Civitas Conference on
"Carefully Getting Out of Iraq"
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The hoopla of "Yes we Can," "Change You Can Believe In" is fading and now we're getting down to the nuts and bolts of what a Barack Obama administration will really be like. For well over a year, Barack Obama has been saying that the U.S. must “get out of Iraq as carefully as it was careless in getting in.” Polls show that most Americans support this concept, but the details have not really been discussed and analyzed in the public arena. Civitas will play an active role working with citizens to analyze, study, advocate, or take issue with proposals from this or any other government. We are starting with Barack Obama's proposal to extricate the United States from Iraq. We are sponsoring a special simulation on Saturday, Dec. 13 to role-play what "carefully getting out of Iraq" might look like. We will ask students to play roles ranging from president and vice-president of the United States to Sunni Muslims to U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Attorney General, head of CIA to head of the oil producing cartel (OPEC). We do not intend to take a position on whether it is advisable to "get out of Iraq" now; what we want to do is explore what such a move would look like if it was done carefully.
In preparation for this conference, Eric Greitens (former Navy Seal with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as humanitarian experience in Rwanda, Gaza Strip, India, Mexico, Albania, etc.) will do a workshop with participating students following our model U.N. on Sat., Nov. 22. Eric can discuss the logistical issues involved in any large-scale military enterprise like this; he will also give vital background on the local geo-political situation in Iraq and the Middle East. Finally he will talk about how a "carefully getting out of Iraq" policy would affect global American foreign policy.
We invite you to participate in the model UN; whether or not you do, we would love to have your brains be part of this conference and at the Greitens workshop from 2:45 PM – 4:00 PM. Both events are at Spazio's Banquet Hall in Maryland Heights ( map). If you are interested in participating in the conference, click here for further description, click here to register. If you have questions, contact at info@civitas-stl.com or call us at (314) 367-6480.
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Why is MO Still Gray (Undecided)?
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As we reported last week, Civitas has a unique involvement in the presidential campaign in that twenty-four students polled citizens on Election Day as they exited the polls. This was part of a multi-faceted effort to ensure the accuracy of the vote. The election in Missouri was close, a difference of 5,800 votes out of nearly three million. But forty-nine other states have been "called" as either for John McCain or Barack Obama. Why has Missouri not yet been called and equally puzzling is why has there been so little mention in the press and elsewhere about Missouri remaining (gray; neither called for McCain or Obama). We can answer the first question. On Monday, Nov. 10, we spoke with Ms. Laura Egerdal from the Missouri Secretary of State's office that certifies the election. She was extremely helpful, telling us that the race cannot be called yet because there are more provisional ballots to be counted (7,000 - 8,000) than the amount of John McCain's present lead (5,800 votes). There are also a few absentee votes still to be counted. Each election board within the state is mandated to provide a final vote to the Secretary of State's office two weeks after the election, that being Nov. 18 this year. Thus, a final certified vote will most likely not be announced before that date. Ms. Egerdal noted that after a certified vote is announced, any candidate who lost by less than 1% of the vote is then able to request a recount. So care is being taken, and thus we still have uncertainty. Why the local Obama campaign and the media seem to be low-playing the current state of affairs is unclear to us. If anyone can help us out with that, please do so.
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Resolutions for High School Model U.N. |
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Civitas had its second and final resolution-writing workshop for high school model UN students last Saturday, Nov. 8. Bobbi Clemons is doing a terrific job supervising resolution with outstanding help from Lisa Granich-Kovarik and Ariana Miller. As of now we have six resolutions submitted; we need many more to "populate" the Security Council and three General Assembly committees (Political & Security; Economic & Social; and Human Rights). You can access the submitted resolutions by clicking here. We encourage you to submit additional resolutions to us by e-mail at info@civitas-stl.com or fax them to (314) 367-7742. We prefer the e-mail method because then we don't have to key them in again. If you have questions, you can call Bobbi at the Civitas office [(314) 367-6480] or on her cell phone (314) 443-9785. You can also contact Civitas associate Ariana, a first year law student at Washington University, on her cell phone: (267) 549-5728. Remember that the model U.N. is on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Spazio's Banquet Hall in Maryland Heights (map) from 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM. At the conclusion of the session we will have our workshop with Eric Greitens in preparation for the "Carefully Getting Out of Iraq" conference (see first story).
