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Show 3 Monday, July 30,2007 NEWS www.dailyutahchronicle.com Protest law challenged Anti-hunger group files suit over limits on residential demonstrations Arthur Raymond STAFF WRITER PHOTO COURTESY MAERA GROVE U student David Aider and amateur filmmakers Atisa Garcia and Maera Grove spent two weeks in Cambodia this summer filming a documentary. The film focused on the dangers Cambodian children live with in cities such as Phnom Penh and how the ChildSafe Cambodia organization is working to protect children from abuse. Student documents plight of Cambodian street children Clayton Norlen STAFF WRITER In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, it is common for children living on the streets to beg, sell books, offer shoeshines or fall into the sex trade just to survive. David Alder, a junior film major, traveled to Cambodia this summer alongside amateur filmmakers Alisa Garcia and Maera Grove to document the condition of these street children. The documentary focuses on what the organization ChildSafe Cambodia is doing to improve the situation of homeless children in Cambodia. Alder described scenes in Cambodia where young children between the ages of six and 17 would carry around infants, rented from mothers, to aid in their begging. "Filming this documentary made me look at my immense privilege with my many resources here in Watch the documentary The short film "Child Safe—A community effort" can be viewed online at www.myspace. com/hindsigh f_ virtuoso. the (United) States ," Alder said. Street children are also at risk of ending up exploited in the sex trade by gang members or other adults who sell them to pedophiles. According to the documentary, there are currently 24,000 children living on the streets in Cambodia. Childsafe-cambodia.org explains that the money tourists give to children who are begging or selling items doesn't help the situation because children are still on the streets and not in school. The money children make is often split Program coordinator selected for CESA The U's Center for Ethnic Student Affairs selected Deanna Blackwell as its new African American program coordinator earlier this month. Blackwell is a current doctoral candidate in the U's department of education, culture and society. She holds a master's degree in African studies and a bachelor's degree in literature and composition. Blackwell has a background in multicultural education and advising students of color. Despite several e-mail exchanges, Blackwell declined to speak with The Chronicle about her new job. CESA's mission is to "recruit and retain ethnic minorities or underrepresented students, and to enrich the University of Utah and the greater community," according to its website, web.utah. edu/cesa. On the website, Deanna Blackwell Blackwell said she hopes to contribute to CESA's mission this year by advising and developing programs to assist black students on campus. Blackwell replaced former adviser Simone Fritz, who resigned in June amid pressure from some members of the Black Student Union who alleged that she mishandled $1,900 of the group's money by placing it in an administrative account. Jane Stringham between gangs they may be involved with or given back to the family members and bullies who sent them to work on the streets. "Tourists are unaware that they are contributing to the problems with street children by giving money to children directly," Garcia said. "Tourists are adding to the problem because they feel guilty or want the children to go away." The documentary captures the everyday scenes of children living in the streets in Phnom Penh and ChildSafe Cambodia's efforts to educate locals and tourists. The organization says children are put at risk and into abusive situations in Phnom Penh because communities facilitate or ignore the signs of abuse. ChildSafe Cambodia works with community members to teach them ways to protect and educate children living on the streets in their areas. c.norlen@chronicle.utah.edu The Anti-Hunger Action Committee filed a lawsuit in federal court last week challenging an ordinance that places new limits on protests in residential neighborhoods. The law, passed by the Salt Lake City Council earlier this month, bans protesting within ioo feet of the residence being targeted. The legal action is the latest in a string of events that trace back to protests outside the homes of U researchers conducted by animal-rights activists from the Utah Primate Freedom Project, a group led by students who hope to end medical experimentation on animals. U administrators lobbied the city council to pass the measure because, spokespeople said, researchers felt threatened by the rowdy protests. Under the new ordinance, the Salt Lake anti-hunger group, which advocates for issues that affect lowincome residents, would be banned from an annual demonstration at the Governor's Mansion during the holiday season that involves singing satirical Christmas carols. Bill Tibbitts, director of the committee, said he was upset at the lack of opportunity for public comment and wants the city to "slow down and look at the issue more closely." The group has retained Salt Lake attorney Brian Barnard, who successfully represented them last year in a dispute with the state over leafleting at the Capitol Building. "The ordinance was poorly thought out and was a knee-jerk reaction (to the Utah Primate Freedom protests)," Barnard said. Barnard sees the council's decision as a response to pressure from the U. "The U says, 'jump,' and the council asks, 'How high?'" City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton said the pressure on the council to act quickly on the issue probably had more to do with the particular districts in which the protests occurred than with pressure from the U. "Sometimes it's about who you know," said Saxton, indicating that complaints from more affluent eastside neighborhoods were fielded by the council. Saxton, who voted against the ordinance, voiced concern about the new limits imposed by the ordinance. She represents District Four, an area in which no protests occurred. © "I'm personally uncomfortable with it. I've protested...and feel strongly that it is a protected right," she said. Councilman K. Eric Jergensen represents District Three, where protests by Utah Primate Freedom took place. Jergensen voted for the ordinance and believes it was an appropriate response to "preserve peace in private residences." When asked to comment on the speedy legal response by the antihunger group, Jergensen said the ordinance was "constitutionally defensible." He also dismissed the idea that the city council's action was a result of pressure from the U. Activists from the Utah Primate Freedom Project have demonstrated outside the homes of U researchers more than a dozen times in the last year. U student Jeremy Beckham, leader of the Utah Primate Freedom Project, said he is unconcerned with the new ordinance and will obey it while it is being appealed. He said his group is finding new ways to advocate for their issues. A press release from the group promises that "activities will resume and increase during the Fall Semester at the University of Utah." a.raymond@chronicle.utah.edu SCIENCE Freshmen face international requirement Parker Williams STAFF WRITER As the new semester begins, new students will have more to worry about than just finding their classes. Beginning this fall, incoming freshmen and transfer students will be required to take an approved international-themed class before they can graduate. The U's international programs website states that the requirement was designed "to give students a broad base of knowledge about global issues and about global perspectives." Although a diversity requirement is already in place at the U, administrators say it focuses on diversity in the United States. The international requirement will have an external focus. "Most people in other parts of the planet know something about the United States," said John Francis, associate director of under- graduate affairs. "We as Americans tend not to know as much about other places. If I were to say to an American, 'Tell me about...what's going on in Sri Lanka, Guinea, or Paraguay,' most Americans wouldn't be able to respond. But if I asked people from the same countries, 'Who is Anna Nicole Smith?' they're going to know." Even though the international requirement cannot double as the diversity requirement, it can be used to fulfill a requirement for a specific major. For example, students who take Biology 3460 or Global Environmental Issues can satisfy both the international requirement and the physical and life sciences requirement. Transfer students might be able to use a course they have taken elsewhere to satisfy the international requirement. Students who feel they have taken a course that would fulfill the international requirement can meet with student advisers and submit a petition for an exception to the requirement. A group of faculty comprising the International Requirement Committee will decide whether another institution's course can fulfill the requirement. Johanna Watzinger-Tharp, chair of the International Requirement Committee and associate dean of undergraduate studies, hopes students will not feel the new requirement is just another obstacle in their path toward graduation. "We don't want to implement a requirement and then have courses that students don't have good experiences in," Tharp said. As students fulfill the requirement and interest in international issues grows, Tharp said she hopes students look at other opportunities the U offers, such as study abroad programs. Many such programs offered at the U will fulfill the requirement. Students who were enrolled at the U prior to Fall Semester 2007 are exempt from the new requirement provided they graduate by 2013. After that point, all students will have to take an approved international-themed course. p.williams@chronicle.utah.edu it- |