The
Star
The Official Newspaper of the American University in Kyrgyzstan
December 10 2001
In this issue you read:
�
French Studies Department Being Closed (Fatima)
International Student Coordinator to be Installed (ahoura)
GPA 4.00: One Number, Different Meanings in English and Russian (Bota & Kyial)
The Debut of the Next AUK Generation (Sasha)
Ballot Box Stuffed During Elections (John)�
���������� ���� ����� (Tania)
CEP is Back (Sasha)
Goodbye Food Tickets (John)
Poetry (Adel)
How to Get Elected at AUK (Anya)
Ramadan Mubarak (Ieva)
Why I Am Disappointed with AUK (Anya)
Postcard from Mongolia (Valia)
"Opinion" and Opinion at The Star (Bill Hansen)
��� �������? (Tania)
SIFE at AUK (Zarina)
Intelligent Service Club (Lena)
Q & A (Miodrag and Svetlana)
French Studies Department Being Closed
By Fatima Gayazova�
�In two years French Studies at AUK will stop functioning as a separate department and will be only as a Department of second languages,� says Kolesnikova Tatyana Aleksandrovna, the head of the French department.
There are many rumors about French Studies. Some people say they have to close because French department is not profitable for AUK; some think there are too few French students to sustain the major in general, no one could provide truthful and reasonable information why our university decided to close French Department and have French language only as a second foreign language for English speaking students. To clarify all the details concerning this case The Star reporter had an interview with Kolesnikova Tatyana Aleksandrovna.
This year French studies accepted 5 students whose major was French. �I was surprised by the level of French language of the new students,� says Tatyana Aleksandrovna. �There was a real competition among them and we selected the best of them as five students who were expected to be specialists in French studies.� But later, French department got the information that French studies have to be closed. Currently three of those talented students are studying as preperation students and two others went to other universities.
No one yet can understand the motives for AUK to close French department, but Tatyana Aleksandrovna says that maybe one of the reasons is that there is not a high level of education of the French language in high schools. And that is why sometimes �we have to face
International Student Coordinator to Be� Installed...
By ahoura afshar
International students always have problems. Some do more than others. It depends how foreign they are, or how foreign they look. Their problems vary from language and housing to visa and Kyrgyz militia. Soon there will be a post of an international student coordinator who will help international students overcome such issues.
Dr.
Huwiler says there is a need for someone in the campus who is responsible for
helping international students. Some might have problems within AUK and there
might be uncertainties for an international student about functions of each
department and whom they should turn to in case of their particular problems. If
one has a problem and does not know where to go, international student
coordinator may direct him to admission, personal or financial office. He might
directly try to solve the problem or ease access to Dr. Huwiler especially for
�those students who are shy and do not say anything when they are treated
unfairly.�
Most AUK international students do not have problems within AUK. Some, however, do. John Atwood said: �I always have problems with AUK bureaucracy. I�ve been here for two years and now I�m taking it for granted.� He expects the staff to be more flexible and understanding.
Some international students are provided with housing from AUK. If they have any problem it is mostly connected with landlords and neighbors.
Some foreign students have problems with obtaining a visa. �It is extremely inconvenient that students get single entry visas. I travel a lot and as soon as I come back I have to get another visa. The problem is that our visas cannot be used once are out of the country,� said Merdan Halilov from Turkmenistan. Every time a student leaves Kyrgyzstan, he can come back to Kyrgyzstan without any problem, but then he has to get a new visa, confirmed Alla Morosova, who gets visas for foreign students in AUK. Now it takes a lot more time to obtain a visa, especially for those from Asia and Middle East, said Alla Morosova. And during that time one cannot leave Kyrgyzstan. She gives the documents to OVIR and the decision is made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No one from AUK can accelerate the process. �Visa is not a problem. The problem is the Kyrgyz way of getting a visa,� said Alisher Djaborov from Uzbekistan.
