Local seniors honored by Comcast
The Comcast Foundation, founded in 1999 to provide charitable support to its local communities and to empower and enrich lives, is awarding 53 Virginia high school seniors scholarships through its annual Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program. The program, one of the Comcast Foundation’s signature community investment programs, recognizes students’ leadership skills, academic achievement and commitment to community service.
Comcast was joined by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to recognize the students at a special event held at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond yesterday. Fifty-two of the Leaders and Achievers recipients received $1,000 scholarships and Theodore Flowers of Potomac Falls High School in Sterling was awarded a $10,000 Comcast Founders Scholarship – instituted in honor of Ralph J. Roberts, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Comcast Corporation – for a total of $62,000 awarded to Virginia students this year. After a prize drawing, five students were also given an iPad to use at college.
Local students honored were Brooke Reade of Stuarts Draft High School, Mark Gordon of Spotswood High School, Krysta Trout of Riverheads High School and Seth Austin of Waynesboro High School.
“These students serve as role models for other young people across the state, and we thank them for their hard work and contributions to their communities,” said Cuccinelli. “I am grateful to Comcast for providing these students, our future leaders, with the help they need and deserve to continue their education and create bright futures for themselves and our state.”
“Comcast is focused on giving back to our communities and providing our youth with opportunities for personal growth and professional success,” said Tom Coughlin, regional senior vice president. “We are pleased to recognize these outstanding students for their achievements and wish them the best of luck as they pursue their dreams.”
The Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program provides one-time $1000 scholarships to students who strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools, and who serve as models for their fellow students. The philosophy behind the program is to give young people every opportunity to be prepared for the future, to engage youth in their communities, and to demonstrate the importance of civic involvement and the value placed on civic involvement by the business community.
Since the program’s inception there have been over 15,000 scholarship winners totaling more than $15.4 million.
Bridgewater professor receives “Top 5 Under 35″ award
For her professional achievements and community contributions, Holly C. Ratwani, an associate professor of business administration at Bridgewater College, was awarded a “Top 5 Under 35″ recognition from Disclosures, the bi-monthly magazine of the Virginia Society of Certified Professional Accountants (VSCPA).
The recognition is annually awarded to five CPAs under the age of 35 who have excelled in one or more of the following categories: professional achievement, VSCPA accomplishment, community contributions and/or dedication to the CPA profession. Ratwani, who was cited for her outstanding leadership and advancement in the field of accounting, as well as for her support of the community, will be showcased in a special section of the July/August issue of Disclosures.
“I was very honored to receive such an award by the VSCPA,” said Ratwani, who lives in Fishersville. “It is only through the encouragement of family that I have been able to advance in the field of accounting and be a source of encouragement to others. I love teaching my students at Bridgewater College and assisting them with job placement prior to graduation. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Ratwani is a 1999 graduate of Bridgewater College who earned her master of accountancy degree in taxation from Virginia Tech. She received her MBA from University of Maryland University College. She was licensed as a CPA by the Virginia Board of Accountancy in 2005 and began teaching at Bridgewater College in 2002.
Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to approximately 1,700 undergraduate students.
EMU launches community health pilot project
Kate Clark, coordinator for the new community health services project, reviews protocols with (l. to r. around table): Reem Mohammed, Tina Beachy, Paloma Saucedo and Salime Almanzar. Photo by Lindsey Kolb
The scenario is commonplace. A young mother or couple, perhaps new to the area and not fluent in English, has what is perceived as an emergency health care situation with their child and either doesn’t know where to turn or shows up at the hospital emergency room. There, it is discerned that the “urgent” need really wasn’t a crisis.
This situation, repeated in towns and cities everywhere, may be addressed and eased locally through a community health worker pilot project being launched in June.
The nursing program at Eastern Mennonite University and the Harrisonburg Community Health Center (HCHC) have been awarded a $115,000 grant to train lay persons to be “front line workers” on the HCHC health services team. The funds from a private foundation were provided by Dr. Arthur (Tim) Garon, provost at the University of Virginia
Ann G. Hershberger, professor of nursing at EMU, set up the pilot training program in cooperation with HCHC officials.
