2009

We are having the wrong public debate about global warming — and we are running out of time to get it right. It’s important to discuss carbon caps and taxes or other mitigation strategies, but a good chunk of the population views these as restrictive and burdensome. We miss a larger and more affirmative point if we only have that discussion.

International Mondays Fall 2009 Lecture Series

All lectures take place from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A.

Of average height and build with salt-and-pepper hair, Jonathan Kuttab’s physical qualities may not have been too imposing, but his words quickly captivated his audience as he began his speech: “Can there ever be peace in Palestine?”

And he answered with a emphatic “Yes.”

The English Corner, a part of Bridges International, is designed to change all that. The group sponsors a range of activities — everything from a tailgate to a New York City trip to Catch Phrase game nights — in an effort to help form connections between students hailing from different countries.

“It is an opportunity for American students and international students to communicate in a casual setting to not only improve English proficiency but to build friendships,” said Stephen Wong, a third-year UI pharmacy student.

Whenever mentioning “1989”, people in the West instantly think about the protesting students in Tiananmen Square. In fact, although starting in Beijing and led by the students there, the democratic movement was a nation-wide event, drawing together people from all walks of life.

Twenty years on, I remember vividly every detail of that day when I organized a demonstration among the workers from my Nanjing factory in support of the movement. It was Sunday, May 28, a week before the crackdown in Beijing.

UI Associate Professor of history Laura Gotkowitz was recently awarded the American Historical Association’s John E. Fagg prize for 2008 for her book, A Revolution for Our Rights: Indigenous Struggles for Land and Justice in Bolivia, 1880-1952.

Nine students from The University of Iowa ‘s College of Pharmacy were among 17 UI students who got to literally step into their subject matter and make a difference. Students learned how to partner with nonprofit organizations and local communities to address health care, social services, and environmental quality needs in less developed countries. After spending the semester planning service projects, the students traveled as part of a project team to Xicotepec, Mexico for a week in the spring of 2009.