NEWS
KANSAN 6,2009
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009
OK
capital
SPRING BREAK
Experience New York City
Alternative trip explores cultures goes beyond tourist's perspective
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
Jenn Gapetz got involved with Ecumenical Christian Ministries Alternative Breaks three years ago when she saw a flier for the Border Immersion Experience, an alternative winter break that took students to El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. Gapetz, Fernandina Beach, Fla., senior, coordinated the trip the following year.
Now, as coordinator for the ECM-KU Urban Studies program, Gapetz is organizing a new Alternative Spring Break called "The New York Experience." The Urban Studies part of ECM formed last fall and became an official student group in December. Gapetz said each ECM Alternative Break was distinctive and The New York Experience utilized New York City as a classroom.
"New York City is fascinating. I like opening up new worlds and new ways of thinking to people," Gapetz said.
The program will focus on issues such as labor, economics, immigration, human rights, urban planning and cultural, social and political movements. The New York Experience will also focus on changing and endangered communities such as Manahattanville, where Columbia University's $7 billion expansion plan entails leveling much of the existing neighborhood.
The program includes a tour of the United Nations, visiting Ground
Zero, and tours and activities in the South Bronx, the Lower East Side and other famous areas of the city.
Program participants will stay at the Seafarers and International House, an Ecumenical Lutheran mission that advocates for and serves seafarers and workers on international cargo ships. Gapetz said the mission had a guest house available to anyone and that it was near Union Square.
Joshua Gapetz, Ocala, Fla., junior, Jenn Gapetz's husband, also went on the El Paso and Juarez trip. That week, they visited a local publishing company, a grassroots after-school program and community center, and a midwife center to learn about the politics of birth on the border. Josh Gapetz learned
Molly Green, Lawrence senior, said she chose to join the program because she wanted to do something different for her last spring break of college.
Instead of a week in a more popular spring break location with her friends, Green said she wanted to learn from a culture that was different from the Midwest. She said she was happy to have the opportunity to experience a side of New York that people normally would not see.
"I am very excited about this program, and I think it will be a really fun and educational experience," Green said. "It will give students the opportunity to see New York City from a different perspective than just the 'tourist' approach."
more info
Ways to get involved in Urban Studies programs:
— Contact Jenn Gapetz at the ECM Urban Studies
— Join the Facebook group "I love ECM Alternative Breaks"
about a variety of cultural, political, economic and social issues, from local, regional and national perspectives.
He went because he was interested in learning more about the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), unions and maquiladoras, or factories in Mexico that imports materials duty-free and then exports the assembled product to the original country. Joshua Gapetz said the New York Experience program was different from other Alternative Spring Breaks because it would focus on an American city, specifically one of the cultural capitals of the country.
"We'll be learning about New York from various levels beyond the shiny veneer," Joshua Gapetz said. "I have a personal love for New York City. The excitement, the food, the music."
Jenn Gapetz said Urban Studies was thinking of adding more Alternative Breaks next year to more cities such as Kansas City and Chicago. The program has no prerequisites.
"We want more people involved, which will affect what we talk about and do," Jenn Gapetz said.
Edited by Carly Halvorson
CRIME
CRIME Federal agents round up 750 suspects in crackdown
WASHINGTON — Federal agents have rounded up more than 750 suspects in a wide-ranging crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating inside the United States.
More than 50 of the suspects were arrested overnight in a series of raids coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration aimed at capturing members of the
Sinaloa cartel, blamed for a rising tide of violence in Mexico and the United States. Another 700 suspects were arrested previously over the course of the DEA's 21-month Operation Xcellerator, officials said
Attorney General Eric Holder said the cartels "are lucrative, they are violent and they are operated with stunning planning and precision."
At a press conference announcing the arrests, Holder also suggested that reinstituting a
U. S. ban on the sale of assault weapons would help reduce the bloodshed in Mexico, where last year 6,000 people were killed in drug-related violence.
U. S. officials have a responsibility to make sure Mexican police "are not fighting substantial numbers of weapons, or fighting against AK-475 or other similar kinds of weapons that have been flowing to Mexico," Holder said.
Associated Press
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Matt Bristow/KANSAN
Lindsey Yankee, Leon senior, slacklines between two trees on campus Wednesday afternoon. The recent warm weather will give way to cooler temperatures later this week.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
SUBMISSIONS DUE MARCH 1, 5 PM
Define and application available online at
www.sparkmil.org or at the museum into seasem.
***
PAID FOR BY KU
Join KU Model United Nations
The KU Model United Nations is looking for responsible and dedicated new members to be a part of this award-winning organiza
- Compete in Model UN conferences with teams from other universities around the world
- Attend conferences in Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York City!
The KU MUN team will host its informational meeting on Thursday February 22nd at 6pm in Boulder Lake Boom
Blake Hall Room 114
Join us for FREE pizza and soda!!!
(All Majors Welcome)
If you have any questions contact mun@ku.edu
New Orleans Alternative Spring Break
"Solidarity, Not Charity"
Informational Meeting Thursday, February 26th 5:30 PM ECM 1204 Oread Ave.
One block north of the Kansas Union
Follow the directions below to learn how.
We now offer free text message reference services (standard response)
Text KUINFO and your question to 66746 from your phone.
(between 9am - 9pm, Mon thru Fri)
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