2 news The Beacon Monday, April 18, 2011

Lord’s Place rallies community Sailfish take on new

from SleepOut, page 1
in-patient treatment, she was re-
ferred to The Lord’s Place. A cur-
rent resident of The Lord’s Place’s
family campus, Swisher hopes to
one day become a substance abuse
therapist. “I can now handle my
son and not ignore and push him
off,” she said. “I’ve learned to be a
good parent, a better mother with
a brighter future.”
Beside testimonies of current
and former clients of The Lord’s
Place, SleepOut 2011 included per-
formances by the Young Singers of
the Palm Beaches, an acoustic set
by New York based guitarist Billy
Rogan, a screening of “The Blind-
side” and a sleep-out on the green
of the amphitheater to illustrate
the experience of being without a
home.
The night’s festivities concluded
with a candle lighting ceremony.
“As we’re together and hold up a
light,” Pamela McIver, SleepOut
chair, said, “we’re all homeless at
least for tonight.”
For The Lord’s Place board chair
and co-founder, Jack Scarola, the
battle against homelessness does
not end with a fund-raiser or one
organization. The power to end
homelessness lies in the hands of
the community.
“The hallmark of the program
would not be handouts but hands
up, neighbors helping neighbors,”
he said. “We have the power to
complete their transformation, to
assure that no man, no woman, no
child, no neighbor of ours in this
community will have to involun- Bill McDermott, who was once an alcoholic and drug
tarily suffer deprivation of their addict, is learning job skills at The Lord’s Place.
right to shelter.”
Chris Hernandez / Features Editor
rival, Beach Boys
On Sunday, April 17, the leg-
endary band The Beach Boys,
known for feel good summer jams
like “Surfin USA,” played a match
in the sand against the women’s
volleyball team of Palm Beach At-
lantic University. Later, the band’s
concert at the Kravis Center fea-
tured PBA’s cheerleaders on
stage during the hit song, “Be True
to Your School.”
Renowned scholar
to speak at PBA
Students and faculty at Palm
Beach Atlantic University will have
the rare opportunity to hear interna-
tionally renowned communication
ethicist Dr. Clifford G. Christians
on Wednesday, April 27. Christians
will speak from 10 a.m. to 10:50 in
the Helen K. Persson Recital Hall
in Vera Lea Rinker Hall. He will also