Some international students have problems with militia. The militia is not indifferent to someone�s appearance. So if you are European or at least look European you may be fine. But if you have dark skin or hair and you do not look local, you are in trouble. Halil Halilov from Turkmenistan says he gets stopped by militia almost everyday. He says it may be because he looks �strange.� �Once they wanted to deport me back to Turkmenistan. One night my friend was rubbed but we did not go to police because we�d probably have more problems with the police than with those guys,� he said.
| �When I came back from vacation from China, the policeman in the airport said that there was something wrong with my visa but he spoke Russian and I didn�t understand what the problem was. He asked for $ 50 but I said I had only $ 30 and it was all I had,� says Jerry from China. |
Despite trying to solve such problems, the international student coordinator is to take a better advantage of international students in terms of �enriching what happens in the campus.� Dr. Huwiler said: ��We are missing an opportunity to enhance the education by learning about the countries represented in the student body.� There would be workshops, orientations, display of films, round-table discussion on cross-cultural issues and there should be someone to coordinate all of these. This person will work closely with Student Affairs Coordinator, Victoria Lavrova, and her recommendation for selection of such a person will be carefully taken into account.
GPA 4.00: One Number, Different Meanings
By Botagoz Kassymbekova and Kyialbek Toksonbaev
English:�
Everyone wants a high GPA, but how one gets it is a question we want to raise in this article. The problem starts with the lack of grading standards and this is due to different academic requirements at different departments. It has resulted in resentment among students towards each other when many feel that they get the same grades for different amount of work.
Some students have decided that the best way to get a high GPA is to take courses of the so-called �easy-graders�, courses that do not require substantial work, but give high grades to most of the students in the class. Others say that the language instructors give high grades to keep students in their groups to secure their job. Thus, some students who figured out such a mutually beneficial co-existence take few language courses to prop up their GPAs. Another trick is to take sports or dancing courses and thus avoid �tough� ones, which require much time and efforts. Or simply beg professors to put them a higher grade not to lose a scholarship. Valia Papoutsaki, CEP visiting fellow at the Journalism Department, said that some students tend to rely on the reputation of AUK and study less. She mentioned that she was even pestered by students who begged for higher grades, invariably using the excuse of loosing heir scholarships. A group of ICP students said that to get an A at ICP department differs a lot from an A of other departments, which, they think, is unfair.
We find that the existence of ways of getting easy grades is a real threat to the quality of AUK�s education and therefore its reputation. �Some employers, when hiring AUK graduates rely on the reputation of AUK, but later they reveal that those graduates do not possess skills that one would expect to acquire at a university with a good name,� said Economics sophomore. When asked to comment on the reasons for such a system of different standards, a group of Business and Economics students noted that�
most of the �easy-graders� are part-time faculty members, who tend to have less commitment to the university and thus, care less for the damage they make by giving high grades.� For example, once an ICP part-time lecturer, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, put A�s to the majority of the class. �I felt that this was unfair, since many students barely showed up for the course and at the end got As,� says ICP junior.
What are the reasons that push both students and faculty, often unintentionally, to engage in this sort of trade-offs? According to an ICP junior, it is the current system that makes both students and faculty heavily to depend on it financially: to receive financial aid a student has to maintain a decent GPA, while a professor has to inflate grades to make his/her course attractive. This way, he claims, one must either adapt to it or to quit the university. Whereas Gulnara Aitpaeva, AUK�s vice-president, argues the fact that the university has one diploma but various academic requirements and grading systems is the problem of transitional phenomena and it cannot be solved immediately. She sees it, firstly as a problem of different departments starting reforms at different times and secondly, as the problem of personnel coming from different educational systems and with different understandings of education: where in one a teacher must have a role of a holder of all knowldege and in the other he/she is a help for students in the process of learning. And lastly, it is the problem of the university administration and students, who must become one team, to forge single academic standards. The vice-president calls students to openly discuss the problem in order to solve it.
We could argue that one of the reasons for these different educational standards in AUK is the reluctance of many departments to stick to the recently introduced reforms, which requires quality over quantity of courses. For example, at some departments a student still takes some 24 credits per semester, while it is almost impossible at other ones, no matter how exceptional the student is. Different salaries for the same expectations, on the other hand, could count for another basis. But much more important reason for various standards is that no matter how topical the issue is, we tend to avoid it. None of the students who commented on the topic wished to have their names mentioned. Alas, why it is so, however, is another topic to discuss.

