I’ve been writing once a week for the blog www.ivorytowerz.blogspot.com (in the summer I will post bi-weekly). Check there as well for clever stuff I’ve written. 
Ivorytowerz May 8, 2008
Panic Rooms? Try Jail Cells March 21, 2008
The Lewisham Council and Government Office of London will give domestic violence victims cash to build panic rooms in their homes. That way, if their abuser returns, they will have a place to escape to.
I have a better idea. Put the abuser in jail – then the victim won’t have to worry about it. If his return is a concern, then the legal system has not done it’s job. Even IF the panic room helps one woman, it does not protect any one else the abuser starts dating. A person who hits one partner will hurt other people they are with as well. Does London plan to fund panic rooms for everyone in the city? It would be so much more efficient to deal with the source of the problem.
Then again, since when is government efficient?
State Laws Perpetuate Abuse March 10, 2008
If your boyfriend or girlfriend (who you are not living with) hits, chokes, threatens or otherwise harms you, he or she should not be allowed near you. Yet in 12 states, including Virginia, you cannot apply for a civil domestic violence restraining or protective order unless you live together or were married at some point. The laws in New York are even more appalling. Marriage (past or present) or a mutual child is required to file for a restraining order. A recent report card from Break the Cycle, an organization that advocates on behalf of teenagers experiencing abuse, gave these states an automatic failing grade.
Break the Cycle’s logic in failing them makes perfect sense. They looked at situations teenagers commonly face, with dating but not cohabitating being an obvious start. A startling number of teenagers need protections not offered by law. At least one in five teenagers have been hit, slapped or pushed by a romantic partner. Technology isn’t helping either. No one needs 10, 20 or 30 text messages in an hour from a boyfriend or girlfriend wanting to know where they are – yet this happens to about 30 percent of teens. Not even a parent should be that obsessive.
Of course, these statistics reflect the number of teens who report incidents, but much like battered adults, many don’t speak up. A fifteen-year old should be able to enjoy a Saturday afternoon at the mall without having to report every move to another kid who probably doesn’t even know how to parallel park a car. How is a teenager supposed to grow up into a confident, self-assured adult if she has to worry about a boyfriend who can change from Jekyll to Hyde without warning? Abused teenagers are far more likely to experience repeated problems with violence and its effects later in life, which include depression and substance abuse.
Everyone has a right to safety, yet Missouri and Wisconsin seem to think this only applies to adults. They only grant domestic violence restraining orders to people over 18 years old. Five states (Iowa, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) have the ridiculous restriction that minors who are related to their abuser cannot get a restraining order. Common genetics does not make it okay for young people to live with an abuser. A child needs the assurance that he is physically safe. New Hampshire is the only state that allows a minor to apply for a protective order without an adult present. It is also one of only three states (along with California and Oklahoma) to earn an “A” on Break the Cycle’s report card.
Only granting protective orders to adults or victims who live with or marry their abuser perpetuates violence. Most abusive marriages do not start after the couple steps down from the altar, much like a broken rib or a black eye is generally not the first incident. Abuse should never happen, but when it does, it should be stopped as early as possible. Why wait until it turns into an abusive marriage? Punching your girlfriend and choking your husband are equally wrong, and victims should be equally protected. Victims have enough to worry about, without the added complications of an inadequate legal system. Too many states perpetuate violence by allowing abusers to continuing to date their victims. Legal systems need to keep people safe, regardless of age or marital status.
Getting ready for March Madness March 2, 2008
One of my favorite seasons is coming up fast: March Madness. The weather is getting warmer, the sun stays out longer. Most importantly the college basketball tournament is about to start. I’m a lot more excited about March Madness then I was about this past Superbowl. I spent most of the game thinking of ways that both the Giants and the Patriots could lose, and shooting a photo essay for class.
If my alma matter, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had it’s own 10 Commandments, the first two would be:
1. Once a Tar Heel fan, always a Tar Heel fan.
2. Thou Shalt Hate Duke University.
Consequently, my friend Marcus roots for Duke mainly to annoy me. This often leads to me hanging up the phone on him, which leads to him getting mildly annoyed at me. On the other hand, my cousin Sandy and her husband went to Duke. In four years, they never attended a single sporting event, despite the fact that Sandy’s father and brothers had tickets every time they were in town. Sandy’s complete lack of interest at a school where devout fans are known as “Cameron Crazies” for their antics at Cameron Indoor Stadium confuses me more than Marcus rooting for Duke annoys me.
Don’t tell Marcus I said that. These strong allegiances are what makes college basketball exciting. Rivalries such as this one are older and run deeper than in most other sports.
All Roads December 18, 2007
Here’s another one. This is definitely my favorite project from this semester. National Geographic had a film festival in October, and I was able to shadow the media manager on all of his interviews. My first day there, after maybe an hour, he brought me into the break room with all of these great artists from all over the world. He introduced me, said I was doing a project for grad school, and told everyone that they didn’t have to talk to me, but it would be great if they could. And then he left.
