THE BEHREND BEACON
Friday, October 22, 2004
lamic fundamentalism
rican Dream series continues
By Tim Mak
staff writer
The third speaker in the American
ream series presented Tuesday in the
mith Chapel. Professor Baher
hosheh spoke on Islamic fundamen
lism. Ghosheh brought the audience
3t just into the world of Islam, but
so the world of politics.
Ghosheh explored whether Islam
id fundamentalism is the answer or
le problem and why fundamentalism
on the rise in many Muslim societ
“Although Muslims see themselves
as victims of colonialists,
neocolonialists and puppet regimes
that do their bidding, for many Islam
ists, Islamic Fundamentalism is the
only solution after both the west and
the east have failed Muslim societies,”
said Ghosheh.
One point Ghosheh frequently
raised is the relationship between Is
lam and politics. It is believed that
there should be a balance between the
government’s right to obedience from
people and people’s right to justice
from government on the reformism
aspect of Islamic Fundamentalism.
“There is no separation between
mosque and state,” said Ghosheh.
“Dictatorship means no freedom and
government needs religion for power.
Islamism represents a last ditch effort
to better their situation after decades
of living in impoverished states.
Dr. Charles Brock raised an intrigu
ing question on why President Bush
verbally attacked Muslim countries
since they also want freedom, success
and equality, specifically referring to
when Bush claimed terrorists hate
freedom. Ghosheh’s critical answer
applied his theory that religion and
politics always intertwine.
“President Bush does not quite un
derstand the situation of Muslims. His
presentation of why he started the war
Inside
Eminem criticism, STUDENT
LIFE, Page 8
Jimmy Eat World review,
STUDENT LIFE, Page 8
Dangerous liberals,
OPINION. Page 6
CONTENTS
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Student Life 8-11
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was problematic that they did not want
freedom,” said Ghosheh. “However,
reality does not coincide with what
President Bush said. They want free
dom as well, but they can’t achieve it."
“The talk is a little bit like RL ST
107, introduction to Islam, for those
who have not done much reading or
thinking on Islamic ideas," said Bill
Sesler, a Christian lawyer as well as a
Behrend alumnus. “It is an appropri
ate and well-organized lecture, but I
think it needs to be more interactive.”
He also believes that it is difficult for
President Bush to withdraw from the
US-Islamic issues in a way that will
not lead to a political mess.
Having taught at Edinboro Univer
sity since 1989, Ghosheh developed
courses in international relations, in
ternational trade, economic develop
ment and regional geography with his
doctorate and masters degree in those
fields. He is also interested in the in
terplay between religion and politics,
and culture and development with the
focus on Middle Eastern Studies.
Bom in Jerusalem, having lived in
six countries and traveled to 48 coun
tries including about 20 Muslim coun
tries, Ghosheh gained much experi
ence on cross-cultural and interna
tional contacts. Those experiences
allow him to be a professional guest
speaker on cultural studies, politics of
the Middle East, Islam: reality and
misconceptions and US - Middle East
Policies, etc. Being a frequent guest
speaker on the Islamic and Middle
East issues, he hoped we could learn
more about the freedom, assimilation
and liberty of countries and cultures.
Tuesday, Dr. Dan Frankforter of
Behrend will speak on the topic of
Christian fundamentalism as the last
part of the Institute on the American
Dream Speaker Series. The lecture,
which will be held in the Smith
Chapel, starts at 7:30 p.m. and is free
and open to the public.
Erie party representatives battle at Behrend
Moore , Porter meet in Reed 117 to debate campaign
>ore,.. , represent .epu ican r,... ot jsl iy .in opposition to jmocratic
Steven Porter, far right. Chris Hvizdak, center, mediated the debate that"took place in Reed 117.
By Annie Sevin
staff writer
Behrend held a political forum on
Tuesday. Members of the COMMU 405
class (organizers of the event) as well as
other students, faculty, and community
members welcomed Dr. Steven Porter
and Brad Moore as they debated poli
tics in the Reed building.
Porter is running against Pennsylva
nian Congressman Phil English (R-3) for
Pennsylvania’s third congressional seat.
Due to other obligations, English was not
able to attend the debate this week.
Moore, English’s campaign manager,
came in his stead.
A Penn State Erie Student Publication
Former secretary of labor, Robert Reich, spoke on Wednesday as part of the Behrend Speaker Series. Reich
broached topics including national economic recovery and economic policy.
Reich speaks on economy
On Wednesday evening, former U.S.
Secretary of Labor Robert Reich spoke
to Behrend students, staff, community
members concerning the nation’s
economy and political situation.
