By Melissa Henderson
A “Student Panel Discussion” hosted by the University’s Office of Multicultural and International Student Programs (OMISP) and “Educate ’08” was held last Wednesday as part of the University’s Black History month events. The OMISP’s goal is to ensure that diversity is a top priority for the enrichment of students at the University.
Professors, from various departments throughout the University, highlighted key issues frequently referred to in the news media in four-minute intervals, and then held a question-and-answer portion which allowed for student discussion. However, students made up a minute proportion of the audience; only ten attended the event.
“I think it’s a necessity that students need to be informed voters. They need to be aware of the issues,” said Malcolm Malone, a graduate student working in the OMISP office.
Malone was the host of the event.
Education is an important issue in the 2008 presidential election, and the panel discussed problems with education in the black community. The source of the problem is that “more and more [people are] led by people who do not identify with the inner-city culture,” said Ryan Greene, the director of OMISP. “The kids do not have role models.”
Greene said that schools are to blame for an achievement gap between whites and blacks because “schools are a reflection of society.” He cited statistics that indicate a lack of blacks in positions of power in the business and politics, and that half of blacks do not graduate high school, let alone receive college degrees.
Another key issue in the 2008 election is that of health care which was addressed by Rachel Kreier, an adjunct professor. In the United States, 47 million Americans are uninsured, and many more do not possess enough insurance, even if they work and their employer offers insurance. The Latino community is hit the hardest, Kreier said, especially documented or undocumented workers.
Many insurance companies do not cover all medicines and cases,” Kreier said. “Being covered matters, and the poorer you are, the lower the life expectancy.”
The panel’s discussion on the war in Iraq was led by Paul Fritz, an assistant professor of political science, who addressed some of the confusion that students were having about the American troop surge in Iraq.
Fritz explained that Bush believes that the situation is going to improve, and that there will be “a break” to reassess the situation strategically. With more pressure on the surge, the violence caused by Islamists will decrease.
Bush, he said, is considered a lame-duck president as he ends his final term, but he is still trying to make his mark of “greatness” by bringing forth multiple bills before Congress.
Rosanna Perotti, a professor of political science, led the discussion on immigration, another highly controversial topic.
To the “restrictionist,” illegal immigration is a problem because of areas becoming overpopulated, the limitation of jobs for citizens, the loss of taxes because illegal immigrants do not pay. Yet their children still attend public schools which are funded by taxes, Perotti explained. Border control is too lenient, restrictionists contend. Illegal immigrants should also not be allowed in the country due to terrorist precautions, she added.
Many liberals believe that there are pressures of inhumane treatment existing in their home countries, and some immigrants just want to be reunited with their families, Perotti said.
Finally, the discussion turned to the current state of the U.S. economy. Workers, and the economy as a whole, are both going through a difficult time, said Martin Melkonian, an adjunct professor of economics and geography.
“Two trillion dollars of paper wealth has been wiped away by the housing ‘bubble’ in the process of undergoing financial changes,” Melkonian said.
It is not a recession in technical terms, but a series of steps to deal with the issue through stimulation will result in easing the monetary system. Banks can then balance their loan intake to consumer and revenue growth, Melkonian explained.
Working in conjunction with the tax issue, the economy needs a balance of input and output; therefore, more infrastructure projects will create better-paying jobs that allow consumers to afford goods and services, Melkonian said.
After the event, Malone spoke about his opinion of the event. “I thought it was a success. There was a lot of information for students to use, and I’m happy with the coordination between the OMISP and faculty members.”
Staff Writer Akeem Mellis contributed reporting to this story.

A student choir group sings in the Multipurpose Room on Tuesday evening.