Tony Award Winning Dramatist Sounds Off on Politics and Theatre

By Christina Edwards

December 4, 2008

Photo credit Roy Zipstein

At the end of his prolific Reagan era social commentary play Angels in America, playwright Tony Kushner writes “there is a kind of painful progress. Longing for what we’ve left behind, and dreaming ahead.”

Appropriately, progress and looking back were key topics of An Evening With Tony Kushner, held at the Taylor Theatre at UNC Greensboro December 3.

Kushner, an Emmy award winner and a two-time Tony winner who has been praised for his politically fused dramas, spoke to a full crowd about the future of American politics and the social consciousness of theatre.

“I’m okay with being called a political dramatist, but I’m not sure I am,” Kushner said. “The family scenes, that’s what I like to write. I deal with human relationships and psychology.”

Kushner opened the evening with a reading of Prayer for New York, a piece he was commissioned to write for a 9/11 commeration, complete with character voices and wild hand gestures.

“I was conflicted about writing it,” Kushner said about being asked to write the piece. “But then again, I’m conflicted about most things.”

Conflicted, maybe, but opinionated? Certainly. Kushner talked for two hours about the challenges Obama will face in the next four years, Sarah Palin, and writing for film and stage.

He also spoke about Steven Spielberg’s upcoming movie Lincoln, which Kushner recently wrote the screenplay for.

Kushner ending the evening by signing books at the Brown Theatre, staying to hold a conversation with fans, who filed out the door waiting to meet him. 

List of Kushner’s Works

Christina Edwards
November 24, 2008
Math Tools for Journalists
Chapters 5-8

Chapter 5: Polls and Surveys

Polls and surveys are used in journalistic writing to offer a picture or summary or that describes something about the population. It is important to be able to understand where the survey is taken from and what the numbers mean in context in order to properly evaluate the results in the context of the population.

Polls are mostly taken using samples of the population, as it is often impossible to survey the entire population. Samples of populations can be taken several ways:

–Census sampling involves sampling everyone in the population.
–Cluster sampling takes the sample from one area or region.
–Multistage sampling selects a geographic region and randomly selected subgroup.
–Systematic Random sampling takes a specific number, example 6, and goes down a list, polling every 6th person.
–Quota sampling selects a sample from a certain demographic
–Probability sampling draws a certain percentage out of a group of potential subjects.

In order to accurate evaluate a percentage, the margin of error and level of confidence must be taken into consideration. The margin of error shows the degree of accuracy based on the standard norm. The level of confidence, which is the percentage at which the researchers believe the results are accurate.
Z scores and T scores are also often used in analyzing survey results. Z Scores (or standard scores) shows how much a figure deviates from the mean. They are calculated by subtracting the mean from the raw score and dividing by the standard deviation. The T score is similar, used only when the sample size is small. This can be found in a standard table of critical T values.

Example:
A survey was taken of white middle class women to determine education levels. What type of sampling would this be?

Answer: Quota sampling.

Chapter 6: Business

Financial statements are formal documents that include quantitative statements about the business transactions of a company which often include a profit and loss report. Profit and loss shows whether a company is making money. This is calculated by subtracting expenses from income. Cost of goods refers to the expense that comes from the production of the product; if products are bought, this is referred to as wholesale. Overheard refers to expense not directly related to the product. The difference between the price of goods sold and the selling price is the gross margin. The gross margin multiplied by the number of items sold is the gross profit. The gross margin minus the overhead is the net profit.
A balance sheet is the statement of the companies assets, liabilities, and equity. The assets equal the liability plus the equity. Assests are the resources owned by the company. Equity is the value of the company. Liabilities are the obligations that still need to be paid.
Ratios are used for examining trends and comparisons to other companies. The current ration is found by dividing the current assets by the current liabilities and measures how well a company can meet its liabilities. Quick ratio divides the cash the company has on hand with the current liabilities. The debt to asset ratio divides the total debt by the total assets. The debt to equity ratio divides the total debt with the equity. Return on assets divides net income by total assets. Return on equity divides net income by equity. Price earnings measures the return of the investment based on the stock price, dividing the market price per share by the earnings per share.

