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While I don’t intend to assign ranks of importance to anyone mentioned
or not, I know for a fact that the bus drivers of UWG are among the hardest
working and underappreciated workers on campus.* 9
- Erik Waters, student
Washington conference calls for action in Darfur
By Mariam Abuhaideri
Guest Writer
mabuhaideri@yahoo .com
Weeachhaveanidentity
and most often than not we
would define ourselves by
the place we were either
bom in or currently reside. I
for example would say that
I am an Indian, and that 1
study in America now. My
individuality is also defined
by the fact that India is a
country on this Earth. This
makes me a citizen of the
world and 1 am proud of
this heritage. Being a world
citizen is more than just
being bom; you have certain
responsibilities towards
your fellow citizens. Love
for all humanity is just one
of those responsibilities that
I have learnt to accept and
follow.
When a family
member, a neighbor or a
friend is in distress we try
to ease their agony and help
them in every way possible.
This is human nature and it
comes naturally to us even
though we may not be the
source of that pain. So as a
citizen of this world why do
we ignore the cries of people
who live away from us? I
am referring specifically
to the victims of genocide,
people in war tom Darf ur
where thousands of people
including women and
children are being tortured
and slaughtered. It is pitiful
to see that the international
Do you thank the unsung heroes of UWG?
By Erik Waters
A&E Editor
erikwaters@bellsouth .net
When looking back
on your time spent here
at UWG, what have you
come to admire most
about our campus? A
few bitter students may
respond “Nothing! I
hate this place” as they
stomp all the way back
to their room to eagerly
await their graduation
dates. Other students
may begin to list the
countless things UWG
students actually have to
be thankful for such as a
nice campus, tasty chow
(I see you eating it. Don’t
lie to yourself), and a
wide variety of classes
taught by highly qualified
teachers.
For me personally.
I’ve just recently come
to the realization that 1
most admire a group of
people that more than
likely aren’t topping the
majority of students’
lists. I like to call these
hard-working individuals
the “unsung heroes” of
UWG.
While I don’t
intend to assign ranks
of importance to anyone
mentioned or not, I know
for a fact that the bus
drivers of UWG are among
the hardest working and
underappreciated workers
on campus.
I recently had the
honor of sitting down to
lunch with Mr. Oliver
Calvert, one of said bus
community is doing very
little to save Darfur.
Everyone in the region
is suffering the wrath of
man. Loved ones, neighbors,
and friends have become
enemies and have taken to
killing one another. There
is very little protection for
the lives of Darfurians.
Widespread rape and
killings have left many
families in a severe state of
turmoil and many children
orphaned. But why should
you care? It is not like you
or your loved ones are being
subjected to such heinous
treatment. You could also
leave this to the UN, the
international community and
the government of Darfur to
deal with this. It is not your
problem. You have way too
many problems of your own
to get into something that
does not affect you. And
anyways there is not much
that you can do. This is
completely understandable.
But do not underestimate
your contribution to the
efforts to help secure peace
for the region. Do not
assume that there is nothing
you can do to brighten a
victim’s future. For, if you
do not stand today, it will be
tcx> late tomorrow. I would
like to share reasons that
will help you realize that the
events around the globe do
and will affect you and there
is so much you can do to get
engaged.
You are studying at
drivers, and we discussed
the finer points of his
job. Working on his ninth
year as a bus driver here
on campus, Mr. Calvert
(or Mr. O as his familiar
passengers have dubbed
him) is one of the longest
running bus drivers
around.
Best described as a
jack-of-all-trades, Mr.
Calvert is responsible
for much more than just
pounding the pavement
of the circular route
in his Red Route bus.
Unbeknownst to a lot of
people, it is drivers like
him that are responsible
for taking UWG sports
teams to and fro from
their sporting events
and even driving as far
Washington, D.C. for the
Honors Students’ annual
trip.
In between bites of
our Italian cuisine, Mr.
Calvert spoke of many
honest stories within his
working experience as
a driver. His ability to
break down the barrier
between campus worker
and student relations with
his scary nighttime ghost
ride near front campus
is admirable, yet his less
than pleasing stories of
students with problems
could cut to the heart of
any man.
These aren’t just
students wondering
whether they’ll make it
to their next class within
the five minutes they’ve
allowed themselves, but
rather students with real
West Georgia but someday
you may go to work for a
multinational company
that has several branches
around the globe, and one
of them may just be Darfur.
Would you still say that
you do not care? You may
have friends from Sudan,
or better even a Sudanese
boss or client. How would
you then avoid the global
link? In this recent age
of globalization it is
impossible to turn a deaf
ear to global events. The
youth of today are leaders
tomorrow'. In fact many
students have in the past
or are currently serving as
student leaders. I call these
leaders to get their team
members to join the fight
against getuxide. 1 urge
parents, faculty and staff to
educate their children about
respecting and embracing
the value of diversity in their
lives. Ixt us all serve as role
models for those who look
up to us and let us all walk
towards ending the violence
and influence of hate. Let
us mean it when we utter
“Never Again.”
It is agreed that it is the
governments of the nations
that have the power to
change things, but you have
the power to wake them up
You have a right to speak
out and take action on your
campus and neighborhoods
Like with every project,
taking baby steps tow ards its
success is the best approach
Photo b\ Terrance Ritshin
Student favorite bus driver "Mr. O” is always willing to
make those Red Route trips more enjoyable with a smile
and conversation.
problems that drivers like
Mr. Calvert have often
times gone out of their
way to help alleviate.
