Archive - February 8, 2013

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Facebook Destroying Cross Cultural Life
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Once Again, Sequestration Rears Its Ugly Head
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Three Washington State Colleges Lead Nation in PCVs

Facebook Destroying Cross Cultural Life

I read recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education how Facebook was destroying Study Abroad Program. The writer, Robert Huesca, a professor communications at Trinity University in San Antonio, made the point that while living for six months in Benin he was “particularly attuned to the issues that concern professionals in study abroad-ranging from cultural immersion to health and safety. All of those issues seem to have been transformed for good and for ill by advances in information and communication technology.” After living with 10 students in the town of Ouidah, watching all of them (and himself!) operate in a new cross-cultural setting, equipped with “computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, iPads, iPods, and other media players loaded with movies, television programs, and music,” he came to the decision that  “we need to add technology management to curricula aimed at preparing students to gain as rich an experience as possible from . . .

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Once Again, Sequestration Rears Its Ugly Head

In December, Acting Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet wrote a memo on how sequestration would impact the Peace Corps. Sequestration was part of the “fiscal cliff” that was to occur on January 2nd, 2013 and now looms as a possibility on March 1st.  Sequestration is the procedure in which automatic spending cuts are triggered to budgets of federal agencies if Congress and the President cannot reach agreement on spending measures. Here is the Director’s memo: December 20, 2012 TO: Peace Corps Global FROM: Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Acting Director SUBJECT: Implications of Ongoing Fiscal Cliff Negotiations for the Peace Corps As you are all likely aware, the Administration and Congress are continuing to work to resolve a series of economic or fiscal events, collectively referred to as the “fiscal cliff,” that are scheduled to occur around the end of the year. One of the key issues involves potential across-the-board reductions in federal spending— . . .

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Three Washington State Colleges Lead Nation in PCVs

Three Washington state colleges swept the nation in their respective size categories for having the most PCVs in the Peace Corps. It’s the first time WWU has been ranked No. 1 and the fifth time for the University of Washington. Five other universities in Washington also made the Peace Corps 2013 Top Colleges rankings, all in the small school category: Seattle University (No. 5, 19 alumni currently serving), University of Puget Sound (No. 8, 18 alumni), Evergreen State College (No. 8, 16 alumni), Whitman College (No. 8, 16 alumni), Pacific Lutheran University (No. 18, 15 alumni). The full top 25 rankings for each school size category – plus all-time and graduate school rankings – can be found on the Peace Corps website: www.peacecorps.gov Gonzaga University climbed to No. 1 nationwide among small colleges and universities whose graduates serve in the Peace Corps. Twenty-four Gonzaga undergraduate alumni are serving overseas as Peace . . .

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