Example:
If a product costs 2 dollars to make and is sold for $2.75, what is the gross profit?
Answer: $.75

Chapter 7:  Stocks and Bonds

Stocks are sold by corporations to raise money; stock shareholders are part owners in the company.  The value of the stock is based on the demand.
Another way for corporations and the government to raise money is to sell bonds, which is a loan from an investor to the organization. Bonds earn interest at a set rate. The face value is the amount the owner will receive when the bond has matured. The bond’s current yield (the return on the investment) is found by multiplying the interest rate by the face value and then dividing by the price. The bond cost with interest is found by multiplying the amount, rate, and years before the bond reaches maturity.
Market averages (stock indexes) measure exchanges using market averages. These track certain groups of stocks to track overall market conditions.

Example:
If a $2000 bond is bought for $1500 at a 5% interest rate, what is the current yield of the bond?
(5% x 2000)/1500=6.7%

Chapter 8: Property Taxes
Property tax rates are determined by the amount of money needed by the government and dividing that amount by property owners proportionately to the value of their property.

Property taxes are measured in mills, which are 1/10 of a cent. The mill levy is calculated by dividing the amount of taxes that will be collected by the assessed total value of all of the property; this determines the tax rate.

A property is assigned an appraised value, based off of the property’s use, physical characteristics, and the current market value. The appraisal value is multiplied by a rate determined by the government to get the assessed value.
Tax is calculated by dividing the assessed value of the property by 100, then multiplied by the tax rate.

Example: If a town’s tax rate is at 60% of the appraised value, and a property is appraised for $150,000, what is the tax rate?
Answer: $90,000

The Division of News and Gossip

By Christina Edwards


November 19, 2008

The journalist’s job is to inform, to provide the general population with the current information about the world, country, and community they live in. The average citizen has the right to know when happens are effecting their lives, and it is the journalist’s job to serve and protect that right. The first amendment covers freedom of the press for that very purpose, Sunshine Centers have been introduced to assist the journalist in fighting for that right. But in a country that also names privacy as a first amendment right, where is the line between informative, intrusive, or even frivolous?


The recent election season has brought to the forefront questions of journalistic necessity, particularly where families of candidates (including underaged children) are concerned. It can be argued that the candidates are the one running for office, not the family, but what happens when the family provides news relevant to the campaign?


In late August, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin announced that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol was pregnant. This was immediately followed by a media blitz, covered everywhere from gossip websites to CNN. The coverage, in turn, was immediately criticized by right wing organizations as exploitation.


Palin announced her daughter’s pregnancy at a press conference. Palin is a known advocate of both the pro-life movement and abstinence only education in schools. Palin in essence allowed for this event to be covered, and there is arguable relevancy. The original coverage of the event? Within the rights of reporting.


In the weeks after the news broke, articles appeared reporting on the Myspace Web sites of both Bristol Palin and the reported father, Levi Johnston. These included pictures taken of the teens drinking and quotes taken from Johnston’s page where he had written “I don’t want kids.”
Articles like these breech a level of appropriateness. While it can be argued relevant that a pro-life candidate has a pregnant teenage daughter and child with Down’s Syndrome, the necessity of investigative judgment on the life of a candidate’s child becomes blurred.


On the other side of the partisan pond, one of the hot topics surrounding President Elect Barack Obama (besides what breed of dog the family will adopt) concerns what school his two young daughters will attend when relocated to Washington D.C.


Last week, the New York Times ran an article titled “Parents’ Night with the President,” which reported on elite Washington private schools reportedly looked at by the family vying for the Obamas’ attendance. This topic was also addressed in a recent interview with Obama and his wife Michelle on CBS.


Obama’s democratic education platform addresses several reforms to the public school system and stresses the importance of investing in the quality of public schools. In Chicago, his daughters attended private school, and all of the reported top school choices for the Obamas are private. In terms of where Obama stands on education, the decision he makes on where to send his own children can be considered relevant.

The New York Times ran another article on Tuesday addressing the Obama girls—this time on a tour the were given of the White House by Jenna and Barbara Bush. In the article, there is explicit mention that this was a private event: “The visit was strictly private, with no media coverage or photos.”
Was this article harmful to either the Obama or Bush family? Would it have been harmful to have a couple of photographers snapping pictures? Was this some top secret matter of national security? Probably not, on all counts.
But it wasn’t really relevant to anything, either.


What this comes down to is a matter of privacy. It is not wrong to report that an event happened, or to draw attention to a public website. There’s nothing illegal or even arguably morally reprehensible about these articles.


But just because something can be reported on doesn’t mean it’s newsworthy or necessary. Will it be read? Probably.

But there’s a line between news and gossip, and it’s also the journalist’s job to decide where that line is.

Water ski club takes off

Elon may be hours from the coast but the water sports scene has still found its way to campus.

