Under the Arch

CRISIS IN MEXICO AND SOCIAL JUSTICE TO BE FOCUS OF OCT. 29 LECTURE

The Mexican state of Oaxaca was embroiled in a serious crisis last year that began when a local teachers’ union went on strike.

The bitter, bloody conflict lasted more than seven months and resulted in at least 18 deaths.

On Monday, Oct. 29, an activist who witnessed the struggle firsthand will give a guest lecture at Gannon University to discuss the tragedy and share lessons learned from the suffering of the Oaxacan people.

Miguel Angel Vasquez de la Rosa will be the speaker for “The Oaxaca Crisis and the Roots of Migration.” His lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Yehl Room. It is free and open to the public and also will offer English-Spanish translation.

Vasquez is the founding member of EDUCA, the leading Oaxaca grassroots organization. During his lecture at Gannon, he will explore the connection between U.S. trade policies, the rise of immigration, and the uprising of indigenous people in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Gannon University Center for Social Concerns and Mary the Apostle Catholic Worker. Another group, Witness for Peace, is sponsoring a regional speaking tour of more than 20 stops with de la Rosa, including Gannon University.

For more information, contact Arlene Montevecchio, director of the Center for Social Concerns, at 814-871-7433, or Matthew Ochalek, at 814-450-8912.

More about the Oaxaca Protests

According to Wikipedia, the teachers’ union strike grew into a broad-based movement pitting the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca against the state’s governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. Protestors demanded that Ortiz either resign or be removed from power, while de la Rosa has said that structural economic disparities have created the overall problems in the region.

In June, 2006, a street battle ensued after Ortiz sent several thousand police to break up the striking teachers. Ruiz would not resign; the battle left more than 100 hospitalized.

In response, the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca was formed. In October, 2006, an Indymedia journalist from New York, Bradley R. Will, and two others were killed. At that point, Mexican president Vicente Fox sent federal police to Oaxaca.

More protests and deaths followed, and American filmmaker Michael Moore was among the activists who became involved in the plight of the victims.

Last November, leftist guerrilla groups set off explosions in a Mexico City bank, and further clashes between police and demonstrators, riots, and looting followed.

Even though the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca continues to demand the resignation of Ruiz, he remains in power.

RECENT NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

News of interest on and around campus...

The History of Space Travel, a special issue of Discover Magazine currently on newsstands, quotes Gannon University grants writer Chris Dubbs. Dubbs was interviewed, along with NASA veterinarians, for the article “The Real Space Pioneers,” about animal space flights in the U.S. and Soviet space programs. In addition, Ali Schneider, director, Health Services, did an interview with Sarah Weber of the Erie Times-News on health issues affecting college students, and how both students and their parents can be proactive. Anne O’Neill-Klemensic, instructor and program director, sports management and advertising communications, did an interview with WICU-12 on the hands-on-learning class that features lessons about business ethics, professional writing and interviewing techniques, meal etiquette, and technology advice/clean-up with regard social networking web sites like Facebook and MySpace.
See for yourself: Faculty, staff, and administrators can tour the university’s most recent property acquisition, the Robert H. Morosky Academic Center, at 150 West 10th Street (formerly the Verizon building). The building will be open from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Oct. 30. Extensive renovations will be done prior to its official opening.

CAMPUS EVENTS

Tuesday, October 23 – United Way Kickoff Breakfast: The breakfast will be held at 8 a.m. in room 219 of Waldron. The Gannon Community’s generous support of last year’s campaign helped the United Way surpass $5 million in pledges. Colleagues: you should have received a letter about the breakfast from Dr. Garibaldi.
Tuesday-Wednesday, October 23-24 – Nash Library Book Sale: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Thousands of books will be available in categories like fiction, children’s, history, engineering, business, psychology, science, education, and medicine. On the first day, hardcover books, videos, and audio books will be $2.50, paperbacks $1, and pocket paperbacks 50 cents. On the second day, all items will be sold at half price. Collect your spare change, because all proceeds will benefit the library’s book budget.
Thursday, October 25 – Community Mass: 11 a.m. in the Chapel.
Monday, October 29 – Lecture on Oaxaca Crisis: The lecture, to be given by Miguel Angel Vasquez de la Rosa, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Yehl Room. See above for more information.
Friday, November 2 – Gannon University’s Erie Chamber Orchestra: The Edinboro University singers, with Choral Director Peter Van den Hornert will be the soloist. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Central Tech auditorium, 3325 Cherry St.
Sunday, November 4 – Fall Open House: Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Waldron lobby. Two Admissions and Financial Aid presentations will be held, as will numerous other activities. For more information, call ext. 7240.
“Our Events” is intended to serve as a random sample of campus events. For a more complete listing, refer to Eventcal.

THE PRESIDENT’S SCHEDULE

Monday, October 22 – St. Vincent Health Center Foundation annual meeting. Tuesday, October 23 – Gannon University United Way Campaign Kick-off Breakfast. Wednesday-Thursday, October 24-25 – University of St. Thomas Board of Trustees’ meetings.

PRAYER CONCERNS

Please remember all in your prayers as regretfully we announce the death of:

Mark Farrell, father of Gannon student Ryan Farrell.
Lolly Mifkovic, mother of Dan Mifkovic, evening custodial/utility worker.

CURRENT BIRTHDAYS

Jennifer Gorman. Leslie Patterson. Olga Bovkun. Dick Sukitsch. Ken McCurdy. Donald Henry. Sharon Dugan. Martin Hoch. David Hemenger. Matthew Clark. Lori Jasinski. Lynne Wright. Tisha Beason. Mahesh Aggarwal. Scott Harrington. Brian Scott. Donald McAleer. Carol Amann. Janice Green. Kathy Oatis. Karen Beardsley-Petit. Tim Natale. Cathleen Cubelic. Kenneth Hanas. Richard Jepson. Darlene Hess. Francis Grandinetti. Bernadette Hattjar. Caitlen Haynes. Kenneth Brundage. Valerie Baker. Elmer Morrison. Terrance Kizina.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Dr. Garibaldi, students meet Duchess of York: Sara Ferguson (second from right), the Duchess of York, was in Erie last week for The Ophelia Project’s 10th anniversary celebration dinner, held at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center. Also pictured with her are Dr. Garibaldi (right) and Gannon students Michael Koprowski and Nicolette Critelli. Koprowski and Critelli are both members of APB. All told, about 400 people attended the event. Ferguson devotes much of her time to charitable work and in 2006 founded the Sarah Ferguson Foundation. The Ophelia Project serves individuals affected by relational and other non-physical forms of aggression.