Touro Communication Club Notes #49

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THIS WEEK: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 – 2 pm – Room 610: Discussion of the Election. With the polls showing the race is tightening and some media clearly divided between Democrats and Republicans, we can expect a real nail biter. Even the faculty has been having several hotly discussed conversations. Even if your candidate did not win, our discussion will hopefully shed more light than heat on this important event.

The election which concludes this week has pushed virtually everything off the horizon. The financial crisis has grown worse. It has been spreading around the world. Many countries in Europe and Asia are facing difficult times. Iceland is virtually bankrupt. In contrast, China has an enormous surplus and, in some cases, has been acting as banker to the world.

Meanwhile, the pirates off Somalia are thriving, the U.S. has attacked Taliban bases in Pakistan, two leaders seem to have health problems (Iran’s Amadinajad and North Korea’s Kim Jung Il), Zimbabwe’s leadership stalemate continues, Sudan’s situation continues to degenerate. It sounds like – same old, same old.

How do we survive? With our heads in the sand. Many of us are preoccupied with our own lives – in our own bubble - and unless something happens to us personally, we could care less. We trudge to school. We know that Midterms are coming up and assignments are due. We socialize with our friends. We eat our fast food. We go to our jobs to grind out another paycheck. Our lives seem to be on automatic.

By the time you read this – assuming you open the blog – I hope you will have voted. One person told me he’s not voting because all politicians are the same – they promise and don’t deliver. “They just crooks,” this disenchanted person railed at me.

Since he was so certain, I could only offer Pandora’s box as an alternative. According to the myth, when Pandora opened the box, all the sins and wickedness escaped into the world. At the bottom of the box was the slice,a sliver of hope, which has to fight hard against the negativity in the world. I keep an imaginary box of hope in my head.

Here's the list of our upcoming Club events:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2008 – ELECTION DAY – PLEASE VOTE! Lorinda Moore and Olushile Akintade have been conducting a voter registration drive at Midtown and Taino. Over 100 new voters have been registered from Touro. More to come!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 – 2 pm – Room 610: Discussion of the Election. Discover the reasons your colleagues voted the way they did. Compare this election to the elections of 2000 and 2004. What were the highlights? What were the lowlights of the campaign?

Wednesday, November 13, 2008 – 2 pm in a 2^nd floor room @ 27 West 23^rd Street – “Political Speech and the Art of Deception” Why don’t people trust politicians? Why some people feel they have to vote “for the lesser of two evils”? We’ll explore what happens in the speech that politicians deliver and how political strategies often govern the talking points the candidates deliver. We’ll try to have a lesson in linguistic ear training.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 – 2 pm – Room 314-318 @ 27 West 23^rd Street – The 6^th Speech Contest. Finalists from the Communication classes will present their winning speeches, competing for cash prizes and recognition by their peers. Faculty judges will make the final decisions.

What happened on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 – 2 pm – Room 223 – Midtown -The film “The Great Debaters” (2008) with Denzel Washington. A dramatization of the true story of the unlikely 1935 journey of a debate team from the historically black college, Wiley College, which challenges powerhouse Harvard College.

The film drew the largest crowd to date of any Communication Club event. The following signed the roster: Folly Adamah, Olushile Atkintade, Musa Bryant, Hazel Caleb, Orica Diaz, Defina Dominguez, Anasia Hampton, Natasha Johnson, Pal Kwon Kim, Lorinda Moore, Isha Shea, Bruce Washington, Carlisle Yearwood.

Shile reported the following:

“Everyone left right after the movie and we only got one or two comments.

“Comments:
“This movie depicts the constant struggle of African-Americans in the U.S. and how we have to fight for practically anything.

“The Great Debaters is very moving and inspiring. It shows how strong the soul is to hang in there despite all odds. Passion is mixed in words that persuade and change the values and perceptions of people.

“That's pretty much all I got!”

These sessions are always open for everyone to attend. Bring a friend and join in the excitement. See you next time.

Hal Wicke.