University YMCA: Friday Forum

Friday Forum Spring 2008
Unraveling Spin & Uncovering Truths

Sponsored by: Episcopal Church and Foundation, First Mennonite Church, McKinley Church and Foundation, University YMCA, and Wesley Church and Foundation
Friday Forum is held weekly from noon to 1:30pm in Latzer Hall at the University YMCA. All lectures are free and open to the public.
Lunch may be purchased for $6.00 ($3.00 for students with a valid ID.)

Calendar of Events Please Click on Each Day to view Event
Jan. 25	Feb. 1	Feb. 8	Feb. 15
Feb. 22	Feb. 29	March 7	-
March 28	April 4		-

Friday Forum Committee:
Cassie Carroll, Don Chenoweth, Ellen Dahlke, Tony Endress, Ernie Gullerud, Walt McMahon, Dave Noreen, Joe Peacock, Becky Robinson, Matt Rosenstein (Chair), Steve Shoemaker, Claire Szoke, Melikhan Tanyeri, Kasey Umland, Steve Witt

UIUC Co-Sponsors:
College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Departments of:Anthropology, Educational Psychology, Geography
Other Campus Units: Gender and Women’s Studies Program, International Programs and Studies, Women and Gender in Global Perspectives, Center for Global Studies

Community Co-Sponsors:
Channing-Murray Foundation, Unitarian Universalist Church, Illinois Disciples’ Foundation

Funding:
The University YMCA relies on contributions to cover costs associated with this program. Lunch reservations for the entire series may be purchased for $48.00. This pre-paid series includes a free meal. Please mail the registration form and indicate which talks you will attend. If you would like lunch, you may mail a check (payable to the University YMCA) with your registration form or pay at the door. Your meal reservation will be checked at the reservation desk prior to each talk.

All forums broadcast on WEFT 90.1FM the Monday after the lecture. Video and audio tapes are available for purchace from the YMCA at cost.

Sign language interpreter available with 72 hours notice: Contact Johanne Bloch.

January 25	*School Accountability and Performance in the Era of No Child Left Behind* Lizanne DeStefano, Director, Bureau of Educational Research, University of Illinois After six years of implementation we can begin to see the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on our nations’ schools. Is it working? Can it be strengthened? In this talk, University of Illinois professor and Director of the Bureau for Educational Research, Lizanne DeStefano, will examine the changes in policies, practices and outcomes associated with NCLB.
February 1	*Rethinking Diplomacy: A Nonviolent Approach to Relations with Iran* Mark Johnson, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA Join Mark Johnson as he recounts his experiences with FOR’s Iran Initiative, a series of peace missions designed to build people-to-people relationships between the people of the United States and the people of Iran, and to develop a community of grassroots civilian diplomats in North America as an alternative to the current political standoff between the U.S. and Iranian governments.
February 8	*WalMart: The General Motors of the Early 21st Century?* Joe Berry, Labor Education Specialist, University of Illinois Joe Berry, UIUC extension labor educator, will discuss WalMart’s emergence as the largest private employer in the US and a major power in much of the world. Discussion will focus on the impacts upon workers and their organizations, both in the US and abroad, and how some are responding to this challenge.
February 15	*Unraveling Spin: Is There Hope for Uncle Sam?* Jan Nederveen-Pieterse, Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois For over a century now, America has dominated global politics and the global imagination. Yet, as the dollar declines, inequality increases, rates of consumption are unprecedented and American unilateralism comes under fire, such hegemony is increasingly unsustainable. Based on his most recent book, Jan Nederveen Pieterse asks whether it’s possible for America to chart a different course.
February 22	*Creating Opportunity Through Technology* Kathleen Robbins, K.Robbins & Associates Based on her own experience working to rebuild the long suffering Haitian economy, Kathleen Robbins details the impact of technology on the development process, and how the intersection of microfinance and technology may fundamentally change the way we view development.
February 29	*Revisiting the Iraq Question: A Mother’s Perspective* Peggy Kovacic Drawn into the Iraq War debate after the deployment of her two sons and daughter-in-law, Peggy Kovacic searched for an explanation for the conflict that so profoundly affected her family. Nearly five years later, she reports on her frustrating quest for answers and the striking prominence of misinformation still being perpetuated by the government and media of the United States.
March 7	*Official English: From White House to the Schoolhouse* Dennis Baron, Professor of English and Linguistics, University of Illinois Increasing concern over immigration has led to calls for making English the official language of the nation. Many states and towns have gone English-only, along with many workplaces, and even an elementary school. But evidence from the 2000 Census shows that immigrants -- and their children -- are acquiring English faster than ever before. Is official English essential for national unity, or could it actually backfire, alienating newcomers and slowing down assimilation?
March 28	*Depending on the Wisdom of Strangers* Richard Kimball, President, Project Vote Smart Former AZ State Senator and founder of Project Vote Smart, Richard Kimball, will detail the history of political manipulation, including the warnings of the Founding Fathers, how political TV ads have increased its intensity, and the resources available to voters to help reveal the truth amidst the lies.
April 4	*The U.S. within the World* Franklin Gamwell, Shailer Mathews Distinguished Service Professor of Religious Ethics, the Philosophy of Religion and Theology, University of Chicago Divinity School From the Board of the progressive Protestants for the Common Good, Gamwell is the author of “Our Nation Within the World” policy statement. Stressing “mutuality” pursued politically, he will discuss practical current implications of social ethics. His previous books include “Democracy on Purpose” and “Politics as a Christian Vocation.”