On top of all these
responsibilities, our
UWG bus drivers also
have to deal with our
occasional selfishness as
students. Causing drivers
to slam on their breaks as
we pop-up behind large
SUV’s to carelessly j
walk across the street,
never breaking in our own
cars to allow the buses to
exit onto the main road,
and simply not saying
“thank you” enough after
our often short ride to
one building to another
is evidence enough that
the bus drivers of UWG
are some of the hardest
working unsung heroes
around.
“Most students are
pretty good about talking
to us or saying thank you
as they leave, but every
once and awhile you’ll
get the quiet or busy
ones that leave without
talking.,” explains Mr.
Calvert.
Opinion Ml
- . Wat Sj
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Photo courtesy •>! Mariam Abuhauieri
Mariam Abuhaideri sits in front of a wall of chilling images lining the walls of the National
Holocaust museum in Washington. D C.
in this situation. You can
plan and work on making
your strategy work. And do
not get despaired if a few of
your ideas do not work. Try,
try till you succeed Some of
the many things you could
do on your part is to write
to your local media and alert
your community about the
crisis, Sound the drumbeats
and urge your local and
national government to
get involved, organize
information forums,debates
and panel discussions on
campus, learn about, join
and support organizations
and N( iO’s that are devoted
to the cause Many of these
NGO’s have aid workers in
Darfur and in ref ugee camps
So just remember the
next time you’re riding
in one of our fine UWG
buses, don't just sit there
looking over last night’s
homework with your iPod
earphones rested snuggly
in your ears. Go out of
your way to thank or strike
up a conversation with
the person behind that
oversized wheel. There is
no telling the interesting
stories you’ll hear or
potential acquaintances
you'll make.
Feel free to email
n vv gpape r @ v e s t g a .
edn if you would like
recommending a certain
UWG group to be covered
for future additions
of "Unsung heroes of
UWG." If we focused
on a particular group
or didn V get around to
praising others, fear
not. We are hoping to
make this a regular
article and would love
to cover anyone and
everyone in need of their
just praise.
in Chad and neighboring
countries who do a heroic
job and could do w ith a little
help on your part. ()f course
you are not permitted to go
to Darfur due to the unsafe
situation but your support
and efforts do. Many of
these organizations also
accept donations. Don't
let the saying “Students
are always broke" stop
you from donating a few
dollars. Remember every
dollar counts and giving
up one pizza won’t leave
you starved but it can till a
tormented child’s stomach
with several days worth
of food. So come let us
stand together and help our
fellow world citizens sleep
Myspace is a curse, and makes my
girlfriend yell at me for nothing
By Brandon Smith
Guest Writer
bsmith6@mx.westga.edu
Myspace is “übiquitous” - present everywhere all the
time. Übiquitous is the w ord of the day. But seriously, it came
out of nowhere and spread across the world like a pandemic.
And like a pandemic it is hazardous to mine and your health. I
don’t know about the ladies, but guys. I am sure you can relate
to me on this one, it gives your girlfriend another reason to
get mad at you. They love to check up on us, see who we are
talking to, and who is try ing to talk to us, and for this reason
alone Myspace was like a gift from god to them.
We already have a hard enough time stay ing in the clear
with them. We are guys, and as guys, we are genetically
inclined to do things that piss off girlfriends, even though it is
not our intention to do so. The trick is to keep these incidents to
a minimum, a trick that I am slowly learning, but right when 1
start to get the hang of it, My space jumps on the scene and gives
me something else to worry about. If a girl writes me on my
wall, and says something like “last night was fun, 1 cant wait to
do it again”, my girlfriend gets suspicious for no reason and 111
have to spend 10 mins explaining to her that first of all the girl
doesn’t even like guys, she’s a lesbian, and second of all, we
w ere at a homeless shelter htmding out pillows for community
service, nothing to worry about. I even get interrogated when a
new female face pops up on my friend list. She denies it, but 1
know she goes through my friend list and "hunts” for the girls
that she thinks 1 would flirt with. I find it kind of funny.
Myspace has also found a way to elicit petty drama
between friends as well. This problem is attributed to the
friend list and its ever changing arrangement of friends. It is
very similar to a hierarchy in which people are placed above
or below someone else based on their social status, but in this
case, its not necessarily status that determines ones placement
in the friend list, its how much the person likes you. The funny
thing is just how personal people take their placement on others
friend list. Something as unimportant as this actually causes
people to tight and argue. What does it matter if your number
13 on the list'.’ Really. America’s generations are becoming
more and more confused w ith time, loosing sight of what really
matters, and focusing on superficial, meaningless things that
will mean nothing when they die like friend list placement and
whose doing who on the real world. Placement on a friends list
does not concern me. what concerns me is the fact that people
are buying txxly spray because a commercial insinuated that it
will get them laid. That and the fact that out of hundred channels
to choose from, we STILL cant pick one. America needs to
reconsider a few things and gain anew perspective. Our priorities
are way off, and Myspace isn’t helping.
peacefully at night and
witness a beautiful sunrise.
Let us give them hope of a
future.
As an advocate of the
crisis I feel that my efforts
are paying off. 1 keep abreast
of the current situation and
available aid opportunities.
To further my role in this
tight against genocide I
attended the Committee
on Conscience’s Genocide
Prevention Advanced
Leadership Summit in
Washington, D.C. during
spring break. So when
most of you were enjoying
yourselves on the beach,
many concerned students
s,Darfur /iX 7