The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Page: 1 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: University of Dallas Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the University of Dallas.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The University News
University of Dallas, Irving, Texas
Volume XXVI, Number 5
October 3, 2001
Charity Week to rustle up funds from students
Dr. Norris pledges one dollar
for each Amnesty letter written
by Lincy P. George
Contributing Writer
Charity Week is full of creative ways to
raise money for worthy causes, and Dr.
John Norris'idea is no exception.
Dr. Norris, theology professor and fac-
ulty advisor of Amnesty International, has
pledged to donate $ 1 to charity for every
letter written for prisoners of conscience
at the Amnesty International booth dur-
ing Charity Week.
Dr. Norris will give up to $1,000 for the
cause, he said.
In addition, Amnesty International
president Cathy Watson has pledged $50
after the first 1000 letters.
If successful, the fundraising endeavor
would not only raise a large amount of
money for worthy causes but also help
people whose freedoms of speech, ex-
pression and beliefs have been violated,
Dr. Norris said.
The plan was conceived by Dr. Norris,
Watson and Amnesty International vice
president Laura Tenner in an attempt to
encourage letter writing for humanitar-
ian purposes with the added incentive of
promising money to charitable organiza-
tions, Dr. Norris said.
Amnesty International, a"student-held
and student-run" activist organization
will have student volunteers maning the
booth in Haggarali this weekfor students
to come by and write their letters in just a
few minutes, Dr. Norris said.
"Prisoners of conscience include all
people imprisoned for a point of view
rather than an action," Dr. Norris said.
These prisoners must also not advocate
violence, Watson said.
"Information on a prisoner of con-
science is called an action, and letters
are written on the basis of these actions,"
she said.
The letters are addressed to authorities
or governments holding such prisoners of
conscience. The letters state the facts of
the violations and demand the release of
the prisoners.
The letters also demand fulfillment of
other conditions to ensure such actions
are not repeated.
The letters significantly help those un-
justly imprisoned, Dr. Norris said.
"These letters have a big effect; na-
tions take these letters and campaigns
seriously," he said.
"[There are] a wide variety of interna-
tional courts that nations subscribe to
because when a nation becomes more
civilized and just, other nations treat
[the nation] politically and economically
equally. Letter campaigns encourage na-
tions to make sure that political and social
actions are in accordance with the docu-
ments they sign," Dr. Norris said.
Dr. Norris acknowledged that letters
from America are very important in the
judicial decisions by countries.
"America is a powerful and influential
element within the United Nations and
is generally given a certain amount of re-
spect by almost all nations because of its
political and economic power," he said.
The sheer number American activists
who write in, however, is even more im-
portant than America's status as a super-
power, Dr. Norris said.
"It is really the added weight of the
number of letters from Americans con-
cerned with prisoners of conscience that
makes the difference," he said.
Writing letters also has a personal sig-
nificance, Dr. Norris said.
"Writing about injustice elsewhere
makes you more generous about justice;
it moves you to change," he said.
Dr. Norris is optimistic about the result
of the letter-writing. While he does not
expect 1,000 letters to be written, he
hopes for a good show of support.
"It would be great to get 500 letters,"
drawing by Angela Danaher
Charity Week Activit es
3rd: Haggar Auction, 8 p.m., Cafeteria
buy meals from your professors or lessons from students
4th: TGIT and Open Mic, 9 p.m., Rat
listen to UD bands or grab the microphone yourself
5th: Fruit Crushing, 1 p.m., Mall
watch your peers crush fruit; the more donations, the
more fun
5th: Male Auction, 7 p.m., Lynch
participate in the UD tradition of male slavery
6th: Semi-Formal, 9 p.m., Cafeteria
grab your partner for the Red, White & Blue Ball,
single tickets $5, couples $8
Presidential scholars to receive training, develop skills
by Julie Danaher
Co-Editor in Chief
Freshman presidential leadership
scholarship recipients forthisyear will be
the first class to be part of a leadership-
training program.
Students will be required to attend a
one to one and a half hour session per
month during their four years at UD.
"I think it's going to prepare them
for so many things in the long term
because what it means to be a leader is
something you learn regardless of your
circumstances,"Dr. Richard Paterik, direc-
tor of the Office of Academic and Career
Development, said.
Dr. Fred Zuker, dean of Student Life
and Enrollment, came up with the idea at
the end of last year and approached Dr.
Paterik to help him develop it further.
When Bro. Charles Latour, associate
dean of Student Life was hired, the two
were excited about the leadership train-
ing background he was bringing to the
university.
"This is what I've been doing for years,
and I'm happy to use my skills for UD
students," Bro. Charles said.
Students who received the scholarship
last spring were identified as leaders,
and the goal of the training is to develop
further the skills that they have naturally,
Bro. Charles said.
Students are optimistic about the lead-
ership sessions.
"While this is different from any other
training I've ever experienced, I think it
will be very beneficial because natura
leadership qualities have to be refined
and practiced to be more effective,"Kath-
leen Mehan, freshman, said.
Helping students hone their leadership
skills is one the primary goals of the train-
ing program.
"We want the students to discover
what type of leadership style is best for
them, while getting to know the other
styles and how to use them," Bro. Charles
said.
Part of the training program will be for
students to develop a service project that
will benefit the UD community.
"The goal is for the project to become
self-sustaining on campus," he said.
Brian Borski, director of Student Activi-
ties, has wanted to start a similar program
since he came to UD in the fall of 1996.
"I'm really excited that the program
is going to get off the ground," he said.
"Every year we are going to build on it
and help the students utilize the skills that
they learn during their training."
Next year students will be asked to
continued on pg. 2
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Watson, Thomas & Danaher, Julie. The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 3, 2001, newspaper, October 3, 2001; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201346/m1/1/?q=%22Education+-+Schools+-+Students%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.