Russian:�
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The Debut of the Next AUK Generation
By Sasha Shpakova
The Initiation Ceremony of the American University in Kyrgyzstan took place in the Opera Theater on the 14th of November. The audience was thrilled with the great performance and unforgettable jokes. This year Initiation was well-organized, thanks to the hard work of Nikolay Shulgin.

For those who did not have the chance to be in the Opera House, The Star is willing to summarize the whole show. Did you ever watch the Russian musical �Metro�? The �cherry�, is that all actors who play different skits do not leave the stage; they stay there and support the next performances. So you get the image of huge crowd of people hanging out on the stage. It is a sort of �alive decoration�, when the main attention of the audience is paid not to the performing actors but to the combined acting of background and the first stage. Students had the best time, acting and having fun at the same time, sometimes it was funny to see how backgroud perfomance overacted and was louder then the first stage. Halil Halilov ICP 101, probably was very tired to carry the scissors in his mouth for over five times in order to cut a ribbon to the entrance of the House of AUK.
However, the first part of the ceremony were officials with speeches delivered by US Ambassador John Martin O�Keefe, Soros Foundation Executive Director T. Tulegenov and a president of the University David Huwiler. It was a pity that former provost of AUK and present minister of Education, Kamila Sharshekeeva, could not welcome freshmen to University: she had an important meeting with the president of the country. Well, other official worked it all and as soon as official part was finished the real freshmen party started right on the stage. The performance was excellent. All students put a lot of effort in to making this show happen. Unstoppable rehearsals until eight at night, helping Nukolay Grigorevich and all others to make a great show is a real work of the new students.
Now AUK seniors can be sure that they are leaving their Alma Mater in hands of creative and humorous freshmen who surely will take it on a road of fun and humor, rising a spirit and AUK pride.
Ballot Box Stuffed During Elections
By John Atwood
During the recent election for student senate 8 extra ballots were found in the Kyrgyz Ethnology Department�s ballot box. This incident of ballot box stuffing is the worst violation that has occurred during a student senate election. An independent observer from IFES discovered the ballots folded together in a group and lying in a corner of the ballot box when the box was being opened for counting. The ballots were all marked for the same candidate from the Kyrgyz Ethnology Department, and were marked for similar candidates for the general student council. This discrepancy was confirmed when the number of ballots was compared to the number of students who had signed the voter signup sheets. These 8 ballots were among 11 extra ballots that had been cast during the election.
According
to election worker Merdan Halilov, ICP, there was a stack of blank ballots
sitting on the edge of the table. �Some would could have easily taken a few
ballots while I was not looking,� he said. The person probably went somewhere
else to mark the ballots, folded them, and came back to drop them in the ballot
box as if he or she was a regular voter. Because many students fold their
ballots before dropping them in so that their choice remains private, election
workers would not have noticed that eight folded ballots were being deposited at
once, instead of one.
In order to make sure that the election was fair, Victoria Lavrova, Student Affairs Coordinator, organized a revote for the Kyrgyz Ethnology department. The revote went perfectly. Although the overall outcome of the second election remained the same for the Kyrgyz Department representatives, there were some changes in the final vote totals for the General Council. For example, Boris Bityukov who was elected after the first election lost some votes and therefore was excluded from the top 7. Aibek Ismailov, who got 1 more vote after the re-vote, took his position.
According to Ms. Lavrova, there are many possible reasons why someone would do this. It could be anything from a malicious attempt to influence the outcome of the election, to a simple prank to test the election workers. Whichever is the case Ms. Lavrova emphasized that nothing has been proven yet and there is no reason to think that either one of the candidates, or the Kyrgyz Ethnology Department itself has anything to do with this. �It is probably the fault of the commission that they did not catch it when it was happening,� said Ms. Lavrova. If anything this incident shows how hard it is to run even a relatively small-scale election.