According to Dr. Hershberger, EMU’s nursing department will manage the project, working in conjunction with HCHC in an eight-week training program for the four health care workers as well as a two-week field/clinic training program
Kate Cockley Clark, who has been hired as project coordinator, is a 2007 graduate of EMU with a BS in nursing and graduated May 21 from the University of Virginia with a MSN degree in public health nursing. She is also joining EMU’s nursing department faculty part time this fall, teaching community health and introductory undergraduate clinicals.
“The primary aim of this project is to assist local individuals and families who need some extra attention to navigate the health care system, and particularly ” Clark said. “We believe that EMU was approached to start this program because it fits with the university’s mission and service values.
“Experience with similar projects in other locales has shown this to be a cost-effective program,” she added.
Clark has led an eight-week training sessions at EMU using available curricula with the four community health workers. They will also complete a two-week field-clinic training session with HCHC. Clark will continue to supervise the workers and provide followup training when they begin working.
The community health care workers who are completing training are Paloma Saucedo, a native of Mexico who is fluent in English and Spanish; Salime Almanzar (Spanish/English) from the Dominican Republic; Reem Mohammed from Iraq (English/Arabic); and Tina Beachy (English/Kurdish).
Once the program is under way in June, the workers will proactively make calls and visits and respond to family calls. Their training enables them to follow protocols for about 25 different common health conditions as well as work with families to develop health plans and goals to promote and improve health.
The initial project will run one year, and funding is being sought to extend the life of the program.
“This program will not only improve the health of participating families, but will also promote health in the broader community,” Clark said. “By teaching healthy practices and lifestyles, the community health workers will not only affect the lives of the families they are directly working with, but also the friends, relatives and neighbors of those families.
“The collaborative nature between HCHC and EMU adds strength to the program,” Clark added. Both EMU and HCHC are well established and trusted organizations in the Harrisonburg community. In working together, they can more effectively meet their mutual goal of improving and promoting health for the local community.”
Verizon works to improve service in Augusta area
Verizon Wireless recently activated two new cell sites in Augusta County that expand wireless voice and 3G data coverage. The first site brings improved coverage to the town of Crimora, and the second site improves coverage in Staunton, near the intersection of Interstate 81 and Interstate 64.
Expanded 3G capacity in Augusta County lets more customers using tablets, laptops or smartphones instantly download the latest apps, music, videos or 3D games; rapidly browse the Web to keep up with news, sports, stock quotes; send and receive emails in real-time as well as open and download attachments; enjoy turn-by-turn navigation; and more.
The increased coverage is part of the company’s aggressive multibillion-dollar network investment each year to stay ahead of the growing demand for Verizon Wireless’ voice and data services. Last year alone, the company spent $347 million on regional network improvements, bringing total network investment in the region since 2000 to more than $2.6 billion.
“More and more people rely on smartphones and 3G apps to manage their busy lives and stay connected at home or on-the-go,” said Mike Maiorana, Verizon Wireless regional president. “We’re committed to continuously improving our network to provide our customers with the 3G advantage, coverage and speed they want and need.”
Verizon Wireless has the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G broadband network which makes advanced services like turn-by-turn navigation, over-the-air downloads of the latest applications, text/picture messaging, video and music downloads, web browsing and 3D gaming possible. Mobile Broadband customers in enhanced broadband wireless coverage areas can expect average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps. Customer demand for these advanced services continues to grow.
In addition to enhancing its 3G network, Verizon Wireless has deployed its 4G LTE Network in 55 major metropolitan areas and 60 commercial airports coast to coast covering one-third of all Americans. The company will continue to expand its 4G footprint to include more than 175 markets by year-end 2011, and its entire 3G coverage area by the end of 2013. Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE wireless network is the fastest and most advanced 4G network in America and offers speeds up to 10 times faster than the current 3G network.
