I
am writing to thank the great many staff and
faculty members who participated in last week's
kickoff of the university's Campus Campaign. All
of us — staff, faculty members, and retirees — who
are volunteers on this campaign greatly appreciate
your enthusiastic participation. The spirit that
afternoon was wonderful. If we can make that
spirit contagious throughout the campus, we should
have no trouble achieving our goal of getting 100
percent of the faculty, staff members, and
retirees from the university to give something to
the campaign. As we said at the kickoff, every
contribution is important, no matter what
size. For those of you who were not at the
kickoff or who did not have the chance to read
your invitation, the Campus Campaign is the staff
and faculty portion of the largest fund-raising
campaign in the UI's history. It is the largest
not only in terms of the monetary goals but also
in terms of the great range of projects to benefit
students, staff, and faculty that the money will
support. If you would like to learn more about the
Campus Campaign, as I hope you do, we will be
holding information sessions over the next few
months at various spots on campus. Watch your
bulletin boards and notices from your department
for details of times and places, or check the UI
Foundation's campaign Web site at
GoodBetterBestIowa.org. I hope and trust that
the spirit that permeated the kickoff celebration
last week will grow and spread throughout the
campus, infecting every employee of our
university, thus ensuring the success of this
campaign. Sam Becker, UI professor emeritus
A murderous bullet
The Daily Iowan
owes it to Lana, Sa'ed, Ra'ed, and Rami Abu-Hijleh
and Jayne Finch (five UI alumni) to at least
report on the story of their mother's
(mother-in-law in Jayne's case) murder by the
Israeli army on Oct. 11 in Nablus, Palestine.
Shaden Abu-Hijleh was sitting with her son
Sa'ed and her husband, Jamal, on their porch
embroidering when an Israeli military Jeep
(enforcing a military curfew for the 112th day)
suddenly stopped in front of their house and
opened fire without any provocation, murdering
Shaden with a single hateful wicked bullet to the
heart and wounding Sa'ed and his father.
Shaden was a teacher, a peace and social
activist who loved all people. Above all she was a
human being. She was not the first Palestinian
murdered in this brutal way, and I'm afraid, she
will not be the last (definitely not since Oct.
11). Earlier in April this year, another UI
alumnus, Tom Koutsoukos, was detained and
psychologically tortured by the Israeli army as he
was trying to get food and medicine to the
Palestinians under siege in the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem. It seems that the
Israeli occupation is hitting closer and closer to
home here in peaceful Iowa City. I wonder, what
would it take for us to call for the end of the
Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories
and to stand up for peace and justice? Do we have
to wait until we see Israeli tanks rumbling down
Washington Street? Osama Saba Coralville
resident
Bemoanin' my loanin'
As
someone who will have student loans to repay after
leaving the UI, I was shocked to find that I will
have limited flexibility in refinancing my student
loans. Under the current law, some students and
graduates with student loans do not have the same
ability to refinance their loans as others do.
Many of us are prohibited from dealing with
lenders who offer better loan rates and repayment
schedules. We are required to work only with the
original lender. This is analogous to requiring
homeowners to refinance their mortgages, but only
through their original lender, which basically
defeats the purpose of refinancing. This
provision of the Higher Education Act must be
changed to allow consumers to have the best
options available in repaying our student loans. I
urge Iowa's congressional delegation to support
Iowa's students and eliminate this anti-student
provision of the Higher Education Act. Sherene
M. Judeh UI student
Home
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
