The Matthew Online

Back from London, JCU's Model UN team looks to the future

John Cabot University’s involvement in the Model UN experience continued this semester with JCU representatives traveling to London's King College campus earlier this month. MUN representatives Adea Kryeziu and Ottavia Barone Criss have this to say about the event.

The London MUN took place in February 7-11 in London’s King College campus. The conference included students and delegations from universities around the world, including the United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Bangladesh, India, Ireland and Germany. 

In contrast to last year’s JCU-MUN club of six members, this year, the team consisted of 15 students and 2 faculty advisers.  The newly formed team prepared for the simulation by sitting through public speaking lectures and taking part in negotiation simulations and collaborative meetings on rules and procedures of the MUN -- always keeping in mind the committees and their underlying topics. 

In London, JCU represented two countries: Turkmenistan and Uruguay, in more than 7 committees of the UN for each country. The students took on the role of delegates in specific topics for each committee. They researched their positions comprehensively before attending the conference. As a result of this experience, the students were provided with the technical skills required for formal MUN debate as well as knowledge about different country’s perspectives on the issues discussed.  Moreover, the students gained further negotiation, resolution-building and diplomacy skills along the way. “The most important thing is how you present yourself and to know as much as possible about the topic at hand,” said Emily Menard, a JCU MUN team member in a meeting with Dean Merva on February 27.

Currently, the MUN team is in a vital process of determining the organizational structure so that future conferences will be easier to coordinate and members will be equipped with more sophisticated training.  Furthermore, the team is discussing the growth possibilities for the future, and will soon be voting for various positions such as the president and fund-raising chairs.

Kristen Mapes, another MUN team member, summarized the sentiments of the team at their last meeting, saying, “this Model UN experience has motivated me to work hard so that John Cabot University is represented at conferences worldwide.”

John Cabot University can confidently expect its MUN team to play an important role in international  MUN simulations in the future.

JCU students meet to discuss the gap that binds them

By Cheryl Wayne

ROME, Feb. 29 - More than 30 students came out to John Cabot University's student government sponsored round table on Wednesday to share their opinions on how to bring together visiting and degree-seeking students.

The free pizza was a big draw too. “If you have free pizza, people talk,” said one student attendee.

Student government representative Alessandro Lanutl introduced the forum saying, “there is a lopsided balance between the two groups of students, and I want some ideas about how to integrate these two groups.” Lanutl is a visiting student at JCU from Fordham University in New York.

The students were eager to express their feelings. One degree seeking student said she didn’t want to get attached to visiting students because "it's just too painful to say goodbye." She added, “why invest time in someone if you know they aren’t going to stay?”

 

In the market for a bargain? Rome has you covered

By Clara Peters

ROME, Feb. 28 -- “Half of my wardrobe is from the market, and it is FABULOUS!,” says Amanda Bush, a student from St. John’s University in New York who is studying abroad here in Rome for a year. Bush is a regular market hopper.

A safe haven from Rome’s sky-high prices, the city's many markets provide a shopper's delight. Between the San Giovanni, Campo de’ Fiori (pictured left), and Porta Portese markets, a bargain-hunter can find just about anything he or she is looking for, where prices are good and variety is better.

Each of these markets offer different items. The Campo de' Fiori market offers many fresh fruits and vegetables. It also has stands for dried fruits and spices (think pasta arrabbiata), as well as stands for wine and other specialties. Dating back 140 years, this is the oldest market in Rome. It goes back even further; the market started in Piazza Navona in 1478 and was moved to Campo de’ Fiori in 1869.

 

  

The Fourth Tenor

By Graciela Chahin

ROME, Feb. 27 -- Francisco Casanova wasn't always called 'The Fourth Tenor'.

As a boy, in the Dominican Republic, he dreamed about becoming a professional singer. However, the social and economic circumstances in the Dominican Republic at the time were not ideal for him to pursue his dream. So, in his early twenties he left.

Leaving his family was very hard, but from a very early age he knew that he wanted to sing and to achieve this he had to make sacrifices. The first person that believed in him was a childhood friend, Francisco Canó.  Canó told him: “Do not expect anyone to help you because no one is interested. Leave, go to the States.”

 

"Velocità Massima" screening registers high praise at JCU

By Molly Robinson

ROME, Feb. 26 – Monday night’s showing of “Velocità Massima,” the breakthrough movie for Italian film director Daniele Vicari, at John Cabot University was a huge success attracting a standing-room only crowd.