By Tatiana Pesina
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Anonymous
AUK, unlike most Universities in Kyrgyzstan provides a wonderful opportunity for students to choose elective courses from a wide spectrum of subjects. Students can study not only compulsory courses in which they are particularly interested, but also something enjoyable for their souls, like music. It makes AUK a special place to study and influences students in a way that their studying becomes more efficient and fun. However, the problem of equipment and room shortages has not been solved yet.
For
instance, the students taking Piano Courses that do not have the corresponding
musical instrument at home are bound, in most cases, to practice their homework
using imaginary instruments such as a table or a book cover. Why? Because
instead of promised more pianos, AUK has acquired one keyboard. Of course, this
instrument is more effective and useful for KVN rehearsals and during holiday
events or concerts. But what should a student do when he/she has a great chance
to express himself through developing his/her abilities in music at AUK but in
fact he/she is losing this chance due to the lack of pianos?
Moreover, when there is a piano to use, the room in which it stands is often occupied by classes, which have nothing to do with music, such as Kyrgyz, French, or Komuz. Hopefully, the problem of room shortages will be resolved when the new building is available. But what about the number of pianos?
It is important that students at AUK are not only kept fully occupied with the required subjects of their majors and minors, but also have at least a small outlet for personal growth, for example in the sphere of music. This �occupation for a heart� or Piano Course does not require a lot, just more rooms and pianos. How long will we have to use imaginary pianos?
By Sasha Shpakova
There are very good news for all the students in AUK, Civic Education Project is back. Norma Jo Baker the director of the CEP in Central Asia and Mongolia returned from Budapest on Saturday, Nov. 24.
Some of the students might remember the visit of Jeff Meyers, Regional Director for CEP was analyzing the situation in the region in order to persuade CEP Board Directors to lift the advisory. The information he gathered turned out to be very helpful and important. �This experience is was a helpful thing for our organization to form some tips, how such situations can be handled,� says Norma Jo Baker. One important fact is that no such situation appered before, when the CEP staff was advised to evoquate, and from now on, there is usefull experience for all foreign lectures on how to handle evacuation. CEP had learned from this experience and this new information can be used in the future.
It was a drastic experience for AUK to loose most of their foreign lecturers at the beginning of the fall semester when the US and Canadian Embassies posted an advisory for evacuation of foreign residents and guests. Some of the teachers left at the end of September, others in the beginning of October. The student body seemed to be in shock, however there were only 5 people who left AUK. While the procedures of finding the replacement were taking care of by teachers who stayed, there still were 28 foreigners who taught classes. There also were four teachers who broke the contract with CEP and stayed in AUK. As soon as CEP administration body got back to AUK, those fellows who stayed signed a contract with CEP again. There was an agreement with HESP project to sponsor teachers who stayed, but it never happened due to the complicated banking procedures. However W. Hansen, M. Reeves, B. Hebb, S. Willis are an employees of CEP again. A lot of teachers had problems with teaching classes interactively but local lecturers put a lot of effort to fulfill teaching curriculum.
However there are also bad news, some of the teachers are not coming back for next semester. But CEP will precede its work anyway. There are some new projects in CEP�s agenda. The Debate Forum, which must have been in the beginning of November, probably will be combined with the UN Model. Another new activity is a Debate Forum in Turkey and an annual Central Asia conference on Issyk-Kyl Lake.
This is not the end of the news however, The Star will keep informing student about the upcoming events and changes in CEP.
By John Atwood
As
Maksat Tynayev, impersonating Lenin, said, �Capitalism is about food tickets,
food tickets, and food tickets�. Even though the student proletariat has not
revolted against the food ticket-selling capitalists, food tickets are now
thankfully a thing of the past. The food ticket system is just one of the
bizarre and annoying policies used in the cafeteria to oppress and infuriate the
hungry masses. However, students maintained their sanity by laughing at the
inefficiency and inconvenience in the cafeteria, rather than letting it bother
them. Perhaps this is why it does not bother me to stand in line for half an
hour, watching everybody but in front of me, only to find that Boris Pilipenko
got the last three plates of plov.
