|
A Great Crowd for a Great Speaker!
 Over 40 people, mostly area high school students, were able to attend last Saturday's Civitas event at Crossroads with Bill Wallace, a former UN/NATO Peacekeeper in Bosnia in the mid-1990's. Bill shared his intriguing, and sometimes harrowing, experiences in captivating detail, including his abrupt call-up as a reservist in the army to serve as a UN Peacekeeper, the grueling training in Germany to prepare, and his eventual arrival in Bosnia. Due to the ongoing dangers of the ethnic civil war, it was quickly decided that his small team needed to be NATO (vs. UN) Peacekeepers, with the capability of defending themselves, if necessary. The NATO Mission was to establish their presence and be "Force Protection and Providers." They negotiated with leaders representing the Serbs, Muslims, and Croats to promote peace; they developed materials about mine awareness because over a million unexploded ordinances were throughout Bosnia and Croatia; and they helped the civilians remaining in war-torn Bosnia, existing in dire circumstances, many orphaned children. The UN Refugee Representatives were alerted and quickly picked  up the children. Other refugees still living in hostile regions throughout Bosnia were assisted to safety and eventually relocated to other parts of the world. The U.S. received around 60,000 Bosnian refugees and a large number of them were relocated to South St. Louis where they were warmly welcomed and have thrived as valuable assets to our area. Bill also spent 30 minutes answering fantastic questions from the audience, some about the current administration's stance on immigrants and an America-first mantra. His concluding message for everyone there was his belief that the United States needs to continue their role as peacekeepers in the world. America's military and economic strengths provide the privileged position of helping vs. instigating. He lingered for quite a while after the event ended to continue answering questions from some students.
In fact, he's still answering questions via email. If you have one for Bill, contact Civitas and we'll put you in touch with him.
Click here for pictures from the morning and resources from Bill's presentation.
|
|
|
What is happening with education in America? In the St. Louis area?
Join us this Saturday, Feb. 1
to meet Post-Dispatch Education Reporter,
Blythe Bernhard
|
|
Blythe Bernhard's talk was rescheduled due to weather to this Saturday, Feb. 1. That's also a day scheduled for a student journalists panel and a roundtable discussion. Since we are combining events, we added an hour (and a pizza lunch) to the time. We will meet at 10:00 am at Crossroads and end at 1:00 pm.
Among current stories Blythe may address is President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. She has been sued for allegedly enabling sexual abuse of children. Note that she was sued, not convicted, but she has spent far more of her professional life helping her husband, Vince, manage WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) than working with schools. McMahon's confirmation hearing with the Senate is still not scheduled, but should be soon. Additionally, there is considerable news about our local schools! What about the disparity of financial resources among regional schools? Virtually all readers of the Civitas newsletter are stakeholders in one or more schools. Our interest is natural.
As the chief education reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Blythe has been covering these stories and more. In collaboration with colleagues from the Post, she has been gathering and disseminating data about school districts and individual schools in our area.
Blythe met with Civitas’ 2023 summer interns and was terrific. She is very conversational. As a reporter, she is just as comfortable asking questions and answering them. You can access articles by Blythe by clicking here.
The event is at Crossroads (map), from 10:00 AM – 1:00 pm, on Saturday, February 1. Following Blythe's talk, a few student journalsts from the Civitas Examiner will have a panel discussion. We'll then have a roundtable talk on topics that interest you as we eat a pizza lunch!
You can sign up by clicking here.
|
|
Sign up now for Second Semester High School Model UN, March 1!
The Second Semester HSMUN session will be held in Winifred Moore Auditorium, accessible through Webster University's Main Hall.
Civitas is excited to offer another High School Model UN session on Saturday, March 1. To accommodate more students and more resolutions, the session will be from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. Plenty of snacks will be available! We will meet in the much larger venue, the Winifred Moore Auditorium, still on Webster University's campus inside the Main Hall at 470 East Lockwood, 63119. Parking is plentiful across the street, along Lockwood, and behind the building off Plymouth Blvd (MAP).
Some important reminders and points to know:
- Students should represent the same countries they had in the fall or another country your school drafted in the fall.
- New students are welcome. If your school did not draft countries in the fall, contact Stephanie (gavinstephanie89@gmail.com) for a country list.
- There will most likely be some duplicate country delegations. We will have separate voting placards for duplicates.
- If you submitted a resolution in the fall that was not discussed, it will have priority on the list. However, please review it/revise it and resubmit it to Stephanie via email by midnight on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
- New resolutions are welcomed and encouraged.
- A few resolutions may be facilitated by students at this session.
|
|
|
If you'd like to write for the Civitas Examiner ...
|
|
Editor Emily Nguyen (Liberty, 2026) writes:
"Starting in the summer of 2024, Civitas summer interns have written for the Civitas Examiner, which features both news and opinions. With the release of the second edition of the Examiner, we are extending article submissions to any and all students who participate in Civitas programs. The Examiner will continue to be available in both printed copy and online. Please fill out the form in order to submit your piece for review."
All Civitas students are invited to apply for writing positions with the Examiner. Future editions will include topics well beyond politics. The current staff of the newspaper is  looking for investigative pieces that are true to the paper's name -- the Examiner. Topics can include the environment, American culture, international relations, issues facing today's students and much more. Again, click here to access the interest form.
|
|
|
Come Play Trivia with us on Sat., Feb. 22
|
|
It's sponsored by the League of Women Voters, a great organization founded in 1920. LWV loves having men in their programs, so, everyone from Civitas is invited to the League's Trivia night on Saturday, Feb. 22 (George Washington's 292nd Birthday).
Historically Civitas has had excellent teams at the League's trivia. More importantly, we've had a lot of fun. We laugh, we think, we eat, and overall have a great time. So, please join us for this event, 6:30 - 9:30 PM at the First Congregational Church of Webster Groves, 10 W. Lockwood; 63119 (map). Click here to sign up.
|
|
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 10:00 am until 1:00 pm at Crossroads College Prep School (MAP)
Rescheduled talk with St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter, Blythe Bernhard, Open Discussion and Panel of Student Journalists
Click here to sign up
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 1, 2025-March 10, 2025
STL Changemakers application window.
Click here to read more about the two-week program in June.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 22, 2025, 6:30 pm until 9:30 PM at First Congregational Church of Webster Groves (MAP)
League of Women Voters Trivia
Click here to sign up
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, March 1, 2025, 9:00 am until 1:00 pm at Webster University in Winifred Moore Auditorium, located in the Main Hall of Webster University (MAP)
Click here to sign up
|
|
|
|
|