The screening was compliments of Filmitalia, which presents a movie at JCU on the final Monday of every month. Students filled every seat and some stood in the back of the Aula Magna auditorium delightedly munching on cheese and sipping wine.

“Velocità Massima” has won a string of awards, one of which was the David Di Donatello for best directing debut since it was released in 2002.

Vicari, the director, was present at the screening on Monday night, and he opened with a brief description of his film.

 

Talking trash in Naples

By Sara Patterson

ROME, Feb. 26—Most of the John Cabot University students who traveled by bus to Naples Saturday slept through evidence of the city’s trash problem.

Piles of trash were visible, but only on the periphery of the city.

“I really didn’t see any trash at all,” said visiting student Leah Santoro, a Junior. She said the center of the city looked cleaner than Rome.

The trip, involving 33 students, was organized through the Cultural Experiences Abroad program. Students enjoyed picturesque views of castles by the sea and a walking tour followed through the historic city center including the Spaccanapoli neighborhood.

Students tried pizza Margherita in its birthplace for lunch. During free time several students climbed to the top of the legendary Castel dell’Ovo for a view overlooking the city. Others stayed in the center for shopping.

And, of course, the students wanted to talk trash.

Looking for a Mass in English? Click here

By Molly Robinson

ROME, Feb. 25 - In the early morning twilight, Catholic from all corners of Rome crowd into an antique church for one reason: to hear a Mass in English.

For those who are feeling far from home, and miss the familiar sounds of English, the Vatican offers 7 a.m. Mass at a different "station" church every morning during the Lenten season.

There are over 40 "station" churches scattered throughout the different neighborhoods of Rome, and visiting a new station church every morning will take you on a beautiful scavenger hunt through the city. Tomorrow, mass will be held at Santa Pudenziana. A full list of the churches can be found here.

A weak dollar + pricey pizza = poor Americans

Marie Bugnitz

ROME, Feb. 25 - “A Euro is not a dollar. A Euro is not a dollar.”

So goes the mantra that Mary Conroy, a junior studying abroad from the University of Notre Dame, repeats to herself each morning before hitting the streets of Rome.

“It has been a real struggle working with the American dollar," Conroy says. "I’m having to re-budget my activities and travel. It affects me on a daily level. I constantly have to stop and calculate prices in terms of dollars. Unfortunately it also really limits my ability to explore Europe”

 

Snubbed by academics, the Pope is still a hot topic on campus

By Beatriz Fiore

Rome, Feb. 25 – More than a month has passed since Pope Benedict XVI canceled an appearance to speak at the city's largest public university, La Sapienza, and still students and academics are talking about the snub.

The Vatican was forced to cancel the Pope's 17 January address, which was to coincide with the opening of the new academic year. A number of professors, most of them belonging to the university’s science department, thought this highly inappropriate, and numerous protesting students manifested against the pope.

   
“I can understand both sides,” says Tommaso Longo, who studies Law at La Sapienza, “the pope shouldn’t be invited to speak in [public] institutes. Not all people are Catholic and willing to listen to a religious leader. Faith is a private, individual thing, which shouldn’t intervene with the public sphere. However, freedom of speech has to be respected for all.”

The debate has generated discussion among John Cabot University students as well. “I don’t think he should speak as Pope Benedict XVI giving moral and religious advice, but as an important scholar among other important professors,” says international affairs major Laila Semenza.

Strong views are still held by both Italian and foreign students about the pope’s role in their lives. For some, he is just a Vatican attraction. “It’s nice to see huge masses of people queue up at the gates of St Peter’s, but for me he’s just a tourist attraction with no social importance,” says Antonio Cortès, a Spanish student visiting Rome for the first time, “However, that’s just my opinion. I understand he is important on a religious level for Catholics all over the world.” For others, the pope is a source of moral and spiritual guidance, and should have his say on political and social issues.

 

The end of Ronaldo's career? The fans debate

This past weekend, The Matthew Online correspondent Jamila Gulec traveled to the heart of A.C. Milan country at a difficult time. The club's high-priced striker Ronaldo went down with an injury. Could this be the end of the football great's career? A.C. Milan fans let us know.

Feb. 13 was a tough day for A.C. Milan when 31-year-old Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, or "Ronaldo" for short, ruptured a knee tendon, in a game against Serie A rival Livorno.

Surprisingly, fans are not too sorry to see him go.