Local church gives away $12,500 at Sunday service
Cornerstone Church of Augusta gave away $12,500 to youth and adults at the close of Sunday morning’s service, in sealed envelopes each containing a $50 bill and a set of instructions.
This surprise move marked the end of a 40-day “faith raising” campaign, during which members were encouraged to fast and pray, entreating God to move mountains in their lives individually and corporately.
Although part of the campaign’s focus was to retire the remaining mortgage debt of $850,000, the main focus was on raising the level of faith, as members trust God and see Him working in their lives. Members who wished to participate in retiring the debt returned commitment cards indicating how God was leading them to contribute to the “Debt Destruction Campaign,” yet no one expected to receive $50.
The mood was reverent as people came forward at the end of the service to receive their envelope, not knowing what was inside, and instructed to wait to open it until leaving the property.
In the enclosed instructions, Senior Pastor Greg Mayo wrote, “What you have received is a seed of faith. This $50 bill has the potential to be multiplied many times over as you walk with God, sow in faith, and give out of obedience. I have been teaching for many weeks about the spiritual law of sowing and reaping. I have encouraged you to consider God’s economic system of generosity over the world’s economic system of greed. So today Cornerstone Church is putting its faith where its mouth is.”
“Our responsibility was to obey God and give you this $50. It is your responsibility to figure out what to do with it. Since this money was taken from our Building Fund, our hope is that you will give what you reap from it to our ‘Debt Destruction’ campaign. We have no expectation of how you will spend it or invest it. I believe in you and my trust is in God.”
Cornerstone Church of Augusta is used to unconventional ways of ministry. In 2004, the Young Warriors Wrestling Association was born out of a dream to train the hearts of young men, while at the same time training their minds and bodies in the discipline of this demanding sport. In just seven short years, the program has grown to over 100 boys, and is well known as a premier wrestling club in the area. Cornerstone members cheerfully stack their chairs each Sunday morning of wrestling season, and roll out the mats for a week of training.
Another unconventional ministry is the Free Riders Motorcycle Ministry, a fellowship and outreach arm of Cornerstone Church. Members and guests come together frequently during the spring, summer, and fall to spend an afternoon, a day, or even a week riding together. They’ve toured such scenic places as Bald River Falls in Cherokee National Forest, and the “Tail of the Dragon” in Deals Gap, North Carolina.
More information on these ministries and more can be found on the church website at www.cornerstoneaugusta.org.
Prince William school officials agree to remove LGBT web filter in response to ACLU complaint
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia have received confirmation from the Prince William County School Board that it is deactivating web filtering software that blocks students’ access to educational information geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
The school board’s decision came approximately six weeks after the ACLU sent a demand letter as part of the “Don’t Filter Me” program, an ACLU initiative designed to combat unconstitutional censorship of LGBT information on public school computer systems around the country.
Software provided by filtering companies to public schools frequently includes a filter specifically designed to censor LGBT-related information. Such filters are entirely separate from legitimate filters used to block sexually explicit or pornographic websites.
The ACLU was informed through the “Don’t Filter Me” program that Prince William County school officials had activated the LGBT filter on its Blue Coat Systems software, leaving students, teachers and others who use the schools’ computers unable to access educational LGBT and anti-bullying resources such as GSA Network, Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, and the It Gets Better Project.
“We commend Prince William school officials for removing this discriminatory LGBT filter, which serves no purpose but to deprive students of important educational materials and resources,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “Of course, if the software company the school used had not provided them with the tools to specifically censor LGBT websites this might never have occurred.”
Last week, a widely used filtering company, Lightspeed System, announced that it would remove a similar software filter that blocks access to educational LGBT websites. Five filtering companies, including Blue Coat, continue to use specialized filters designed to censor LGBT content that is not pornographic or sexually explicit.
