February 10, 2008 was the day members of the Internet-phenom protest group Anonymous picketed Scientology churches from America to New Zealand. No rules were broken, no one was arrested, but the signs the protestors held made some bystanders wonder: is it Scientology a religion that benefits its members, or a scam aimed at milking its members for money?
One name on the sign, Elli Perkins, hits close to home. A high-ranking counselor for the CoS in Buffalo, Perkins was brutally stabbed to death by her schizophrenic son in 2003, according to The Buffalo News.
Instead of honoring their fallen member, the CoS denied any connection to the family, since it cast Scientology's edict against psychiatric drugs in a negative light, according to CBSnews.com.
Anonymous gives voice to the dead, but it gives little credit to the American people. People can chose to ignore the people giving free stress tests in The Commons, or they can join a fast-growing religion. Human beings are probably the only species of mammal that can choose how it wants to survive. It's their choice, whether they want to join Scientology, the Westboro Baptist Church, or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
The protesters braved the cold weather today to force a secretive organization to own up to its past mistakes. While the group will probably attack Anonymous rather than listen, Anonymous has proven its point. People can choose which side to believe, Anonymous or the Church of Scientology. CoS's elaborate cover-ups show that knowledge is power, and should be in the hands of the people.
Gold Rush of Globalization
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According to a front-page Feb. 10, 2008 New York Times article, prestigious universities such as RIT and NYU are hurrying to set up schools in China and the Middle East.
On the outside, the school's actions may seem altruistic and of benefit to overseas students. However, many of them are using the rich foreign investors from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to offset lacking government funding. Universities are diving headfirst into undocumented territories, not knowing the impact their activities will have on domestic and foreign markets.
Professor Gene Nelson wrote in to The Spectrum on Feb. 8, 2008, pointing out how there is no wage protection for American workers from those here on the H-1B visa program. Since taxpayers fund public universities such as UB, he argues they should have a say in where the money goes. The new equality in education could mean competition for jobs on our home turf will replace the fear of outsourcing them overseas.
Regardless of whether schools can provide a quality education in two places at once, expanding education overseas is the way of the future. After enough schools open up internationally, competition will start among them. The SUNY system, a well-known model for quality education at low costs, could hop into the international market and attract students who couldn't otherwise afford an education.
Perhaps UB will cash in by opening technical programs in other countries, since SUNY's endowment is smaller than that of well-established universities and has to be shared among all schools in the system.
The "global university" gold rush may be the way of the future, but before we get there steps must be taken to ensure equality for all workers- regardless of the nation they matriculate in.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
