School Scare... again

Well, it's happened again...

I found an article in the Dallas Morning News about yet another scene at a school involving a weapon brought to school.

Another young student has brought a deadly weapon to school. When will kids learn? Or should I say, when will PARENTS teach their children that it is BAD to bring daddy's gun to school for show and tell?

In this case, a fourth-grader at Old Union Elementary School in Carrol ISD brought a grenade to class for, you guessed it... show and tell, which soon lead the school on a 90 minute evacuation. (Luckily the grenade was inactive)

The school's reaction to the event was very effective and the manner in which information was distributed was very to the point and professional. The school district's superintendent put a letter on the district's website that stated exactly what happened, what the school did, and that parents should talk to their children about what consequences will be enforced for bringing weapons to school.

The article in the Dallas Morning News and the letter released by the superintendent both used similar language, and treated the event with similar importance... even if the reporter dramatized it a bit more. I think that the school district handled the situation very appropriately, providing the vital information in a simple, precise manner, and the article presented the event in a similar manner, with a little reporter's touch.

The Dallas Morning News article that I found regarding this incident also mentions proactive measures taken by Wylie ISD when a high school student made threats to bring a gun to school on their MySpace page. According to the district's spokeswoman, Susan Dacus, the threat mentioned bringing a gun to school and hurting people, to which the district immediately responded.

Apparently, the school enacted an automated message system to inform parents of the situation. However, I was unable to find anything on the school or the district's website about the event. I commend their proactive measures in taking care of the situation, but some sort of information should probably be placed on the website as well.

It is so unfortunate that situations like these happen, but it is really up to the school districts to keep students and parents safe and informed.

http://www.southlakecarroll.edu/Letter%20to%20Parents%204.24.07.pdf
http://www.wylieisd.net/default.wspx
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/043007dnmetparentreact.393958d.html

Grassroots or Astroturf???

It seems fair to say that the Rainforest Action Network is a grassroots organization, even if some have stated otherwise.

RAN has a small staff of people around the world as well as thousands of volunteers aggressively working "to leave a safe and secure world for our children." According to www.RAN.org, the group "works to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action."

With a mediocre annual budget of $3 million dollars, the organization relies on donations and grants has been able to convince large companies to change the the way they practice, as well as protect tons of forests spanning the globe.

According to reference.com, "A grassroots political movement is driven by the constituents of a community. The term implies that the genesis of the described political movement is natural yet spontaneous and imposes a dichotomy between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures."

Seems to me, the Rainforest Action Network does just that.... just on a much larger scale. I think that many people object to RAN, because it is so large-scale, it has gained support from large companies, and perhaps, because of the radical actions members have taken. However, it seems as though the people who object to the organization have overlooked the goal of the group and how well those radical actions have raised awareness around the world.

Media Kit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact

Irene J. Klaver, (940)-565-2266

klaver@unt.edu

WATER CONFERENCE MAKES A SPLASH AT UNIVERSITY

WaterWays 2007 Brings the Community Together on Water Issues

Denton, Texas--March 2007-- With possible water shortages looming overhead, the Philosophy of Water Department at UNT is doing their part to combat these issues with an educational, three-day conference.

WaterWays 2007 will be held March 13-15 on the UNT campus and will feature keynote speaker Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President of the Waterkeeper Alliance. The conference is free and open to the public.

WaterWays will shed light on the unfortunate outlook on river basins, specifically the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin located in both India and Bangladesh. This region holds nearly one-tenth of the world’s population and supports one of the largest supplies of water to the rest of the world.

The conference will also feature presentations on the future of our own water shed supply and what we can do to reduce consumption.

This “confluence of Art, Science, Policy and Philosophy” strives to bring together various groups of individuals in order to discuss critical water basin issues that span the globe. "Instead of the master planning approach, water managers need to get input from the population and have a priority approach,” said Dr. Irene J. Klaver, director of WaterWays and the Philosophy of Water Project. The ultimate goal of the conference is to simply “raise awareness of water basin issues.”

The WaterWays Conference is a part of the Water Project, sponsored by the Philosophy of Water Department at UNT and the Dixon Foundation of Dallas. It works to develop new ways to understand the connection between humans and nature.

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Biographical Information

As President of the Waterkeeper Alliance and Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper, Robert F. Kennedy is a strong advocate for the integrity of the Hudson River ecosystem in New York. He was even named one of the “Heroes for the Planet” by Time Magazine for leading Riverkeeper in the fight to restore the Hudson River. Kennedy’s activism spans all the way from Canada to South America where he has aided in forming treaties which protect their traditional homelands. He is a renowned author, a radio personality, a professor and an attorney. He is also a licensed master Falconer and enjoys the thrill of white water paddling whenever possible.

Dr. John A. McLachlan is the director of the RiverSphere Project and the Center for Bioenvironmental Research, both backed by Tulane and Xavier Universities in New Orleans. One of Center’s major focuses is the Katrina Environmental Research and Restoration Network. McLachlan is a graduate of both John’s Hopkins and George Washington Universities. He spent many years with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences where he was named Scientific Director in 1989. McLachlan has been at the forefront of many new scientific discoveries and studies, for which he has been awarded many prestigious awards.

Schedule of Events

TUESDAY

3:30-3:40 ENV 130: Opening Remarks and Panel Discussion-Irene J. Klaver, Director of UNT Philosophy of Water Project and WaterWays

3:40-4:35: North Texas Drought and Water Conservation-Rodney Love, Tierra Designs, Denton, Texas

4:35-5:30: The advantages of Harvesting: Richard Heinichen, Richard's Rainwarer, Dripping Springs, Texas

7:00 ART 221: Artist Lecture on Installation of Rainmaker's Workshop- Daniel Bozkov, Yale School of Art, Columbia University, and Rhode Island School of Design

9:30 ENV 130: Film Series: WATER by: Deepa Mehta

WEDNESDAY

9:00 ENV 120: Water Concerns in the South: A Broad Survey of the Concerns of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh- Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Former Secretary of Water, New Dehlu, India

Noon ENV 320A: Luncheon

Alliance and Hudson 1:00 ENV 130: Panel Discussion: River Cultures- Ecological Futures- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., WaterkeeperRiverkeeper and John A. McLachlan, Tulane and Xavier Universities

3:00 ENV Atrium: Reception with Trio Montuno Performance- Trio Montuno

3:00 ENV 3rd Floor: Photography Exhibit- Dornith Doherty, UNT

5:00 Art Gallery: Daniel Bozhkov: Recent Works and Underground Waterworks Rainmaker's Workshop- Daniel Bozhkov

8:00 Lyceum: Distinguished Speaker's Series- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

THURSDAY

9:30-10:50 ENV 130: Mississippi and Living With Great Rivers: Floods, the Birth of Civilizations and Contemporary Disasters- Richard Sparks, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

Noon: Luncheon