This is not the first time Blue Coat’s LGBT filter has exposed its clients to legal liability. In 2009, two Tennessee school districts agreed to disable the LGBT filter on their Blue Coat software after being sued by the ACLU. In 2010, a Maryland school district agreed to disable its LGBT filter after receiving a demand letter from the ACLU. During this year’s “Don’t Filter Me” campaign, schools in New Jersey and Texas agreed to disable their LGBT filter after being contacted by the ACLU.
“We hope that Blue Coat follows Lightspeed’s lead and removes the ‘LGBT’ filter, which serves no educational purpose and is designed to discriminate against LGBT viewpoints,” said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT Project. “The vast majority of school districts have no desire to discriminate against LGBT-related content and are simply trying to protect their students from pornographic or sexually explicit materials. Why should a software company include a feature that could be mistakenly activated and cause the school to violate the Constitution? By failing to step in to remove the ‘LGBT’ filter, Blue Coat is doing a disservice to its customers and the students they serve.”
When used by a public school, programs that block all LGBT content not only violate the First Amendment right of free speech, but also the federal Equal Access Act, which prohibits public schools from viewpoint discrimination in the allocation of resources for extracurricular clubs. Under the Equal Access Act, student gay-straight alliances and LGBT support groups must be allowed access to national organizational websites that help them function, just as other groups, such as the Key Clubs and the chess clubs, are able to use their national websites for assistance.
RMH Healthcare and Sentara celebrate merger with ceremonial signing
RMH and Sentara officials celebrated the finalization of their recent merger with a ceremonial signing and reception for staff and guests as well as a presentation of donations to two local community health agencies.
“Today, we bring together two outstanding healthcare organizations, each of whom is firmly committed to providing high-quality care, ensuring patient safety and delivering exceptional customer service…each of whom has excellent staff and physicians…each of whom shares a common vision for the future of healthcare,” said Sentara CEO David L. Bernd. “As part of Sentara Healthcare, together, all of us can deliver on the promise embodied in every corner of this new hospital…the promise to bring top-notch care to this community for generations to come.”
RMH President Jim Krauss noted, “RMH is, and always has been, a strong organization. We will be even stronger through this partnership with Sentara. Together, we are better equipped to face the uncertainties of national healthcare reform and other pressures, known and yet unknown, that hospitals must contend with. Together we will further our mission to improve health and promote wellbeing, and our vision to provide exceptional quality and compassionate care for every person, every family, every day.”
Krauss thanked the RMH Board of Directors for having “the courage and foresight to make bold decisions to ensure RMH’s ability to provide exceptional quality and compassionate care to our growing and diverse community for a second century.”
Bernd and Krauss presented $500,000 ceremonial checks to Keith Gnagey, executive director, Harrisonburg Rockingham Free Clinic, and Chris Nye, executive director, Harrisonburg, Community Health Center. Krauss also thanked Sentara for funding a $5 million endowment that will be overseen by the RMH Foundation.
“We are grateful for the continued support of the community we serve,” Krauss said. “We have a unique relationship with our community that Sentara appreciates and respects. And on behalf of the community, I want to thank Sentara for the $5 million endowment which will be invested for the next three years and used to improve the health of our community.”
In welcoming special guests Carter Melton, past RMH president and CEO, and his wife, Connie, Krauss said, “Through Carter’s leadership with RMH for 34 years, we have a strong foundation to build upon.”
RMH is the ninth hospital in the Sentara Healthcare system of not-for-profit hospitals. The merger was official May 1.
“Our partnership with RMH will help to enable you to do what you do best–care for your friends and neighbors in this community,” noted Bernd. “From bringing new babies into the world in a nurturing environment, to providing compassionate care for hospice patients at the end of life and everything in between, we stand committed to serve everyone in this community with exceptional healthcare.”
David Reynolds: A wild dream?
Virginia created the problem. Isn’t it time the commonwealth solved it? No other state has small independent cities barely able to survive, but too proud to die. So they struggle with high taxes, marginal services and a check from Richmond to run the schools. Put it this way: Virginia’s independent cities with fewer than 25,000 population are too small to possess economies of scale.