In the McGarvey Commons, before an
audience of more than 100 people, CEO
and Dean Jack Burke introduced Reich
as a counterpoint to Linda Chavez, the
republican supporting speaker that out
lined her views on national and interna
tional policies and politics.
Reich spent the majority of his speech
shying away from any political bias. He
presented his economic views in nonpar
tisan, layman terms, allowing all audi
ence members to easily comprehend his
presentation.
“It’s not George Bush’s fault,” said
Reich. “It’s not Bill Clinton’s fault.
There are other forces at work.”
Reich felt the economic recession was
no particular individual’s or
administration’s fault. He explained the
The COMMU 405 course, taught by
Professor Davis took advantage of this
year’s intense political atmosphere by in
viting the two Congressional candidates
to campus.
"Being election year, I just had to do
this,” said Davis. “It was just something
too good to let go, especially the way
the campaign is going. I figured this is
really something; we should dedicate this
to this class. I’m really happy with the
students who are involved with the cam
paign they learned and felt they accom
plished something. I’m very happy to
night.”
The debate, like most political debates
By Bradley Stewart
news editor
business-cycle to the McGarvey audi
ence as well as what he believed to be
the three driving forces, “vectors,” be
hind the nation’s economy.
Some of his views were notably demo
cratic. “We need immigrants,” said
Reich, while explaining the dire situa
tion of social security. While other views
could be considered closer to republican
agendas, specifically when he spoke on
outsourcing of jobs.
"I thought he did an excellent job,”
said Dr. James A. Kurre, associate pro
fessor of economics. “There are some
subjects most economists agree on, and
then there are those that are subjective
from a political standpoint. I give him
credit for trying to separate the politics
from the economics.”
Kurre felt that Reich’s presentation
was impressive, only disagreeing with
him in relation to China and patent laws.
“He kind of glossed over the topic of
China and prescription drugs,” said
Kerre. “He gave the impression that
we’re rich enough and we can afford to
this year, was both lively and boring.
Porter gave some lengthy commentary
and a few heated moments arose between
the two gentlemen.
Porter and Moore dealt with issues
such as healthcare, social security, im
porting of drugs, and, of course, the Iraq
war. Each gentleman disagreed on al
most every subject discussed.
Porter stood and faced the audience
every time he addressed a question. He
kept raising his voice to get his point
across. One of the more ardent moments
came when he expressed his view of the
future, “I am frightened for my
country.. .1 am fearful of the country you
Vol. LII No. 9
subsidize. But there are a lot of senior
citizens who can’t pay for their drugs.”
Ultimately Reich forsees economic
growth in the near future as part of the
business cycle; the economy fluctuates
up and down. In one of his few partisan
comments, he identified the Bush admin
istration “as blowing it big time” in terms
of speeding up economic recovery.
He quelled fears of soon-to-be career
searching graduates. “I’m not so wor
ried about there being enough jobs,” said
Reich. “You will have jobs but the na
ture of the job contract is dramatically
different. The key competitive advan
tage is innovation. You graduates will
be working very very hard.”
After the forty-five minute speech and
question-answer session, Reich received
a standing ovation. “Overall, I thought
he was a better speaker than Linda
Chavez and reinforces my reasons for
being a Democrat,” said Matt Leister,
PLTSC 07. “Republicans just criticize
and place blame.”
will inherit,” said Porter.
Throughout the debate, Porter kept
pulling out fact sheets and e-mails to use
as proof that the Republican Party is
wrong on certain issues.
“I wish both sides had been repre
sented by the people running for con
gress,” said Carry Daniel, MRKT 07, one
of the students in attendance. “It would
have been more balanced.”
“It was a lot of fun to sit up there,”
said Moore, “but I was at a little bit of a
disadvantage.” He was still very posi
tive about the future of this country in
the hands of republicans and he was ex
tremely optimistic about the Republi
can Party’s position in the presidential
election.
The students involved with setting up
the debate seemed very pleased with how
the event turned out. Chris Hvizdak,
COMBA 09, commentator for the de
bate, said, “I think it went very well, they
were both conversational, they were both
willing to state their case. We didn’t have
a time limit so they were able to fully
elaborate on their arguments and they
were able to convey their parties personal
points of view.”
Jared Clough, COMBA 07, another
COMMU 405 student helped out with
the debate as well. “It was extremely in
teresting. I think Mr. Moore was at a dis
advantage because he was not the can
didate [English] and it was blatantly ob
vious that he was not prepared to
[counter] Dr. Porter’s stances. They both
got their points in; I think overall it was
pretty good. I wish more students were
there because we.. .could’ve asked more
questions.”
issues