When I first came to AUK two years ago the cafeteria was a nice place to eat. Food was good, plentiful, and cheap. Lines were short and students friendly. I could always find a place to sit. Next semester things were pretty much the same except that we now had to buy our napkins for 20 tyins. This was very inconvenient since prices were only in half som increments. You could not easily buy just one napkin.
Next
semester AUK became one of the few places in all of Kyrgyzstan to set prices in
increments of 10 tyins. Soon my wallet was full of those inconveniently sized
green pieces of paper that were only good only for buying more napkins in AUK.
Last semester AUK introduced a new innovation to the cafeteria. AUK joined the modern world and purchased a cash register. Instead of forming two lines and paying at the window to get your food, people would have to wait in one huge long line at the cash register where they would buy their food. Then they would get to stand in line and wait at the one open window and get their food.
By the time the cash register arrived the number of students at AUK had increased almost 30 percent from the time I started eating at the cafeteria two years ago. This meant that many more people were trying to eat during the same 45-minute period. Lines stretched out into the hallway and it was not uncommon for people to wait for 30-40 minutes to get lunch. However, only the honest ones waited. The dishonest ones, and there were many, cut in front of those patiently waiting in line. This was probably the most irritating problem of the cafeteria.
This semester saw the creation of the Fatboys kitchenette, and the start of the food ticket system. At first students couldn�t figure out the food ticket system. So, they went to Fatboys and waited in long lines there while the people who had figured out the food ticket system enjoyed almost non-existent lines in the main cafeteria. Soon students started complaining that it was impractical to buy food tickets for a day in advance since many did not know what they would want and even if they would have time for lunch. In response to this the cafeteria decided that food tickets would be good for any day, including the day on which they were purchased. However, you could only by food tickets on the second and third floors during lunch. This meant that students would go to the second or third floor to buy their food tickets, go down to the first floor and buy their food. It was not long before the right people realized the utter futility of this system. Rather than trying to come up with a new innovation, the cafeteria simply decided to get rid of food tickets all together. I wonder, what will they come up with next?
By Adel Omuralieva
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By Anya Kirey
You need balloons: the more � the better. And some posters on the walls and maybe some friends around the university. Sometimes just a cute face and some popularity. You don�t even need to state your platform, or reveal any information about yourself. Especially if you are from Business or ICP (the most populated departments) � everyone knows you anyway. You can be from other department but dress cool for the Spirit week, or just be cool, whatever that means. And it continues on from year to year and not only at AUK but in any election (even Presidents are elected at times based on strange characteristics).
And voila: our new senate:
Melis Turgunbaev � 145 votes, Osh 3000 fan, promised to close up Amnesty International, newly elected chair of the General Student Council, initiator of Orozo cafeteria specials.
Azamat Bazakov � 126 votes, the Balloon Coalition psychologist, scandalous Valentine�s Day king and newly elected co-PR manager
Asel Jumagulova � 121 votes, Balloon Coalition businesswoman and SIFE in London active participant, newly elected treasurer
Jazgul Imanakulova � 117, Balloon Coalition interpreter and the newly elected Vice-chair
Kyial Toksonbaev � 99, ICP junior, who promised �to fight apathy and indifference� and therefore was elected as co-PR
Shuhrat Kamalov � 96 votes, the most spirited freshman (green hair, nice dress) with no campaigning whatsoever, now official secretary of the General Student Council
Aibek Ismailov � 88, creatively campaigning with posters which pictured him with a gun in his hands promising to save the planet (from what?)
Feel free to write to them at [email protected].