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Middle School Workshop for 700 On Nov. 19
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The countries have been chosen and the student workshop is just around the corner! Things are swinging into high gear in our Middle School Model UN program. On October 13th, teachers from over 20 schools came together at The Heights and chose the countries they would represent at the spring General Assemblies. Once again, a varied and diverse group of countries will be present at our spring sessions. To check the country rosters, go to http://civitas-stl.com/middle_school_general. We’re still waiting for country rosters from Crossroads and Brittany Woods but we hope to have those in and posted in the very near future. In eight days, almost 700 students will converge on the Chase Park Plaza for the student workshop. On Wednesday, November 19, from 9:30 AM -11:30 AM, students will learn generally about the role of the United Nations in the world and specifically about how the Model UN program works and their role within it. Activities for the morning will include an interactive powerpoint, a simulation, and an energetic performance by Bobby Norfolk and Kenya Ajanaku in a program entitled Drums and Voices of Africa. It’s a great way to kick-off our program, and we look forward to seeing everyone there! And as always, please feel free to email Lisa (granichkovarik@sbcglobal.net) or call her (314-865-4704) if you have any questions at all.
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Independent Film on Financial Troubles |
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Even before the current financial troubles hit, an Independent Film was made warning: "Wake up, America! W're on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United Sates and its citizens. A panel discussion follows. The film "I.O.U.S.A. - One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt." will be shown at the Missouri History Museum and Lindell & DeBaliviere (map) on Tuesday evening, November 18 at 7:00 PM. A panel discussion will follow. We invite any members of our community to see this early showing of the movie.
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Upcoming Civitas Events
(Actual events in bold -- always subject to change when change occurs!) Black: High School Blue: Middle School
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| Date | Time | Place | Activity | | | | | | Tues.,
Nov. 18, 2008 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Missouri History Museum (map) | Independent Film: I.O.U.S.A.
One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt | Wed.
11/19/2008 | 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Chase-Park Plaza (map) | Middle School MUN Student & Teacher Workshop | Thurs.,
11/20/2008 | 10:00 AM | info@civitas-stl.com or (314) 367-7742 | Deadline for Submitting high school resolutions1 | Sat.,
11/22/2008 | 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM | Spazio's of Westport (map) | High School Model U.N. | Sat.,
11/22/2008 | 2:45 PM
4:00 PM | Spazio's of Westport (map) | Workshop with Eric Greitens on "Carefully Getting out of Iraq" | Sat.,
12/06/2008 | 9:00 AM -
11:00 AM | Clayton Community Center (Map) | Civitas Discussion #8 and preparation for "Carefully Getting out of Iraq" | Sat.,
12/13/2008 | 9:00 AM -
2:30 PM | Crossroads (map) | "Carefully Getting out of Iraq" Conference | 1 Resolutions can be submitted after this time, but the sponsor must provide his or her own copies and these resolutions will have a lower priority for consideration than those submitted by the deadline.
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What's Civitas? See video below: |
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Our thanks to all the students who came to our 2008 Country Draft. This is in preparation for our Saturday, November 22 session at Spazio's in Westport (map) from 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM. Here is a list of countries that were drafted as of early Tuesday morning, Oct. 7: | Bishop DuBourg Collinsville - Afghanistan
- Kenya
- Vietnam
Hickman Mills Lindbergh Maplewood-Richmond Heights - Italy
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- United Kingdom
Metro Nerinx Hall - Colombia
- France
- Kuwait
- Turkey
Parkway Central - Pakistan
- Singapore
- South Korea
Parkway West Rosati-Kain St. Joseph's Academy - Brazil
- Costa Rica
- Georgia
- Libya
S.L.U.H. - China
- Cote D'Ivoire
- Japan
- Switzerland
University City - Burundi
- Russian Federation
Webster Groves - Ireland
- Jamaica
- North Korea
- South Africa
- Spain
- St. Kitts
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
| As you can tell, a number of countries still remain for drafting. We will allocate them on a "first request - first serve basis." To request a country or if you have any questions, e-mail us at info@civitas-stl.com or call (314) 367-6480.
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