What should these small cities do, assuming town status (merging with the surrounding county) is too sensible a solution and therefore off the table?
The first step is to take a page out of Mr. Jefferson’s playbook: put the government in the hands of the people. Allow the citizens to directly manage their small independent city. And in the process abolish representative government! Don’t touch that mouse. Allow me to explain.
Over the years our fair cities have had many problems. However, the overriding one is that local government has failed the people’s needs and wishes. Representative democracy has not worked. And the feds and the state, with good intentions, have left them with a welfare mentality. School systems where localities pay only half or less of operating costs will do that.
It is no time for timidity. Local voter turnout has been a disgrace. With pure democracy this will change. There will be referendums on just about everything, more than on any California ballot. And the fire house can put away the bingo cards. There’s more to do between fires. How about town meetings? For stay-at-homes, one keystroke, one vote should do it. PC’s can do more than drive game apps and send bad jokes into space.
Yes, my friends, don’t just dream of New England town meetings. Just do it. In Virginia! How else are we going to address the growing weakness in American government? It is not that government is necessarily too big — it is too distant. So let’s bring back federalism!
Step two: couple pure democracy with new city charters. If charter schools are the answer to failing public schools, charter cities are the way to inject new life into tired old towns.
Isn’t it time we buried John Forrest Dillion? After all, he wasn’t even a Virginian and he died in 1914! But his silly 1868 rule that states have preeminence over local governments should have been abolished with the Soviet Union. By getting rid of the Dillion Rule we can “Set _________ (fill in your favorite dying independent city) free!” How’s that for a bumper sticker?
Yes, we can do it! That is, with the help of block grants from Richmond — not through higher city taxes. Remember, residents can always vote with their feet. Lower taxes are often just on the other side of those city limits signs.
Just a couple of ideas from a crazy scribe. Or not so wild a dream?
Column by David Reynolds
Jim Bishop: Memories, pressed between the pages of our lives
On this Memorial Day weekend, I ask openly, why are memories so important to us earthlings?
Maybe that’s not the proper way to phrase the question. Some people may go out of their way to suppress certain memories. For others, their minds are playing nasty tricks on them as victims of Alzheimer’s disease.
I need memories – we all do, I believe – not to push us back into living in the past, which is all too easy to do, but to help nourish and uphold us as we deal with the numerous challenges and hassles that occupy our lives in the present moment and in facing the future unknown.
Most of my recurring memories focus on family. When a loved one departs this life, such as my mom and dad, I reflect often on the guidance, values and unbridled love they gave us siblings and treasure that legacy.
The 1930’s-era Crosley floor model radio (that still works) that once occupied space in the living room of my paternal grandparents, Walter S. and Priscilla Bishop, now stands like an electronic sentry in our living room. I’ll occasionally turn it on, wait for the giant vacuum tubes to warm up and tune in a Philadelphia AM radio station that comes booming in at night. It reminds me of “Nana” – Grandpa Bishop died in 1943, two years before my birth – and especially the many hour in my childhood spent seated in a chair in her third floor apartment, listening intently to radio serials on that mammoth super heterodyne.
Back in my home community earlier this year for the sixth annual Bishop cousins ScrappleFest, I spent about an hour with cousins Jon and Don Smith in the expansive graveyard at the Doylestown Mennonite Church. Mental images repeatedly surfaced from the decade that our family lived next door to the church (1952-62) and the many hours we siblings rode bikes on the narrow macadam paths, stopping to read names and epitaphs on weathered tombstones.
It’s amazing how an event, or even someone’s offhand comment, can trigger a song in my melody-clogged mind. Wife Anna remarked how great it was for the sun to reappear, however briefly, after nearly a week of clouds and nonstop downpours and from nowhere came the words to a song:
“Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for him each day,
In every way try to please him, at home, at school at play . . .”
