Brown and White Vol. 119 no. 9

              Vol. 119 No. 9
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
Cross country flies
at Paul Short Run
Page 16
Note-sharing
is caring
Page 7
LIFESTYLE
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By MEGAN CODY
Four Lehigh Valley refugees came to the Global Union Lounge on Tuesday to tell their stories of escape and survival to the U.S. and how they have created a new life during an event sponsored by the Global Union, Catholic Charities and the Lehigh Valley Peace Coalition.
“[This event] is a unique opportunity for someone to get a firsthand story about [refugees] that has not been watered down by the media,” said Global Union presi­dent Ann Girdano, ’12.
Will Miller, Catholic Charities’ program administrator for immigration and refugee services, spoke of how the organization helps resettle refugees in the Lehigh Valley.
“We have one goal: to get [the refugees] to be self-suffi­cient and independent as soon as possible…and to assimi­late them into the fabric of American life,” he said.
According to Miller, 78,000 foreign refugees will arrive in the United States this year.
The U.S. resettles more refugees than all other coun­tries in the world combined.
“We hope that people will realize that there are refu­gee situations throughout the world, not just the ones that are on the news everyday like Darfur,” Girdano said. “These [refugees] come from a myriad of different areas.”
Jean Serge Kabeya Kabengle, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, came to the U.S. in 2003.
His father was a politician, and after an overturn in power, an opposing political party chased his family out of Congo.
Kabengle said although he knows English, he still ex­perienced language barriers while resettling in the U.S.
“Nothing was like [the English] I was speaking before,” he said. “In America it was like they were singing and I was speaking.”
Henok Ali, an artist from Eritrea, a country in north­eastern Africa, drew political cartoons that criticized the government.
After he was threatened with imprisonment for his work, Ali fled to Ethiopia on foot. He lived there for six years in a refugee camp.
Lina Khoshaba Yako, originally from Iraq, told the au­dience how after the U.S. invaded in 2003, clashes began between the Kurds, Christians and Turkmen.
“Arabs started to kill Kurds and Christians so it be­came very dangerous for us,” she said.
Her husband, a Christian, received a letter with a death threat if he did not leave the country within one month, she explained.
Yako and her husband drove 23 hours by car to Tur­key, where they lived for two years before coming to the U.S.
Refugees impart stories of tragedy, triumph
See REFUGEES Page 3
Sudanese support
B&W photo by DAN COBAR
Lehigh’s United Nations partnership hosted Fatima Ahmed, president of the Sudanese non-profit Zenab for Women in Development, on Tuesday, Sept. 28. She focuses on improving aid and development for Sudanese women.
Students march in hope of an end to sexual violence
By BRITTA LOKTING
Despite the downpour, dozens of students congregated at the lookout point Thursday for Lehigh’s 12th annual Take Back the Night.
The event is a way for women and men to become more aware of sexual violence around them and to speak out against it.
The night began with a silent march, signifying the need to reflect and remember those who have been sexually assaulted.
As students proceeded from the lookout point, the spot where two women’s bodies were found in June 1995, a hush fell over the crowd. Some held hands with loved ones, while others simply marched silently, contemplating their own thoughts. The silence was truly deafening.
The procession wound down the Hill, while whistles sounded every few minutes as a reminder that sexual assault is present all around. Facts that provided information about sexual violence also were placed along the sides of the route.
Rebecca Kelley, ’13, an intern at the Women’s Center, helped put on the event.
She said she believes it served as an opportunity for people to con­nect and share their experiences. College sexual assault, Kelley said, is a big issue, whether you person­ally know someone who has been affected.
“We really hope to create a community where people will be willing to stand up and act against violence,” she said.
When potentially harmful situa­tions arise, Kelley said she wishes people would take action and inter­vene to stop sexual assault.
According to takebackthenight.org, the movement began more than 30 years ago as a way to stop the fear that embodies women when
See VIOLENCE Page 2
By CHRISTINE MARTIN
To start the new school year, seniors came to the Senior Class Gift Kickoff on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in ASA Dining Room.
During the kickoff, “LEHIGH 11” in white letters was unveiled on U.C. front lawn. It was the first event for the class of 2011, and for many seniors, it meant the beginning of the end. It was also the first time seniors were wel­come to make a donation to the Senior Class Gift Fund.
At the kickoff, Andi Lucas, ’11, and Brian Cohen, ’11, the class gift chair and class presi­dent, respectively, gave speeches encouraging students to reflect on their time at Lehigh and donate to the fund so other students might share similar warm memories of their college years.
“By dedicating a scholarship in our class’s name, we have the chance to send future students to Lehigh and share those same op­portunities,” Cohen said. “The senior class gift isn’t just the class of 2011’s legacy, but future legacies, too.”
During Cohen’s speech, the unveiling was supposed to be presented to the seniors through Skype, but there were technical diffi­culties that prevented this viewing.
“The purpose of my speech was to have everyone think over their time at Lehigh and what they love about being here,” Lucas said. “I challenged everyone to not only make a donation at the kickoff, but also to tell their friends to get involved so that together we can reach our goals.”
Nancy Merritt, the senior class adviser, also attended the event in remembrance of her own Senior Class Gift Kickoff.
See SENIOR Page 3
Senior event shows next era of Lehigh giving