Students speak up about Libya

By Kelsey Satalino
Staff Writer
If you were quizzed right now on
current events, how much would you
know? The students of Dr. Craig Han-
son’s Humanities I class know the an-
swer to that question. Shortly after the
air strikes on Libya began, Hanson’s
students were asked: “On what coun-
try has the U.S., led by NATO forces,
been dropping bombs on this week?”
Only five out of 22 students knew
the answer. Even more shocking, only
half the class knew the name of the
vice president of the United States,
Joe Biden.
So, what exactly is going on in Lib-
ya? The conflict centers around dissat-
isfaction with the rule of Col. Muam-
mar al-Gaddafi, who has been Libya’s
leader since he overthrew King Idris
in 1969. In early February of this year,
political protests broke out against
Gaddafi’s government, quickly esca-
lating into an all-out rebellion. Gad-
dafi responded by attacking the rebel
army, claiming he was prepared to
“die a martyr” to put them down.
The United States’ involvement in
Libya has led many to wonder, what
is the United States’ role in foreign af-
fairs? I asked some of the more politi-
cally active students at PBA what they
thought.
Ricky Marc believes that “our role
is changing from arrogant unilateral
warmonger to diplomat and partner
as well as world power. I feel that we
are headed in the right direction with
Barack Obama at the helm, and the
future is bright provided we continue
to make the right moves.” He does add
that this role should be shared with
other countries and that the United
Nations should play a major role. “It
cannot just be us at work here.”
Others, like senior Katie Shupe, are
concerned with the constitutionality
of Obama’s actions.
“Under the War Powers Resolution,
the president of the United States has
the authority to enter us into war, but
only if there is an attack or an immedi-
ate threat to the United States,” Shupe
said. “Libya did not attack us, and it
poses no clear threat the United States.
It is tempting to try to justify Obama’s
actions by pointing to human suffer-
ing, but if he shows that he can usurp
authority in this case, what’s to stop
him from acting on his own agenda
“Wars cost money, and
with two still going on in
Iraq and Afghanistan, we
need to read carefully and
responsibly.”
-Marc
in other situations and gaining more
power than the founding fathers ever
meant any one American to have?”
Freshman Shelby Baker agrees that
the U.S. should be involved in Libya.
“We have taken a multilateral ap-
proach by consulting with the UN, and
NATO has taken over the air strikes,”
said Baker. “Obama has taken a stand
against Gaddafi and has asked him to
step down, yet he has not committed
the military to this goal. I think it is es-
sential that we are cautious with the
aid we offer since we have a reputa-
tion of being the world police, taking
an unequal portion of the Libyan bur-
den may strap us with a commitment
to give as much aid in the future when
the government will be in dire need of
restructure.”
Shupe, on the other hand, wonders
how we are to decide when to get in-
volved. “There are equally horrifying
atrocities going on in many other plac-
es, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Jordan, the Ivory Coast,” Shupe said.
“We do not have the ability to single-
handedly save the world, which is all
the more reason why humanitarian ef-
forts should be thought out thorough-
ly and not just enacted at one man’s
whim.”
“While I feel we should be able to
come to the aid of people fighting for
democracy against powerful regimes
aimed at pointing in opposite direc-
tions,” added Marc, “we must do so in
a way that will enable our economy to
remain strong as it occurs. Wars cost
money, and with two still going on
in Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to
tread carefully and responsibly.”
As the weeks go by, the crisis in Libya
still goes on. NATO continues to send
missiles in areas full of pro-Gaddafi
forces, where threats to civilians are
greatest. These air strikes have also
resulted in the deaths of some rebels
and Libyan civilians. On April 11, the
rebels rejected a plan for a cease-fire
proposed by the African Union, be-
cause it did not call for the complete
removal of Gaddafi, his sons and his
inner circle.
Whatever you believe the United
States’ role in Libya should be, Baker
said we need to be aware of what is
going on. “I hope everyone on this
campus is aware of the struggles that
lie outside our borders and that we re-
member to keep these countries and
the people of these countries in our
prayers,” Baker said.
address attendees at the commu-
nication banquet that evening.
Christians teaches philosophy
of communication at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and serves as editor of a scholarly
publication called THE ELLUL FO-
RUM. PBA professor Dr. Stepha-
nie Bennett called Christians “one
of the most brilliant and generous
scholars in the country.”
“He was the ‘outside reader’ for
my dissertation,” Bennett said. “Dr.
Christians is truly a scholar and a
gentleman. He helped me advance
my doctoral work as I pressed in
to understand the scholarship of
Jacques Ellul, a 20th century so-
cial theorist and theologian from
France.”
Bennett is confident that hearing
Christians speak will be “one of the
highlights of the academic year.”
PBA enjoys
international
cultures
from Diversity, page 1
“I don’t think that there are any bar-
riers between the majority and minor-
ity going on,” said Sam Yang, a Tai-
wanese freshman. “Being a minority I
fit right in and I think it’s great.”
Ricky Marc, an African American
student, said that since the school year
began, he has noticed a lot more of the
minorities being enrolled, more blacks
and Hispanics, and thinks it is a good
thing for the university.
“I think it better serves the climate
here and it is great that the school is
becoming more diverse,” Marc said.
“The growth in population of mi-

Information posted online is public, calls for caution

By Andrea Preciado
Staff Writer
As technology improves, so does the security for various
online programs. Facebook has updated security settings
multiple times, but despite improved security, information
has still leaked out on occasion.
Whenever information is contributed to the Internet, it’s
like putting that information on the walls of a city, “like bill-
boards,” said Dr. Stephanie Bennett, associate professor of
communication and media studies at Palm Beach Atlantic
University.
“Anything that you put on the net, whether it’s on Face-
book or any other social network, or a blog, or a website of
any sort, you have to do it knowing it could be made public
at any time,” Bennett said. That public venue, the Internet,
“used to be called the information superhighway,” she said.
Author of “Communicating Love: Staying close in a 24/7
Media Saturated Society,” Bennett is well familiar with the
concern of Internet security in this day and age. Although
information security is a huge issue, one of her critical con-
cerns with such technology in our lives is how we become
less personal in real life.
“We are very much eroding the fabric of our relation-
ships in the same way that the saltwater erodes the shore-
lines,” Bennett said. “We are giving away the most signifi-
cant and meaningful things in our lives, but not willingly.”
Bennett fears that we are letting things fade and be given
away “piece by piece” as we redefine different terms, like
the term “friend” on Facebook, since it is not the same thing
it meant 20 years ago.
norities makes the university a better
school all around.”
Many of the black students are from
Caribbean countries such as the Baha-
mas, Jamaica, Haiti, Cayman Islands
and Trinidad, just to name a few.
In addition to Hispanics and blacks,
the Asian population is growing more
rapidly as well. Students come to
America from countries such as Viet-
nam, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Ko-
rea, Japan and more.
“It is the duty of the university’s of-
fice of international and multicultural
programs to tend to these types of stu-
dents, making them feel welcomed and
helping them to adjust to the environ-
ment,” Chavez said.