This one isn’t published yet, but working on it. 
Women Fight Poverty November 14, 2007
I published my first article! Even though I knew it was going to be printed, it was still very exciting to see my name on it.
http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/154771/1/
This article can also be found on my grandmother’s refrigerator.
Give me the beat boys, and free my soul November 7, 2007
Sierra Leone’s Civil War from 1991-2002 forced thousands of people to spend years in refugee camps. At one camp, a band – the Refugee All Stars – brought smiles to people who had almost lost hope. Zach Niles and Banker White’s documentary Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars (2005) shows how music can bring relief, even in war.
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Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars contains gut-wrenching footage depicting from the civil war: women and children with missing limbs, a teenager holding his own severed, bleeding hand and small children carrying large guns. In a particularly poignant scene, a little boy who is about three years old asks God to bring his father back to the camp. Can you imagine explaining to a little boy why his father would not be back? They interview a man who watched the rebels kill his mother and father while his hands remained tied behind his back. The rebels then placed the man’s child on a mortar and told him that if he didn’t beat his child, they would kill him. The man beat his child until he died. Once he finished, the rebels cut off his hand.
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Reuben Koroma met Franco John Lagba while walking through the dangerous Kalia camp with his wife. The three used instruments they made themselves from materials they found around the camp and formed the Refugee All Stars hoping to “de-traumatize the people.” After relocating to a refugee camp in Sembakounya, they met three more people who joined the band. Soon, they felt like family. If one person had food and another didn’t, they shared. They traveled to different camps in Guinea during the war to entertain people and ease their pain. “It heals my trauma because I forget about my traumas for a moment,” one band member said. Several scenes show crowds of people dancing, laughing and having fun as the band played. This offers a stark contrast to the story of the man who watched his family die and proves that music makes people happy!
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The largest UN Peacekeeping mission in history declared the fighting over in January 2002. Many refugees doubted that peace would last and feared returning home. Some wondered if they could find medical care, food and lodging in Sierra Leone, since these had been provided in the camps. When the civil war in neighboring Liberia escalated in September 2003, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) encouraged refugees from Sierra Leone to return home to make room. Many people returned home because they missed their country deeply, but like many others, the band hesitated. On one of the UNHCR’s “Go and See” trips to Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, they recorded an album that was released in June 2004. By the time the documentary aired, the Refugee All Stars had returned permanently and were preparing for a world tour.
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Music has amazing powers.
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“These are my pen, the key to heaven,” said the drummer. “They cannot kill, they make you happy.”
Newsstands? October 25, 2007
I majored in journalism in undergrad, I worked for an association of electronic publishers, and am currently getting my master’s in International Media. I have heard plenty of people talk about how newspapers will become obsolete. Apparently, even someone who loves to read and write as much as I do is part of this trend.
Growing up, the Philadelphia Inquirer appeared on my parents’ driveway at the crack of dawn every day. When I was 9, I faithfully clipped articles from the sports section after the Phillies won important games. I’m glad I saved them, as that was the year they went to the World Series. When they made the playoffs this year, my mom saved the sports section for me. I still love the souvenir, but the interesting difference is that the newspaper is not where I originally read about the games. In the 14 years since the Phillies last made the playoffs, a lot has changed.
I have a writing assignment for class tomorrow, for which I am supposed to compare the coverage of a major event in a newspaper with the same story online. This will be the first time I purchase the hard copy of a newspaper – any news I read is online (unless I am at my parents’ house). It also occurs to me that a stamp costs more than a newspaper. Interesting.
I need to go ask one of my co-workers where I can find the closest newsstand…
Sam I Am October 10, 2007
Last week, Elizabeth Edwards spoke on campus about living with breast cancer. She talked about maintaining your dignity while wearing a paper nightgown with no back, and feeling lonely when your hair falls out in the shower, even though your wonderful husband is at your side for every doctors visit and chemotherapy session. The thousands of e-mails and cards she received always cheered her up. She felt connected to people worldwide, young and old, daughters, mothers, husbands. She loved the yellow, faded cards that looked like they were sent by a widower who had saved all of his wife’s old cards.
Elizabeth’s final thought hit me the hardest. She lives her life every day, as normally as possible, and does everything she loves, in spite of her cancer. The cancer is part of her, yes, but it does not define her. It is not all of her. Her closing words:
“I am Elizabeth. I am married to John. I have four wonderful children. I have blue eyes that are beginning to gray, like my hair. I like tomato sandwiches. I have cancer.”
I am Suzie. I love listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and sliding into 3rd base whenever I play softball (and sometimes kickball). I am incredibly close to my brother. Despite the fact that I am half Egyptian and she is blond, my best friend and I tell everyone that we are biological sisters. I have ADD.