By Ieva Sture
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, this year began in 17
th of November and will last till 17th of December. For the Muslim people it means the fast or sawm for the entire month during the daylight hours, small meals and visits to friends and families in the evening.1�A lot of AUK students and teachers practice fasting as one of the Islamic duties. Melis, ICP, senior �I fast during the day and eat and drink only in the evening. I am doing this for already 4
th year, and I do not experience any difficulties concerning this.�Although Islam is one of the official religions in Kyrgyzstan, the previous years of Soviet Union has made people less complied with religion therefore for many of them Ramadan is important only at the last day of it when the festival of Eid al-Fitr is celebrated. Azamat, ICP, senior �I do not fast and I doubt I ever will. For me to be a Muslim does not mean praying five times a day or fasting. But I would not say that Ramadan does not mean anything to me and at the last day of Ramadan I will go to the central square and will join the common pray.� Most of students questioned by
The Star answered similarly. They like the main values about Ramadan that are praying, fasting and charity but most of them do not practice fasting. Kyial, ICP, junior �I am a cultural Muslim. I used to fast two years ago, but it was very difficult for me as a student, I lost weight and lacked energy. I have decided to fast after I complete my studies. What I like about Ramadan is tradition that in the evening the whole family comes together, the neighbors are invited and they all have a common dinner.�Fasting for Non-Muslim: Experience of self-control
Most Muslims do not fast because, for example, of medical benefits but because it has been ordained to them in the Quran.�Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self-training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan.� These are the values that seem attractive also to non-Muslims. Scott Willis, instructor at Sociology Department, also practices fasting this year. �I am fasting but there is nothing about religion. I just want to experience how able I am to control my physical body. I am pretty successful in not eating and drinking during the daylight hours but still I smoke that is not allowed for true Muslims.�
�
Actions, which Nullify the Fast |
Acts That are Permissible During the Fast 1. Pouring water over one�s self and submersing one�s self in water 2. Applying Kohl or eyedrop or anything to the eyes 3. Kissing and foreplay for one who has the ability to control himself 4. Infections, eye and ear drops 5. Cupping (Hijaamah) and blood donation for medical purposes 6. Rinsing the mouth and nose 7. Those thing which one could not protect one�s self from 8. The fasting person can eat, drink and have sexual intercourse until fajr 9. Involuntarily actions |
Different attitudes among AUKers
Ahoura, international student, Iran �In my home country during Ramadan some of people do fast, others just have to pretend that they are fasting because otherwise they can get arrested. Radio and TV channels have special programs in order to reinforce religious values among people. Personally, I think that religious principles are interconnected and if you follow one you have to follow others. I do not see why one should pray and not fast, or fast and not pray?�
AUK as an international society seems to be the most interesting place where different values of culture and religion are co-existing. While the US tradition of Thanksgiving was celebrated at AUK, at the same time the Kitchenette at the 3rd floor of New Building is opened till 7 o�clock p.m. especially for those who are fasting and having their meal only in the evening. The last day of Ramadan is supposed to be a holiday at AUK when no classes will be held. But sometimes only formally the AUK society seems tolerant. Veta, ICP junior �This topic is too sensitive to talk about for the personal reasons that cannot be shared with a wider public, and people just keep asking why some people try to fast. I just wonder why people around AUK are giving advices how to fast, which contradict each other, but in the actual way none of them are fasting and do not want to help others in a nicer way than just giving different comments.�
Fasting serves many purposes. It is considered that while those who fast are hungry and thirsty, Muslims are reminded of the suffering of the poor. Fasting is also an opportunity to practice self-control and to cleanse the body and mind. And in this sacred month, fasting helps Muslims feel peace that comes from spiritual devotion as well as kinship with other believers. Ramadan will end with festival Eid al_Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast) one of the most important Islamic celebrations, when everybody will say to each other �Ramadan Mubarak!� (Happy Ramadan!)
Sources: http://www.submission.org/ramadan.html; http://islam.about.com/cs/ramadan
Why Am I Disappointed with AUK?
By Anya Kirey�
Because I am sitting in a stuffy noisy computer lab and internet is slow and I can not concentrate on writing any article other than this hateful one. And then it might get deleted by our wonderful server so my work will be worth nothing.
Because there are people around me who are chatting and playing cards not realizing that maybe there is somebody who needs to do work in this lab.
