a waste of our money and resources.

Additionally, the audacity of liberals to wag their finger and shout such insults as “flat-earther” to people who simply want to debate the concept of man-caused global warming is shameful. That indignation has turned on them as now only 34 percent of the country rightfully believes that global warming is caused by man.

Senator James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, perhaps summed up the hypocrisy of anthropogenic global warming the best when he said, “Until this year, any scientist, reporter or politician who dared raise even the slightest suspicion about the science behind global warming was dismissed and repeatedly mocked.’’ Now that time is over, and has been replaced with the shame of being caught fabricating “scientific” data.

As Senator Inhofe mockingly proclaimed, “We won, you lost, get a life.”

Now let’s please start focusing our efforts on solving real problems.

Anandraj Singh, Broadside Correspondent

Of the activities I took part in during the first two weeks of 2010, none were quite as depressing as watching some of the old, classic science-fiction movies, ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to even the Back to the Future trilogy.

It’s 2010 already – why have we had so few footprints on the moon? Why is there not a single one on Mars yet?

What happened to the dreams that people like Arthur C. Clarke had – dreams of being in outer space in more than just an incomplete station that will function only another five years at best, unless it gets a shot in the arm?

It seems that people – not just here, but all over Earth – appear to have grown a bit sedentary when it comes to exploring beyond our tiny little ball of dirt.

Sure, we have many interesting missions coming up later this decade – from the James Webb Space Telescope, to the many unmanned Mars exploration missions that are in the planning stages.

However, at the end of the day one has to realize that these missions, while incredibly vital and important, are really only lip service to the entire concept of space exploration that was dreamed of in the 1960s.

Back then, we went from propelling a man to merely orbit the surface of the Earth in 1961, to landing on the surface of the Moon in 1969. The technologies and innovations developed during those times were break throughs. If one considers it, within those nine short years, we did more to actually step further away from Earth than we have in our entire lifetime.

The 1970s would only expand on this knowledge to give us the Voyager probes, the space shuttle, the first man-made space station and eventually the MIR space station.

The scale of these advancements made in those years were so profound that they would last for almost half a century, to the point where we still use the shuttle and Soyuz capsules for a lot of deliveries to the space station and beyond.

But where has that spirit of innovation – that spirit of exploration – gone? It seems that nowadays, at least, we’re missing that one spark that quite literally surged humanity from the Earth to the moon in rapid time and inspired an entire generation of science fiction writers and shows.

Even after giving the difficulties posed by simple physics its due, the pace at which space exploration has moved forward is pretty disappointing given what we were capable of almost half a century ago.

Perhaps it’s because we have become disillusioned with space, between all the global economic depressions, humanitarian disasters, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, simple physics and late-night fights between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.

So many things press for our attention almost immediately that it’s all too easy to just throw your arms up and say, “Forget about the frontiers. What about all the problems over here?”

This attitude is an entirely fair one. After all, if one cannot manage to solve the problems in one’s own home, how can one bother with what lies beyond reach – or rather, why they bother is a better question.

The best answer to that question is another question: why not? Exploration beyond what was thought possible – beyond what limited budgets were available – is what brought Christopher Columbus to the Americas in the first place.

Even though the Atlantic is hardly a sufficient analogy for the daunting tasks that space exploration entail, for its time, it was pretty close given how little support Columbus had and how much he had to struggle – and look what we have for it today.

Who knows what usable properties and minerals are not just on Mars, but within the asteroid belt? What about the potential of life in the ice underneath the sixth moon of Jupiter, Europa? What of potential power sources harnessing the Sun in ways otherwise impossible on Earth?

Even looking to more practical methods, the techniques and technologies developed in creating space habitations alone would prove to be fairly useful to Earth-bound individuals, especially when it comes to recycling systems and other related endeavors.

This, of course, doesn’t factor in any one of the countless number of experiments being done on the International Space Station in just as many fields.

There are a million reasons for why we shouldn’t bother with outer space, but at the same time, there are a million reasons for why we should. There are obstacles along the way – from simple physics to simple lack of budgets – but as we saw in the 1970s, obstacles are surmountable, if there is a will to do so.

The very fact that private space ventures, like Spaceship One, are being developed is proof that, if there is a will, there is a way.

Technology is slowly beginning to reach another peak to bring us forward into another potential golden age of space exploration. It is proof that the tiny bit of will we have right now is paying great dividends with the miniscule budget it is given in most western economies.

This says nothing of what might be achieved should another real spark of interest suddenly flare up like it did in the 1970s. Whether that spark will emerge in the Far East or will once more resurface within the West, largely remains to be seen.

Right now my only wish is that it show itself somehow. Somehow, somewhere, I just wish that the dying vision of reaching to the stars is given a second jolt of life – simply because of the fact that, potentially, through the wisdom gained from the accomplishments of such exploratory endeavors, the world and the course of human development, can change drastically.

And believe me, given the way it’s been for the past several decades, such a drastic change would be nothing short of welcome, if only to get away from the inanity of it all.

Stephanie Tran, Broadside Correspondent

In the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, many countries, including the United States, have responded with military troops, doctors and other personnel to aid the small country.

However, there have also been inappropriate responses to the tragedy. According to the BBC News website, Pat Robertson, an evangelist broadcaster, said that Haiti is “cursed” due to the country’s deal with the devil to free themselves from French rule in 1803.

While there is little to no truth that the country made this supernatural pact, there is, however, some truth in the idea that the country of Haiti is suffering from more than just an earthquake.

A quick search on Encyclopedia Britannica reveals that even after achieving independence from France, Haiti was plagued by several misfortunes, including civil war, poverty, class issues, numerous military regimes and a widespread AIDS epidemic that still remains.

Little has improved for Haiti in the 21st century: high costs of living, a weak government, rising tensions between Haitian civilians and the United Nations Stabilization Mission troops and a slow rebuilding period after the hurricanes in 2008 have all taken their toll on the small country even before the earthquake struck on Jan. 12,2010.

Throughout Haiti’s history, international aid and international troops have attempted to bolster the country’s government and its people. After the rebuilding in Port-au-Prince, will international aid continue to help this small country?

Or will the aid increase the country’s problems, as violence from the UN Stabilization Mission troops’ reports seem to indicate? It’s hard to say, but it seems that Haiti will still be “cursed” with social unrest and poverty long after international workers return home and the spotlight moves on.