Palestinian issue needs adressed Pat Byers Capital Times Staff Two Penn State Harrisburg professors from the Middle East would like to see more United Nations involvement in helping the United States remove Iraq from Kuwait. They said they would also like to see the Palestinian issue addressed rather than ignored. Engineering professors Kudret Yurtseven of Turkey and Alex Aswad of Lebanon said they think the United Nations is the proper agency to seek an end to the month-long war. Both said they would like to see the whole world involved in the mission to get the Iraquis out of Kuwait. "Taking this kind of stance will also put more pressure on Saddam Hussein and take pressure off of the United States," Yurtseven said. Yurtseven said he disagrees with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and said it was about time the U.N. did something about it. He claimed it is not fair that one nation totally control another nation simply because it is weaker. "The war against Iraq is a U.N. mission,"he explained, "but what concerns me are the consequences to the whole world." Both Yurlseven and Aswad said the parties must address central religious and political issues that existed before the Gulf War, especially the issue regarding Palestine. "It was impossible to think that the United States could stay back and have nothing to do with the war," Yurtseven said. However, he said, the U.S. ought to take a more cautious attitude. Aswad agreed, saying the Palestinian situation is important because it is a "continuous sore." He added that solving the Palestinian issue is in the U.S. interest. Aswad said these Palestinian issues should be settled diplomatically through the U.N. Model U.N. debates at PSH Representatives of the Kuwaiti government will confront their Iraqi counterparts at Penn State Harrisburg on February 21 through the 23rd. Does this represent a major breakthrough in the Persian Gulf conflict? Not exactly. The representatives are delegates to the 19th Annual Model United Nations, and the confrontations, open to the campus community, will occur in the auditorium and the Student Center. The Model United Nations is sponsored by the Internationsl Affairs Association. This year’s conference is directed by Lorraine Lynn, a senior Secondary Social Studies major, and Dr. Clem E. Gilpin, Assistant Professor of Community Systems and Afro-American Studies. Over 20 other members of the organization helped in planning the conference and preparing to chair debate sessions. Each of the 122 delegations consists of three students who represent a FACING THE WAR Yurtseven suggests Saddam Hussein be seen as the head of an oppressive regime. He claims that to some factions in the Middle East, Saddam Hussein represents the poorer nations against the oil-rich nations such as Saudi Arabia, but should not be honored as a hero by any nation. Kudret Yurtseven, a Turkish engineering professor, supports more U.N. involvement in the war and greater recognition of the Palestinian issue. Both Yurtseven and Aswad see one positive factor emerging from the Gulf crisis, a better understanding of life in .the Middle East. They suggest that students turn off the news and open a book on the Middle East to explore the roots of the conflict. Yurtseven concludes, "when you have problems like these in the Middle East, they need to be studied closely. particular country in the committees of the General Assembly. Also, fifteen students will participate in a mock session of the United Nations Security Council. One highlight of the conference will be the opening address by Peter Timko from Georgclwon University and the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Lancaster Catholic High School and a previous participant in the Model U.N. Last summer Timko was among the U.S. embassy staff detained after the invasion of Kuwait. After several weeks in Baghdad he was among the first Americans allowed to leave. Faculty members and instructors from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle will brief delegates on Friday morning at varous campus locations. Schedules of all events, will be conveniently placed throughout the campus. War changes media Mike Givler Capital Times Staff Technology since the Vietnam War has not only changed weapons and machinery, but the way the people get the news, say three Penn State Harrisburg communication professors. This is the first war where the public can see what is happening as it happens, said Peter Parisi, assistant professor of humanities and communications. That may not be a good thing, he said. Sometimes the coverage is too quick and the reporters themselves don't know what is happening, Parisi said. The public sees what is happening, but the meaning isn't clear. Eton Churchill, an assistant professor of humanities and communications, agrees that the time between event and presentation is narrowing. The coverage of the war may be truer to television than to the nature of war. Pictures of the war are geared to viewer participation, Churchill said. "With a camera on the nose cone...the watcher feels as if he is actually riding a bomb." Churchill said this viewer involvement may inspire people to display the yellow ribbons and flags we see everywhere. Suren Lalvani, assistant professor of humanities and communications, said not only is coverage too quick, but viewers lack background information and reports of what will happen after the war is over. Lalvani said the media is timid about presenting critical information since the government blamed it for losing the Vietnam War. Lalvani also said little air time is given to peace demonstrations because most people support the war, and the media is afraid of hurting national morale. But, he added, background information could clear up what happened for some of the public. "Hussein had no other option but to fight because his culture made him fight," Lalvani said. Parisi agreed that the coverage is being limited to single events. The media is not asking questions such as "Should we be here?” The media is over-simplifying the whole Persian War conflict, Parisi said. "The coverage of the war is like a movie," Parisi said. "People look at it as a good guy-bad guy film. If we kill Hussein, people believe our problems will be over." Lalvani added that media passes along government rhetoric downplaying the bloodiness of the war. "Words like'surgical air strike' and 'just war’ are being used by the government," Lalvani said. "The word surgical reminds people of a clean and neat operation, but people are dying and there is blood being shed." Churchill said Vietnam War coverage made the media reluctant to show the true effects of war. "During the Vietnam War, gore was being shown and that was a huge turnoff," Churchill said. "During this war, no blood is being shown so everyone is for the war." Lalvani wishes the United States would show coverage of news from countries not involved in the war. News from other countries is reported only when there is a flood or a terrorist act, Lalvani said. Parisi adds that we are not receiving the angle from the opposition. "Hussein is not given a viewpoint," Parisi said. "Only our side is being shown." Churchill said television is showing off its technology as much as the military is. "The true winner in this war," he said, "is technology.”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers