The Matthew Online

ITALIAN INSIGHT FOR VISITING AMERICANS

By James La Russo

ROME - In Italy, March is marked by fashion week. It's the time where Italians find out about the latest trends and styles that they use as a guide throughout the upcoming season.

For many American students studying abroad, Italian style can be aesthetically aggressive. Italy – the capital of moda and a place where wearing clothes straight off of the runway is not uncommon - is really quite different from anything else that they have ever seen before.

Visiting student from the American University of Rome Megan Strohson's initial impression of Italian clothing was nothing like what she had expected. She assumed Italians in Rome would dress similar to the way Italian-Americans dressed in her native Long Island. "My Italian-American guy friends would be shocked that guys here in Rome are so feminine with tight formfitting jeans and girly accessories," she said. Strohson noted that her Italian-American female friends would be embarrassed to wear glasses, but that girls in Italy embrace impaired vision and get large, thick-framed plastic glasses that evoke a lot of fashion appeal. She employed three very distinct adjectives to describe her first impressions of outfits seen in Rome: gaudy, tacky and flashy.

Strohson explained that a comparatively simpler outfit is valued in America. In Italy, she finds that the louder your outfit shouts, the more recognition you receive.

Many Americans find comfort in "safe" outfits that have been popular in the past and are otherwise "approved"  conventional pieces. Italians are comparatively more adventurous with their wardrobes and embrace the avant garde.

Gabriele explained that Americans will sometimes go out without makeup on and with their hair up in a pony tail, while any Italian woman would consider Coco Chanel's famous quote in even small instances: "I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little – if only out of politeness. And then, you never know,  maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny."

Gabriele added that American fashion in Rome stands out due to three associating wardrobe items: North Face jackets, jeans and good, old sneakers. There is an exception to this, which she claimed is the look of some American girls who appear to have "bought out every color and type of leggings from American Apparel and pair them with Ugg boots daily."

American everyday fashion (as seen in Italy) appears to be based solely on comfort. But "comfort should not equal carelessness and [ultimately] looking unflattering," Gabrielle said. She admitted that she embraces fashion and that it can look flashy at times, but rationalizes the importance of looking good, "none of us are natural beauties or models, but

accessorizing and having fun with fashions helps the way we look."

Disappearance of the left

By Silvia Cavasola .

 While the United States embraces democracy once again, the European Left wing is weak and fragmented like never before. Take a look at the data. In 1997, 13 of the 15 countries that make up the European Union were democratic; today, only 8 of the 25 countries are of the Left.

In countries like Italy, France and Germany democracy was seen in their liveliness of our culture, yet a separation between such parties and the electorate seems to have surfaced.

Democracy in Italy, for instance, has struggled to survive. Although the democrats are the largest opposition party, WaIter Veltroni stepped down as leader nearly a month ago. Such struggles are anchored by these two dates: 13 April 2008 and 17 February 2009. First: Silvio Berlusconi's coalition won the elections and the parties of the radical Left were excluded from Parliament. Second: VeItroni resigned after having been accused of having failed to "regenerate the party and provide it with a large popular consensus." Within a few months, Italian democracy was confronted with a dramatic loss of representativeness - the causes of which have been interpreted in a variety of ways.

Enough with the past, enough with the causes. How does the shift to the right wing and the "disappearance" of democracy effect the European Union?

Among JCU students, opinions are manifold. Some interpret the phenomenon optimistically, arguing for the end of the era of great ideological contrapositions: a hope for the beginning of a political confrontation based on "concrete facts, rather than just names." Others are pessimistic, deeming the shift to the right "the death of progress" and an advent of homologous thought. In any case, the future of the European Democracy remains highly uncertain. We will see if the whispering wind in the new USA will be heard from the Old Continent.

PRESIDENT OBAMAs REVERSAL OF MEXICO CITY POLICY HAILED BY ABORTION ACTIVISTS

By Arielle Jones

ROME - Maxim Spiegel, a 21-year-old American tourist visiting his girlfriend in Italy, cringed as he imagined her searching for a safe abortion clinic in case of an emergency. The idea of an unplanned pregnancy while abroad could be an even bigger nightmare under the “Mexico City Policy," that prevented few international family planning clinics from providing abortion services. Thanks, however, to President Barack Obama, Spiegel's girlfriend, or any woman looking for a safe abortion clinic, now doesn't have to search far and wide.