Also because I have to stay at AUK today for hours wasting my time (labs are horrible for work and reading hall is too noisy) and I have to be here just because there will be a journalism department meeting at which I will have to prove that journalism students can use video camera from our student TV studio without presence of the teacher (I was planning to shoot a very interesting event on Saturday and I doubt that my camera skills teacher would devote his weekend to following me).
I love our classes and professors but I wish I could only study at AUK and drop out from The Star and Amnesty and all other responsibilities that I am doing hoping to improve this community. Few people read The Star because of English and uninteresting articles and poor design� Few people are interested in human rights at AUK and if I start my gay rights project again I will be blamed for propagating homosexuality and spoiling the holy spirit of AUK.
I am also disappointed because I cannot get food without meat in cafeteria and I am forced to eat grechka almost everyday.
I am disappointed because my friends are always too busy with homework and too stressed out to communicate. Everyday there is some kind of change in their plans and you never know how and where to find them.
I am also disappointed because this article won�t change anything and those people who actually read it will say that it is only my problem� and I am disappointed that chatting and playing cards will continue and internet will be as slow and I will suffocating in the labs wasting my time before a different meeting on a different issue�
By Evangelia Papoutsaki, Advisor to The Star
Greetings from the land of the endless steppes, the country of Chinggis Khaan and its modern hordes that gallop around Ulaanbaatar, the capital, not on horses but on Japanese jeeps. Not that there are not horses here, the steppes are full of them (Mongolians have 300 words to describe horses). It is just that modernization has taken the country by surprise and not all its inhabitants have had the chance to catch up with it yet!
Mongolia is a country of immense and numerous contradictions. In the north you have the mountains with alpine settings, lakes and forests, weird rock formations as one can see in the national of park of Terelj. In the south, you have the Gobi desert with the Bactrian camels (two hamped) crossing its dunes and in the rest of the country there are endless steppes, brown and moon-like looking in winter, green and velvety in summer. Now, if you add to this versatile landscape some gers (yourts), children galloping the steppes on horses and old nomads sitting smoking their pipes outside their gers, dressed in their traditional clothes, you can get the picture of how rural Mongolia looks.
No, I am not living in a ger. Far too cold for my Greek bones that suffered already enough from the Central Asian snowy winter. I am living in a modern flat, in one of those many soviet looking apartment blocks that make Ulaanbaatar look similar to any other post-communist city. But that�s as far as the similarity can go. Well, no, I forgot the Opera and the National Theatre buildings, reminders of the communist past and the country�s links to the Soviet Union. Ulaanbaatar (UB) though is catching up with capitalism fast. Little shops open up all the time and the city is full of restaurants. Korean presence is very strong here. They are investing in the country and import lots of their products here. That is great as if it was not for them and the Chinese, my Greek stomach would suffer from too much meat, mainly mutton that you smell in every apartment block, from Friday until Sunday as it takes them some time to boil it! As everything is imported, the prices are very high and prohibitingly expensive compared to Kyrgyzstan. I wished many times that the Osh bazaar was by miracle transported to UB. No such chance!
UB is fun though, with lots of things to do and places to visit. The Buddhist monastery, for instance, is an amazing place to see, especially in the morning when the lamas (Buddhist priest) and their apprentices have their daily ceremony of mesmerizing chanting, dressed in their saffron colored robes. Mongolia had many such monasteries before the communist regime destroyed most of them.
Everyone says to me how unusually mild the weather has been this autumn. People have different perceptions of cold, I assume! As I was terrorized about the severe Mongolian weather conditions, I can�t but being grateful to Aeolos (the ancient Greek God of Winds) for keeping the Siberian winds at bay for a while at least. But even if I survive the winter, there is no escape from the dusty windstorms of spring. One has to wait until summer to cherish anything Mongolia has to offer, i.e. the summer festival with archery and wrestling competitions.
