Morals, Manners and Monsanto's Money

By Jotautas Baronas · 0 Comments
On the 24th of February a public debate on “Ethics in Sponsorship” was organized by the BRIMUN 2010 team as a response to the general public outcry and spam war triggered a week earlier by an article “Poison, Patents and Peace”, published in the previous issue of POTW. The article introduced some of the facts and business practices of the infamous Monsanto Corporation and questioned the ethical s ...
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Do It Digital

By Cristopher Kausch · 0 Comments
With the proposal of PDF Readers and discovery of the Document Center in Vegesack, students can be more selective in receiving readers according to their wishes. If you have been abiding by this year´s environmental tips, and have started taking cold showers and taking advantage of reusable shopping bags, stay tuned! The proposed PDF readers may provide alternatives for students when it comes to stacking up on readers for the next semester and beyond. Tariq Omarshah, a second year student involved in the Undergraduate Environmental Affairs Committee, enthusiastically relayed how the committee is appealing to the University Environmental Affairs Committee for digital readers. But firstly, there are several issues to consider before reaping the benefits. There is the legal issue where discussion with the faculty is vital in order to gain approval and resources for producing PDF readers. Another difficulty that surfaced was paying for the labor responsible for the production of these digital readers. One possible solution for this issue is to use the Teaching Assistants as a labor source since they are already paid, but to not have the same demands as professors do that would prevent them from having time to perform such a task. ...
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Transparency in Parliament

By Jocelyn Pearce · 0 Comments
Every once in awhile, a vote is called to close a point in a parliament meeting, and those of us who are not members of parliament wait in the hallway until the open meeting can proceed. Sometimes, there are confidential numbers, concerning, for example, financial aid and scholarships. These numbers are disclosed to the parliament by the administration, who expects them to stay confidential. Othe ...
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Parliament Wrap-Up

By Jocelyn Pearce · 0 Comments
There has been extensive discussion about revising proposals to overhaul awards at Jacobs. The proposed changes include getting rid of the Child Awareness Award (due to general feeling that it is a random topic that isn't applicable to most people on campus) in favor of a more general community service award, getting rid of the Women's Award, and introducing something called “Sports Person Of The ...
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GSA Board Elections

By Jocelyn Pearce · 0 Comments
While undergraduate students know that there are more than five hundred graduate students at Jacobs, we don't see much of them. When the Graduate Student Association held elections recently, and chose a new executive board, it passed unnoticed by most of us. Most undergraduates are completely in the dark about what the GSA actually does, but quite a lot of it is interesting and relevant to everyone on campus, not just the graduate students themselves. ...
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Unpronounceable Elements are Come to Save the Day (but Just the One)

By Trevor Sloughter · 0 Comments
Economic growth is spouted regularly as the only desirable way of life. Forgoing possible rebuttals to that, the very definition of economic growth poses questions. If “growth” is good and “growth” is only found in the perpetuation of the current lifestyle of Western civilization and the wholesale of that same lifestyle to the rest of the world, then it looks increasingly likely that one of two “undesired” events will occur shortly: (1) the sudden, self-driven collapse of this model despite its foreshadowing, or (2) the human upheaval of the system in response to its ills. ...
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Workers of All Nations, Who Needs the Right to Assembly?

By Trevor Sloughter · 0 Comments
Name-calling is a prominent means of debate today. To simply say that something is “communist” is often enough for people to think of it as bad, without questioning the definition of communism. To plea for the working men and working women to unionize, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, gender, or beliefs, in order to promote common human interests, is quickly called “Marxist” (fair) therefore “communist” (possibly, but not necessarily) and therefore “Stalinist” (no link). What must be asked is this: are workers today in need of organizing themselves to protect themselves, or is state governance sufficient? ...
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A Thing or Three About LGBT

By Luciana Mihaela Nicoara · 0 Comments
Are you comfortable? Adjust your seat if not—I can wait. Ready? No, I don't know what's for lunch, but that's another issue. Sure you're comfortable now? Okay, okay, no reason to get upset. I'll get to the point in a moment. Before that, though, look around. Yes, yes, just look around. No, I can't tell you what you're looking at. Give up? Fine, I'll help you out. You're on a campus. Yes, yes, I know, that's a no-brainer, but bear with me for a few more minutes, and it will all become clear. ...
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The Dilemma Gardener

By Juan Martin Merlo · 0 Comments
In pursuit of your -and of course my- delight, I attempt in this ash-colored morning to describe a particular being he mentioned to have carried not so long ago. It is basically about a small -but nevertheless unpleasant weight he dealt with in the beginning. Just a short description of one of the various commonly shared dilemmas over a meal. It is about him, and a sudden nuisance that started to ...
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Canada 2010: Really Home of the Free?

By Savannah Carr-Wilson · 0 Comments
USA 26. Germany 23. Norway 17. Homeless being pushed off the streets. Freedom of speech compromised. Taxpayers getting more than they bargained for. These are the conflicting realities that character the Vancouver 2010 Olympics games. Beyond the flashy website, designer clothing line, and vigorous media campaign, there is a lot going on beyond the scenes that isn’t so visible, and is in fact deeply troubling for the state of Canadian democracy. ...
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A Day in the Life of Michele Lapenna

By Carla Bleiker · 0 Comments
Michele Lapenna is the sports coordinator at Jacobs University. But what does that mean? What does “Lappi”, as many students call him, actually do all day long? Part of the Jacobs student population believes “sports coordinator” is just a code for twiddling one’s thumbs and sitting idly around the office. There has been some controversy recently about whether or not he is good at his job and does effective work. To find out more about Mr. Lapenna, Pulse Of The World spent “A day in the life of” the Jacobs University Sports Coordinator. ...
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