Suffolk University Alumni Magazine 2008/2009 - (Page 19) MAxInE HonG kInGSTon “WhaT CaN WE do to engage the young?” asks writer and professor Maxine hong kingston. “I come from UC Berkeley, and I notice the demonstrations are organized by the faculty, the white-haired people from the 60s. Back in the old days, it was the students who did it and yelled for the faculty to come out and join them.” Writing can be a political action, she says. “I have this faith that you write your story, you write your poem, and you can write your way home from war. you do public acts of writing and you get it out there so other people can hear it.” kingston’s books include The Fifth Book of Peace (2003), To Be the Poet (2002), and The Woman Warrior (1975). See related story: http://www.suffolk.edu/college/27013.html EMIl kIrCHnEr “ThE EurOpEaN uNiON is challenged by globalization, by the US, China and other coun- tries,” says emil kirchner, an international leader in the research and teaching of european politics. discussing the Treaty of Lisbon, developed in 2007 to govern and help the expanding eU respond to changing political and economic issues, he says the future of the eU is one of unity and diversity, with the eU able to accomplish more together than the countries could individually. “I think what we have in the eU is the equivalent of a security community—one where you have peaceful expectations and if there is a conflict it will be resolved peacefully. If we look at european history over centuries, this in itself is a big achievement.” See related story: http://www.sawyer.suffolk.edu/27792.html frAnCIS MoorE lAPPé CiTiNg ThE STaTiSTiC that 854 million people go hungry in the world each day, francis Moore Lappé, an internationally acclaimed social and environmental activist, remains devoted to the causes that propelled her into the public eye 30 years ago when she wrote the bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet. Still focusing on the social and economic systems that fail to produce fairness in the world, she advocates for “democracy as a living practice in which all voices are empowered—democracy as a way of life, a set of values and mutual accountability grounded in basic fairness and the inclusion of all of us.” She advises taking purposeful risks in life. “Trust,” she says. “And go into thin air.” See related story: http://www.suffolk.edu/ college/24275.html vIvIAn PInn WOmEN purSuiNg biOmEdiCal science careers often face challenges ranging from lack of female role models and mentors in their fields to family responsibilities, racial bias, and sexual discrimination. “We need to identify what the barriers are and see what we can do to make it an easier path for women,” says vivian W. Pinn, Phd, director of the office of research on Women’s health at the National Institutes of health (NIh). “Careers in science are so exciting; it brings you inner pride that you’ve been successful.” The recipient of nine honorary degrees of Law and Science since 1992, Pinn launched a web site through the NIh to promote the advancement of women in biomedical research careers (http://womeninscience.nih.gov). “If science turns you on, make sure those battles don’t keep you from doing what you love.” See related story: http://www.sawyer.suffolk.edu/27793.html HUGo SAlCEDo “mExiCaN ThEaTEr haS many pages still to write about the new faces of violence, drug cartels, kidnappings, and extortions,” says award-winning playwright hugo Salcedo, speaking through a translator after students gave a dramatic public reading of his most famous play, El viaje de los cantores/The Crossing, the tragic story of 18 Mexicans trying to cross the U.S. border illegally only to meet with their death trapped in a railroad boxcar. “Never before did the act of staring at an empty computer screen offer the possibility of writing topics of utmost importance.” Salcedo, also a poet, essayist, and critic, has written more than 40 plays that have been published and performed in the US, Mexico, france, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and venezuela. See related story: http://www.suffolk.edu/27755.htm www.suffolk.edu SUFFOLKARTS+SCIENCES//2008/2009 [19] http://www.suffolk.edu/college/27013.html http://www.sawyer.suffolk.edu/27792.html http://www.suffolk.edu/college/24275.html http://www.suffolk.edu/college/24275.html http://womeninscience.nih.gov http://womeninscience.nih.gov http://www.sawyer.suffolk.edu/27793.html http://www.suffolk.edu/27755.htm http://www.suffolk.edu
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