< s > MERCYHURST COLLEGE HAMMERMILL UBRARY ERIE, PA. 16546-0001 f ertioDICAL LIBRARY USE ONLY Vo l 73 No. 13 16546 :ooo A c t i v i s t d e b a t e s U . S . - f u n d e d t r a i n i n g o f L a t i n m e r i c a n s o l d i e r s M U lo tr n l i n n ••• « • • •• • • ^ —n • i i * l^h-—^ i • 2 ' * **m^ By Dave Hermenau Features editor Before a packed Mercy Heritage Room Feb. 8, the Rev. Roy Bourgeois lectured on social justice in Latin America and later recei ved the Oscar Romero Award for his dedicat ion to the cause. Bourgeois is founder and co-director of the School of Americas Watch. The standing-room-only crowd consisted of both followers and critics of Bour- geois* cause. The School of the Americas is a U.S.-funded institution that trains Latin American military members, many of whom have committed numerous human rights atroci- ties. The school's graduates \ include the likes of Manuel Noriega^ ex-dictator of Panama and Salvador death squad leader Roberto D'Ambuisson. The gripe of Bourgeois and his followers is that die poor of Latin America are being oppressed, murdered and raped by dictators and soldiers trained in America by U.S. tax dollars. The sch ool's graduates, they argue, contribute to making a small elite group richerwhile f the poor get poorer. ^M I I I "It's a war against the poor," Bourgeois said prior to the I 1 presentation. Bourgeois traces the U.S. allot ment to the school, which he claims is close to $20 million a year, to our nation's multinational interests. "It's all * connected," he said, "to an economic system in the develop- ing world, and around the world, that really keeps a small elite very very wealthy and the vast f majority very poor." Bourgeois first learned of the | SOA upon the murder of human rights leader Archbishop Oscar Romero in H Sai vador by SOA graduates. Nationwide media coverage of the SOA came in November 1989 when six Jesuit priests, a young m othe r and her daughter where killed in the middle of the night at a university in El Salvador by graduates of the school. * '' Bourgeoisjbunded SOA Watch in 1990 and set up shop in a small apartment outsi de the gates of the school in Fort Benning, Ga. ' "We started with 10 of us, 10 years ago," said B ourgeois , "not knowing really what we were going to uncover. What we uncovered was a school of assass ins in our backyard." I Not all agree with Bourgeois and his followers. "Have you ever protested against Harvard?" a student asked r • i Gerrlt Shuffstall/Merclad photographer Dr. Joseph Qower presents Rev. Roy B ourgeoi s with the Archbish op Oscar Romero Award. Bourgeois is the founder of the School of Americas Watch, f , T * during the lecture. The student went on to explain that Un i bomber Theodore Kazinski was trained at Harvard Univer- sity and was responsible for the death of many people. The argument that the SOA is not responsible for the actions of its graduates is a common rebuttal against the movement to close the school. Bourgeois, who was a naval officer for four years and earned a Purple H eart fight ing in the Vietna m War, has certainly been on both sides of the fence " I himself. Imprisoned many times for his activism, B ourgeoi s realizes that he has opponents, yet is still grate ful for a set of ^open ears. He believes that the SOA is valuable for anyone to study. "I t's a teaching moment in a sense; we can look at the school of the Americas and we can learn about our foreign policy," said Bourgeois. $ For his work in educating people about injus tice i n Lat in 1 America and his dedication to humanrights,Mercyhurst's depart ment of philosophy and religious studies gave its annual Oscar Romero award to Bour- geois.-^* - ' 'f' ~f r* "The award recognizes an indivi dual or group that promotes the college s tradition of Catholic social teaching," Gower said. Despite the controversy surroundi ng the SOA, it is clear that Mercyhurst, with its Arch- bishop Oscar Romero Award, 1 was honoring a man not for his political affiliations or beliefs but for his dedication to the under- privileged of Latin America and for his efforts in justice an d huma n rights. I Gerrit Shuttstall/Merciadphotog Shawn Basile and Kate Cywinski pucker up for the Smooch-a-thon Saturday I at the Millcreek Mall. I I Smoochi ng scholars try to kissftheir way to Pari s Kissing your loved one took on a whole new meaning Saturday as three Mercyhurst students remained lip locked with their lover for 10 hours and 38 minutes as part of Star 104's "Smooch-a- thon 2000" at the Mi llcreek Mall. • To qual ify f or the event, the contestants had to be caller 14 after hearing the infamous smooching sound on STAR. t I Couples Kate Cywinski and Shawn Basile, and Diana Gettinger and Jason Fidora battled with 27 other couples for an all-expense-paid trip to Paris, France. The contest began at 10 a.m. By 6 p.m., only 9 couples remaine d. To make the contest harder, the contestants were no longer allowed to embrace. By 7 p.m., they had to hold their hands behind their backs, and at 8 p.m. they were no longer allowed to move. How do you prepare to kiss for over 10 hours? "We didn' t% kiss for a week," Basile said "The hardest part was standing there for so long. Around the fourth or fifth hour, my neck and back were so sore." Th e couples were not allowed to take a break for any reason without being disquali- fied. "I didn't eat or drink Friday oi Saturda y so I wouldn't have to go to the bathroom," Basile commented. Call it the power of love, call it passion — whatever it may be, only eight couples made it until 8:45 p.m. when they were fina lly allowed to stop kissing. The eight couples were drawn randomly to choose a French pastry, one of which was fill ed with cream, to determine the winners. Although the Mercyhurst student s did not have the luck of the draw, overall it was a Valentine's experience to remember. * "I don't think it was really fair that it came down to a pastry," Basile said. "It was a fun experi- ence, but I don* t think I w ould do it again for a couple years." Gerrlt Shuttstall/Merciad photographer Diana G etti ng er and Jason, Fidora kissed for 10 hours and 38 minutes during Star 104's Fourth Annual Smooch-a-thon.