In January, President Obama signed an executive order reversing the policy that lifted the ban on U.S. funding towards international family planning services that provide abortions. The policy forbid any family planning agency from promoting  abortion procedures, if the agency expected to receive U.S. aid from it government, or private, non government sources. For  his reason; many abortion rights groups considered the policy the "Global Gag Rule." "Places should be readily available for  women in other countries to make their own decisions about their own health, and U.S. funding would enable this," Spiegel aid. He explained that the goal of U.S. international family planning funding is to provide a safe haven for women during  pregnancy, "so it shouldn't make a difference whether they're going to actually have the baby or not. The health of the woman  is the key issue here." Abortion rights groups praised President Obama's move and believe it has the potential to save women's lives around the world. Rachel Rubin, a 20-year old American student, is pleased with the decision. "I don't think that

it's up to the government to decide whether somebody can have an abortion or not," she said. "Overall, it's a positive thing. I  think this shows a lot of support for women, that they have the ability to get abortions and they aren't being restricted in other countries tries. Many countries have had problems with healthy family planning."

Carolyn Smith, a professor of art history at JCU, agreed. "I think it's a good idea, because the United States shouldn't force any anti-abortion inhibitions on other countries," she said. Smith, 50-years-old, added that President Obama's decision is a positive one for world health. "Now, you're having abortions that aren't back ally affairs. You're having abortions where you'd assume women are receiving medical attention," she said. President Obama's move wasn't hailed only by pro-rights women. Enrico Amarante, a 41- year-old JCU librarian, said that sexual education and abortion opportunities are a positive thing, but he understands how the hot topic has remained controversial. "Not all people have an open relationship with sex, and prefer not to think about it," he said. "But if you are a democratic country, the first goal is to help people decide about their own lives, and you have to promote this." Amarante claims that the democratic responsibility of the U.S. extends further than beyond its American boundaries.

"The decisions of the president of the United States involve the whole world, always. Even if you're an Italian citizen like me, this is something that involves everyone, not only Americans," he said. "In my opinion, this is something positive."

Kenneth Rosenzweig, a 20-year-old American student, is skeptical of President Obama's move. "I don't agree with the United States going into other countries with their own money” he said. "It should be up to the individual countries, what they want to do on family planning." Rosenzweig believes the reversal of the Mexico City Policy could have negative implications for U.S. international relations."That's always a question, whether helping other countries is important or not," he said. "This is important, because it could lead to a lot of international disagreement. But if the individual country doesn't have a problem  with it, and they support it, then it's fine if we help them".

Historically, since President Ronald Reagan enacted the Mexico City Policy in 1984, overturning or re-enacting the policy has  been one of the first decisions made by new presidents. However, some Republican officials were stunned that Obama did not even wait a week to boldly state his views on a sticky subject. "This clearly shows that legal abortion is important to him," said Rosenzweig.

ECONOMIC CRISIS HITS JCU STUDENTS

By Lamen Baker

ROME - The current.economic crisis has not only impacted individuals, businesses and corporations around the world, but also many college students, including those here at John Cabot University (JCU). Now more than ever, JCU students have been forced to be careful with their spending. and have found creative ways to stretch each and everyone of their Euros.

Students are making sacrifices in many forms. Jessica Scheiner, a 20-year-old from Michigan, said her professors required anywhere from two to six books for each class this semester. Scheiner said at first she didn't think twice about buying her books until she went to the bookstore and saw that many of them were over 100 Euros. "I knew I couldn't afford to spend that, much money on my books so I found other students in each of my classes that agreed to split the cost with me," said Scheiner, who plans to sell each of her books back at the end of the semester. Other students are saving by avoiding mass transit. "I live about a 30 minute walk from school, but instead of spending money on a tram or bus pass, I walk everywhere," said Joseph Hakimian, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin, who has decided to skip the metro pass in order to save a few extra euros. MichelleStern, a 20-year-old study abroad student from Chicago, has drastically decreased her monthly spending. Stern, a newcomer' to Europe wanted to acquire lots of fashionable goods, but she can't spend too much. "1 would love to buy clothes, shoes, and jewelry from all over Europe, but I have realized that materialistic things are not necessities," she said.

Other students are taking advantage of the travel opportunities while in Rome but they are saving any way they can. "When I am looking for flights online, I always try to find the cheapest one possible even if that means I have to stop somewhere or have a layover for a few hours," said Jon London, a 20-year-old from New York. Adriana Bolotsky, a 20;year-old from California, has decided to cut spending by cooking at home and hosting parties with her roommates. "Instead of going out to eat every night of the week, I have taught myself how to cook," said Bolotsky, whose expertise is cheese and spinach ravioli.

Over the past two years, the United States has been experiencing what has been called the worst global financial crisis in almost a century. Banks are cautious about lending money, interest rates on credit card have skyrocketed and people around the world are losing their jobs. Experts say students need to learn how to budget their spending in order to get through these tough economic times. John Fuller, an economics professor at the University of Iowa, in an email said, "Students need to sit down and prioritize how they are going to spend their money." Fuller added that the new generation of students must change from practicing immediate gratification to spending with restraint. "Nobody has an immediate solution to this economic crisis so students better start learning how to budget their money now," she said.