Study abroad program participation decreases
Some UNC-system schools have seen a decline in participation for study abroad programs as a result of financial strains, and they are rethinking their joint ventures with international universities.
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Some UNC-system schools have seen a decline in participation for study abroad programs as a result of financial strains, and they are rethinking their joint ventures with international universities.
Dambisa Moyo tells it like it is when it comes to Africa. Avoiding glossing over the problems, she expresses the harsh reality that persists throughout the continent.“We need to take a good hard look on what is happening across Africa. Aid has absolutely failed,” Moyo said in a call to arms to change the approach of the direction of aid given to Africa.She gave an hour-long presentation Wednesday at the Friday Center to a packed crowd. The lecture was part of the Business Across Borders series run by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise within the business school.Moyo has been a major figure on the African aid debate since she released her book, “Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa,” last year. The book became a New York Times best-seller, and she has since been named to the 2009 Time magazine list of the 100 most influential people of the year.Moyo, a native of Zambia, is now part of a group of Africans educated in the U.S. and Europe who are looking to change the debate on how aid money is spent in Africa.“There was a real interest among students to bring more people into the business school who have had on-the-ground experience in the different countries’ business markets,” said Raymond Farrow, the executive director of the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise.During the lecture, Moyo went over the key points brought up in her book on the differences in aid, the problems and what changes can be made. She has been exceptionally critical of the celebrity approach to African aid.“People are not listening to the presidents in Africa on what to do with Africa,” Moyo said. “You must be able to strum a guitar to be heard. I love good music, but I do not trust (celebrities) running my country.”Moyo also said she believes the African countries need to systematically move away from aid and look within to install institutions that would help Africa develop.“The emotion has not helped,” she said. “Africa must be looked on from logic — with stats and figures — and look for long-term solutions.”The Business Across Borders program started two years ago and holds two series each year. Previous discussions focused on China, India and Latin America.The series moved from focusing on a distinct country to instead focusing on a particular continent.“On this campus, there are a lot of interests among students and faculty on Africa, and it is an area that usually does not get as much visibility as Asia or others on having experts come,” Farrow said. “Having a high profile speaker on Africa can really help reshape the debate here.”Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
Will McInerney, a junior peace, war and defense major, is usually a quiet person, with a look that suggests he is always pondering.But when he goes under the bright spotlight on the stage of an open microphone poetry reading, he sends the crowd at Mansion 462 on Franklin Street on an emotional roller coaster ride.McInerney’s last poem on societal pressures led to a conclusion with a homosexual Eagle Scout hanging himself. McInerney slowly counted down the seconds of life left in the boy while he glanced over societal woes.McInerney is a member of the Sacrificial Poets, a Chapel Hill-Durham area group that competes in national slam tournaments. Poems go far beyond the words on the page, as members use emotion and gestures to convey a message.“In open-work poetry, you can tell a lot about a person through their poems,” said McInerney, the treasurer of the Sacrificial Poets. “They tend to be real personal and passionate. In order to convey the message, you have to be passionate and be telling your story.”During the year, the team holds slams which allow different poets to compete during the year. During slams each performer recites three poems before a panel of judges made up of five random audience members.“The demographics are really split and you essentially have representatives from all races, genders, sexual orientation,” said senior Kane Smego, director of youth arts and educational programming for Sacrificial Poets. “You get to listen to all different kinds of stories — from family stories, to crazy fantasy future poems.”Each April, the top poets are invited back for one last slam before finalizing the team, which competes nationally during the summer. The team is composed of six members, with a few alternates. The whole audition process is then repeated during the school year.The name Sacrificial Poets has a dual meaning.“In poetry slams, the sacrificial poet is the poet who opens the slam competition to give the judges a chance to practice scoring before the start of the competition,” Smego said.The name also honors the sacrifices of former team member Ira Yarmolenko, who was killed in May 2008.Smego said he first got involved in 10th grade after attending a poetry workshop that featured lessons from renowned poets.Since the event, poetry became a passion for Smego, who has had poetry published in the Chapel Hill News. He has also competed on the Chapel Hill Slam Team and in the national competition Brave New Voices, which was the subject of the HBO television series hosted by Queen Latifah.McInerney said he plans to continue writing and performing poetry, as it helps convey his personal issues.“A lot of my poetry focuses on political issues,” he said. “I tell a lot on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s an area I’ve been to and that I’m passionate about.”Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.