The 21 members of Elon’s month-old Water Ski Club take advantage of Burlington’s Lake Cammack, located only 11 miles from campus.

The club became official Sept. 22, after two years of effort from president Brice McHale.

“It was a slow process, but I think the school wanted to make sure it was done right,” McHale said.

McHale has been an avid water skier since the age of 6, but hadn’t thought about bringing the sport to Elon until chemistry professor Eugene Grimley approached him.

 “The first thing you have to do [to start a campus organization] is get an adviser,” McHale said. “Dr. Grimley actually contacted me a week or two into freshman year and asked if I would be interested.”

Nearly a year had gone by when Anna Powell, a sophomore from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., joined the club and everything began to fall into place.

Powell’s parents allowed the club to use their boat and helped them gain access to Lake Cammack.

Before they could become an officially recognized Elon organization, both McHale and Grimley had to go through extensive safety coordinator training.

“Elon was very meticulous in making sure everything was done right,” McHale said. “I think they just wanted to make sure we did everything safely.”

The club has already participated in competitions, including a South Atlantic Conference Regional competition.

The club is ranked 45th out of the 74 east coast teams.

“We have a wide variety of experience,” McHale said. “We have people who have been doing competitions, and we have people who have just started. We have the full spectrum.”

He has been water skiing since he was 6 years old, and began skiing competitively when he was just seven. However, unlike McHale, some club members are new to competing.

 “Before this club, I had [water] skied one time,” freshman Erik Higbee said. “I just heard about it, and wanted to give it a chance. I think after five practices I was doing the slalom mini course.”

Club members practice at Lake Cammack on Thursdays when the lake is closed to the general public.

“We have one of the best collegiate water ski setups,” McHale said. “We have the slalom course, and it’s regularly available to us.”

Information, understanding key in Iraq war according to journalist.

By Christina Edwards

October 22, 2008

Ahmed Fadaam addresses the war in Iraq and the role media plays.

Dr. Ahmed Fadaam is an accidental journalist.

Until 2003, he was a professor of fine arts at the University of Baghdad. He was a figurative artist, working with clay, marble and stone. He lived in Baghdad with his two children and his wife.

Until the school he was teaching at was destroyed in a 2003 bombing.

“You can’t even feel safe inside your house,” Fadaam said of the turmoil in Iraq.

After the bombings, Fadaam was out of a job. He was then hired as a translator for NPR’s The Connection, going on in May 2003 to work for The Agence France Presse as an interpreter, videographer, reporter, courtroom artist and photographer. Presently, he is working as the Baghdad reporter for The Story with Dick Gordon on WUNC North Carolina Public Radio, and for the Baghdad Bureau of the New York Times.

“Art was my life at that time, I couldn’t imagine myself as a man who would chase stories,” Fadaam said. “I was trying to lock myself up in my own paradise.”

Since falling into journalism, Fadaam’s work has won five awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage. While at Elon University as a scholar-in-residence, Fadaam spoke to journalism students October 22 about the role of media in the war and future relations between the United States and Iraq.

“It’s curiosity,” Fadaam said. Some people believe what they hear, others have to check it out for themselves. I don’t know if I’m a good [journalist], but I did something.”

Fadaam speaks to Janna Anderson's class at Elon University October 22.

His work and achievement has come with its consequences. Fadaam has received death threats for his affiliation with western media, causing him to move his wife and children to Syria for safety.

“We’re looked at as spies, as blood traitors,” Fadaam said. “But as long as you know you’re telling the truth. When you want to fight back, it’s not necessary to use weapons. We do it with words, with the truth.”

According to Fadaam, in the early days of the war in Iraq, it was only the Americans and the American media that was looked at with distrust by the Iraqi people.

“It would have been better to introduce yourself as Canadian,” Fadaam said, noting that he was better received by Iraqi citizens when working for the French news organization.

Now, he says, all western media is seen as equal to American. Fadaam also notes that he believes eventually, Iraq will be completely anti-American.

Western media, according to Fadaam, is similarly distrustful of Iraqis. He says Iraqi sources are looked at as exaggerating and trying to spread propaganda.
Fadaam says that in order for Iraqi relations with Americans to become stable, communication needs to be established between the two groups.

“You have children who open their eyes to their country under fire,” Fadaam said. “They need to know that there is a difference between the American people and the American administration.”

Fadaam believes information and understanding of the other culture is key in the conflict.

“You should be informed in what’s going on in details,” Fadaam said. “Know more about Iraqis. If you feel the pain, you can talk about the wound.”