I couldn’t believe it; this tune from childhood Sunday school days had vanished for decades, and suddenly I was again bellering the words and melody. Without a pause, the chorus burst forth as well:
“A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam,
A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for him.”
It works the other way too. A song from my teenage years suddenly invades my cerebral cortex, i.e., “Decided (By the Angels)” by Ronnie Dawson from 1960 played on radio station KQV, Pittsburgh, and I recollect scenes from that memorable summer on staff at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Westmoreland County, Pa.
“Sea Cruise,” a 1959 swamp rock ditty from Frankie Ford, immediately conjures up listening by the hour to WIBG radio 99, Philadelphia, on my Silvertone six-transistor radio. On one occasion, this rockin’ ditty was blasting over the public address system while I cleaned the sanctuary of the Doylestown Mennonite Church and the bishop, Joe Gross, appeared unexpectedly. My dad saw to it that that episode would not repeat itself.
Or play “Maybe You’ll Be There” by Billy & the Essentials, one of my favorite oldies from 1962 and I visualize cruising the roads of Bucks County, Pa., with my buddies with freshly-minted driver’s license in hand. It would be the last relatively carefree period of life before entering our senior year of high school and needing to start thinking about what we might eventually want to do with our bucolic existence.
More serious music, such as hearing a work from my favorite classical composer, Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, stirs up memories – not all fond –of weekly piano lessons with Mr. Partsch, or the hymn, “Be Still My Soul” (from Silelius’ Finlandia), conjures up fond reminiscences of my late father, J. Vernon Bishop. My brother Michael Bishop led this stirring selection and soloed on several verses at his funeral in 1998.
I take many photos, and have for years, and try to keep them updated in albums with captions. Paging through an album or watching a home video from long ago isn’t often easy to view, because I’m reminded of how fast the time flies.
When we come together, for a reunion or similar group gathering, much time is given to reliving memories that help us to celebrate the good times and shared values that bind us together.
Memories, of the way we were, can stir our hearts and minds and help provide strength and resolve for the journey ahead. All aboard!
Jim Bishop is public information officer at Eastern Mennonite University. He can be contacted at bishopj@emu.edu.
Nan Russell: Natural inspiration
The hints commenced with the changing landscape, traversed by dramatic colors and intriguing rock formulations. I should have expected it. Although the travel guide provided a glimpse of what was coming, I was still not prepared for the majestic beauty and expansive, as-far-as-you-could-see, dramatic terrain of Bryce Canyon National Park.
Hoodoos Cast Their Spell, the headline in the official park newspaper touted. The hoodoos it referred to were the natural columns of fantastically shaped rocks caused by thousands of years of erosion. They stood like proud Terracotta Warriors, and they did, indeed, cast their spell on me – a spell of inspiration.
Now granted, I’m often inspired by nature. A summer’s drive on Going-to-the-Sun road in Glacier Park does it every time. But so will a walk in the woods, new spring growth, fall leaves, or summer wildflowers. I’m awed by waterfalls, and mountain lakes, and crashing waves. I’m fascinated with clouds and volcanoes; giraffes and hummingbirds. Nature uplifts and renews me.
But, so does another kind of nature. The one inherent in each of us. I’m inspired by my four year old granddaughter’s approach that practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes possible, as she tackles jumping from play equipment dozens and dozens of times until she can do it her way. I’m inspired by her seventeen month old sister, whose zoom-in focus on details and joyful perspective on everything toddler, keeps me laughing.
I’m inspired by a stranger who stopped on a rainy night to change my flat tire; by the kindhearted caregivers whose gentle ways ease my aged mother’s dwindling journey; by those affected by abuse, tragedy, illness, or hardship who offer their hearts and their hands to help someone whose pain might not be visible to most of us. I’m inspired by teachers, and poets, and musicians and writers, by nurses and cooks, by moms and dads – by ordinary people.
