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Show 2 Signpost-Friday, May 10, 1985 Brown: Information age has not changed attitudes by Chris Larsen Senior Reporter "When I was going to college, the country was in the height of the industrial age. Today there is no such thing as an industrial age. We are moving into a new era- an age controlled by information technology," said Willie L. Brown Jr., the speaker at yesterday's convocation. Approximately 60 people heard the Speaker of the California State Legislature talk about the issues that lie on the horizons. The convocation was sponsored in part by Black Scholars United. Brown was the first black ever elected to the Speaker of the Legislature. He was re-elected in 1982 and 1984. "In my age we were on a roll. ..when Sputnik was launched by the Russians." Brown said the significance of Sputnik is the installation of communication satellites. These satellites made names like Rose Park and Martin Luther King Jr. household words. Brown said it took 5 days for news of Lincoln's assasination to reach London. The Rothchilds learned of Napoleon's situation at Waterloo by carrier pigeon, and through the control of the information, doubled their fortune. "In Montgomery Alabama, Rose Park decided she would no longer sit in the back of the bus. In two hours the news was around the world," said Brown. "The Civil Rights movement was the first major event of the information age. The information age always has been used, is now being used and always will be used for social change." The California politician spoke of how Nixon learned from experience about the information age. The debate between Kennedy and Nixon was Nixon's defeat. "Kennedy looked sharp, had a full head of hair and a good set of teeth. Nixon looked like a used car salesman," said Brown. He said Nixon learned about the use of electronic media to come back and win the presidency in 1968 with the way he walked, dressed and did his hairstyle. Brown said that through the information age we can see the children starving in Ethiopia and the events happening in South Africa. "The information age brings us marvelous opportunities," said Brown. However, "Through the informational systems there has not been one institutional change. We are still trying to change people's views on race, religion, sex and age. The learning process has altered our conduct but slightly." Brown challenged the audience to protect information from misuse. Siiii)sl plioUiKnc Christ en sen Willie L. Brown, Jr. Students learn complexity of world problems in model UN by Betty Edmondson News Editor United Nations problems may seem remote to most of us, but to nine WSC students, they are now very real. These nine participated in the Model United Nations of the Far West in Sacramento, Calif. April 10-14. A thousand students from 66 colleges and universities in all the western states including Hawaii, Alaska and even Canada took part in the event. Weber State was the only Utah school participating. Faculty advisor, Ralph Telford, accompanied the WSC students to Sacramento for this 36th session of the Model U.N. of the Far West. Students Jeff Noland, Monette Hurtado, Edward Nwadibia, Alan Manual, Marcus Stadelman, Lawrence Chadband, Charlton Vance, Steve Combe and Carl Lehnhardt signed up for Pol. Sci. 344 and spent winter quarter preparing for the event. The WSC delegation was assigned to represent the country of Pakistan on U.N. agencies and committees. To prepare for this, they sent for materials from the Pakistani embassy. They received, for example, past speeches by the Pakistani ambassador to the U.N. Class members had to prepare position papers and resolutions to be presented in Sacramento. Noland was a member of the special political committee, Lehnhardt was on the Security Council, Hurtado and Stadelman were members of the General Assembly, Manual and Vance were on the International Atomic Energy Commission, Nwadibia was on the third committee and Combe was on the first committee. In their assigned areas, these students debated world problems as if they were the official Pakistani representatives, and voted on a variety of resolutions. "When you hear about some world problem here in Ogden, Utah, the solution seems so simple. After participating in the model U.N. I found out how hard it is to resolve problems. There are are so many views," said Noland. "Delegates really fought it out on the floor," he added, "even shouting and screaming when debating heated issues." He described how Arab delegations did everything possible to harass Israeli speakers, even pounding on tables or coughing to keep them from being heard. Any WSC student can sign up for the Model U.N. course which is given every winter. Noland recommended it, not only for political science majors, but for those planning to go into international business. "It was a great learning experience," said Noland. A S dip? Vvi 4 APPLICATIONS FOR EDITOR OF METAPHOR STUDENT LITERARY MAGAZINE FOR 1985-86 competence in basic English and literature required experience with art and design desirable Interested students should write a letter stating their qualifications and experience and providing at least three references. apply to Levi S. Peterson, Metaphor Adviser Department of English, SS 314 Weber State College for information call 626-6251 or 626-7011 DEADLINE: TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1985 3s. r |