University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, March 20, 1991
9
Panel discusses solutions to Middle East problems
Knowledge of past may be key
By Lara Gold
Kansan staff writer
The Palestinians and the Jewish people both have been persecuted for centuries and both are entitled to their own homeland, said a professor on a panel discussing the future of the Middle East.
"For Jews, they have been a disa-
pora of people. To attack Zionism,
to attack Israel, to attack the Jewish
people," said Daniel Breslauer,
professor of religious studies. "The Pa-
estians, like the Jews, are dispensed.
They, too, need a symbol of their
unity."
Breslauer was one of four panelists last night at Haskell Indian Junior College.
"Why fight over this little bit of land without realizing this little bit of
land is a concrete symbol of a larger reality?' Breslauer said.
Mohamed El-Hodri, professor of economics, said Arabs and Jews should read about their history so they can learn how much they had in common.
El-Hodiri said the economics of the oil industry needed to be addressed in the region.
"Oil is important to the West now."
he said. "It should be preserved."
El-Hodiri said the price of oil should be high so people would think before they used an abundance of it.
The Palestinian and Israeli conflict and the West's dependency on Middle Eastern oil are problems that need to be solved, he said.
Nick Peroff, political scientist at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, gave a U.S. perspective of the "involvement" in the Middle East.
"If the Middle East was the center for growing brocoli, we wouldn't have been involved there," Peroff said.
"One working way is to look at world power politics." Peroff said.
But he said oil was not the only reason for military involvement in the Persian Gulf.
He said George Bush wanted to knock Saddam Hussein out of power because Saddam attacked a sovereign nation.
K Steve Kelly, a U.S. businessman who was in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion, said he thought the U.S. military involvement was justified.
"We have won the war," Kelley said. "We now have to win the peace."
He said Palestinians and Israelis needed to find a solution that was just and equitable for both sides.
Kelley said he was optimistic that Bush's vision of a new world order would succeed in solving the problems in the Middle East.
Meeting curbs cult deception
Hints distributed to sidestep tactics
By Rick C. Honish Kansan staff writer
Avoiding cult deception was the message at a meeting at McCollum Hall last night.
The Rev. Vince Krische of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, the Rev. Jim Musser of Campus Christians and Cynthia Wimmer, a former member of Campus Connection, spoke to 25 students about their experiences with various religious groups and gave advice on how to recognize and deal with their various tactics.
Krische said a task force was developed about a year ago in an effort to promote cooperation and awareness of the KU carusms organizations on the KU carusms
"Part of being a professional means being accountable to your peers and having been accredited by some higher authority," he said. "People can trust that the person is capable of do what is expected of them."
Krische said the task force formed a mediation panel after complaints
were received about Campus Connection, a fundamentalist religious organization active on the KU campus.
The panel concluded that Campus Connection's methods had violated various guidelines, and they were expelled from the task force, known as the Kansas University Religious Advisers.
Wimmer said she wanted to speak at the meeting because she wanted people to know what could happen to them. The drama involved with lecivine groups.
"I can't say that what this group was doing was wrong, but it hurts people," she said. "Try it if you want, least know what it is all about."
Musser said things to watch out for included strangers asking about one's spiritual life, the group's openness to its willingness to answer questions.
A list of seven tips for avoiding cult deception was handed out to people at the meeting.
"If a total stranger asks you questions about your religious beliefs, they should be more than willing to answer yours." he said.
Musser said people should not attend Bible studies with strangers
and should be wary of instantaneous friendships.
"You don't need to be skeptical of everything and everyone, but use common sense," he said.
Krische said the simplest thing to do if asked to a Bible study by a stranger was to say "no."
After the meeting, Rob Vilardi, Long Island, N.Y., freshman, said that he attended the meeting because he was interested in religion, and he knew how to deal with people on campus who had invited him to Bible studies.
"You kind of want to believe people are really that friendly," he said. "But when they are, they usually have a hidden motive."
Dawn Meisenheimer and Carrie Richardson, resident assistants at McCollum, organized the meeting. Richardson said a questionable religious group had been meeting in McCollum.
"We have removed people from the hall for pressuring residents to go to Bible studies," she said.
Richardson said she wanted to expand on the ideas expressed at the meeting, organizing programs for the meeting free from restrictions. ASU to recognize questionable groups.
The Power of Macintosh Offer ends May 4th,1991
Macintosh Classic Package:
Macintosh Classic 40 Meg. Hard Drive/2
Meg. RAM
Imagewriter II with System Peripheral-8
Cable
MacDraw II, MacWrite II and Hypercard
Mousepad
$1,599.00
Macintosh IIsi 2/40 Color Package:
Macintosh Ilsi 40 Meg. Hard Drive/
2 Meg. RAM
Apple Keyboard
Apple Color High-Resolution RGB Monitor
MacWrite II, MacDraw II
and Hypercard
Mousepad
$3,299.00
KU Bookstores Computer Store Burge Union, Level 2 864-5697
Macintosh The Power to Be Your Best at KU
Prime subject to availability. Open offer only to student enrolled in six or more credit hours of course work, full time faculty members, or full time staff. You may obtain a copy of the requirements from the KU Bootstrap. Payment must be made by cashless students. Student dividends have
Prices Good Through 3/26/91