There’s a paperweight I saw recently that read, “Believe in the best version of yourself.” I’m inspired by those people who bring the best version of themselves to their life. I know there’s a best version of me that I’m still working on.
Sometimes I see a glimpse of who she is; sometimes I can’t find her. I can get lost in the stuff of life, the details and stresses of living, and miss life’s inspirations and connectivity along the way. I can allow small hurts or inconsequential differences to grow or fester, clouding my view. And I can let the barrage of 24/7 news with heinous deeds, outrageous greed, lying, manipulation, and dark side events skew my perspective and optimism.
But then, in the scheme of things, it’s a stranger’s kindness, a wrinkled couple walking hand-in hand, a baby’s smile, a friend’s encouraging words, a bird’s song, or an emerging flower that touches me and brings me back. That’s when I know it’s time to pause and notice, once again, the wonderful world we share.
Inspiration is everywhere. Beauty is everywhere. Kindness is everywhere. It’s in the people I know and the world I live in. Sometimes, I just need a moment to remind myself and reconnect.
Weekend Watchdog: Final Four, part 4
Memorial Day weekend means fast cars in Indianapolis and Charlotte.
And, recently, the University of Virginia in the NCAA lacrosse championship Final Four.
The Cavaliers reached the Final Four for the fourth straight year, and will face Denver Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2. The other semifinal matches ACC rivals Maryland and Duke at 6:30 p.m. The winners battle Monday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Virginia is going for its fourth national lacrosse championship, but has fallen in the semifinals the past three trips. The Cavaliers last won it all in 2006. Read more
Latest AFP News
-
AFP builds web video promoting Waynesboro Y - Chris Graham: A catastrophe in the making
- Poll: Virginians oppose 'fox penning'
- House subcommittee votes to remove abortion funding for low-income women
- VMI wins at Radford, 65-60
- Spring Fashion Debut: Spoiling you is her business
- UVa. bounces back, bests Boston College, 66-49
- Dukes get big win over Tribe, 59-47
-
Justin Broyles: Youth, unemployment and the Internet
Posted on May 26, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Spain is currently in a dire economic downturn. The nation is beset by crippling debt, facing major austerity measures, and rocking an unemployment rate of 21 percent. The unemployment rate among people under 25 is a whopping 45 percent and has helped contribute to the frustration shown by Spain’s “Lost Generation.” The young Spanish protesters have refused to align with political parties and tend to favor a political stance independent of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and People’s Party that currently dominate the Spanish political scene.
Regardless of their refusal to affiliate with either major party, the youth movement in Spain has helped to greatly reduce the control the Socialists once had over the country and help the conservative People’s Party gain political positions in previous Socialist strongholds during Sunday’s local elections. Now Prime Minister Zapatero has an uphill fight to keep his party in power during the general election next March.
The May-15 movement has proven to be well organized and employs the internet as a major source of information and organization. The use of social-networking sites like Twitter and Facebook has allowed for the movement to rally support at demonstrations and coordinate easily in ways that were previously impossible to manage. The pages on Facebook put up by organizers ballooned in size and began to increase by the thousands daily. Webcams were set up overlooking protests in la Puerta del Sol in Madrid, and live streams of the crowds could be viewed on the Internet. Thousands of protesters in Madrid are connected with protesters in town squares throughout Spain. The Internet proved to be key in the organization of these protests that have rocked Spain.
The Internet is clearly represented in the protests with a myriad of popular internet memes being visible on the signs of many of the protesters. Guy Fawkes masks, as made famous in the film version of Alan Moore’s graphic novel V for Vendetta, are a common sight among protesters and it is clear that the international culture of the Internet has its own influence among the youthful protesters.
While the protests in Spain seem to be dwindling, a wave was carried out to Greece and other nations struggling in the current economic climate. Protests in Greece are certainly not a new occurrence, but the new wave of protests are in solidarity with Spain who suffer from similar circumstances that are even more dire than the problems faced in Spain.
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with justin broyles, spain internet protests, staunton va, university of mary washington