Mongolian people are wonderful, though, which makes my staying here a great experience. In many ways they remind me the Kyrgyz people (thanks to Chinggis Khaan army!) which makes me feel less homesick for Kyrgyzstan! I hope everything is going well at AUK.
|
Mongolia at a Glance: Official name : Mongghol Ulus, the Republic of MongoliaSize: 17th largest country in the world Human Development indicator: Mongolia ranks 118th in world (China ranks 98th, Russia 71st) Population: 2, 500,000 in Mongolia, 3 � million in China and 1 million in Russia Religion: Tibetan Buddism, Shammanism Art highlight: Khooni or throat singing from deep in the larynx, throat, stomach and palate Language tip: Sain baina uu/Hello, Tiim: yes, Ugui: no, Za: ok |
"Opinion" and Opinion at The Star
By Bill Hansen, International and Comparative Politics
From its very first issue I�ve been a regular reader of
The Star and, of course, in those years I�ve had many conversations with the paper�s personnel. From these I�ve gained the impression that there�s a tendency at The Star to suspend the normal requirements for accuracy if an article is labeled �opinion�. In other words the writer is somehow exempt from the normal journalistic responsibility to check his or her assertions for accuracy. I�m reminded of one �opinion� piece that argued, if one were to count up the various numbers asserted in the article, that there were nearly 80,000 American military personnel in countries bordering Afghanistan. This was within a week or so of the events in New York of September 11. This was clearly a preposterous claim at the time. Now, more than two months after September 11, there is still nowhere near that number of American military personnel in bordering countries. A simple effort at �fact-checking�, an absolute necessity for a journalist, would have revealed the inaccuracy of the initial claim.A more recent example of inaccuracies masking as �opinion� appeared in
The Star�s last issue; November 5. Here Nuriya Kurmanalieva �opined� about �Peace Games� that have been taking place, it seems, for several years at Kyrgyz State National University. Ms Kurmanalieva concluded her �opinion� with a postscript that, in addition to having a sort of convoluted double caveat (��is said to have allegedly��), suggests that the IR Department of KSNU has on three occasions invited AUK students to participate in these games, but none have �dared� to do so. Having read Ms. Kurmanalieva�s claim I thought I�d do a little checking, something Ms. Kurmanalieva herself could have and should have done. Obviously I can�t speak for all AUK departments, nor can I speak for personal invitations that might or might not have been issued to individual AUK students since 1998. However, during my term as chair of ICP no such invitation was ever received by our Department. Ms. Kurmanalieva could have found this out by the simple expedient of asking me.So I asked Askat Dukenbaev, the current chair of ICP, if he knew anything about such an invitation. He informed me that several years ago students from AUK�s Business Administration Department did, in fact, participate in these events. Why did Ms. Kurmanalieva not mention this? Professor Dukenbaev also told me he�d been contacted by phone earlier this fall by someone associated with these �Peace Games� as to ICP�s interest in participating. He did express an interest and asked that an official �Letter� be written inviting ICP�s participation. Since that time there have been several inquiries as to how we might participate in the Peace Games. There has been no response to these inquiries and, at the present time, no such letter has been received. Ms. Kurmanalieva could have found this out exactly the way I did had she been so interested.
Finally, Ms. Kurmanalieva claims, in response to these three �phantom invitations� that �not a single [AUK] representative dared to show up.� In the English language the word �dare� means to have the courage to do something. Not to dare means not to have courage; i.e., to be afraid, to be a coward. Does Ms. Kurmanalieva really mean to imply that her fellow AUK students are �cowards�?
Top�
By Tania Pesina
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�������, ���� �����-������ ��������� ���� ���� �������� �� ��� ��������� � ���� ���������, ������� ���� ����������, ��� �� �������� �����, �� ������ ����� ����� ������������ ������� � ������, ��... ����� �� ��� ��������? ���� ��... ���� � ��� ������ �������� ��������� ���-������ ��������� � ��������� ����� �������� ������, �� �������� ���������� ������ �����: �AUK sucks�. ���������. ���� �� ����. �����. � ����� ����������, ��������. ������ � ����, ��������... �������� �����. � ��������� �������� ������: ��� �������? � ���? � ���, ��������. ���������� ��� ������ ����������� ������ ������ ���������, � �� ��� ����� �� ��������, �� � ������� �������������� � ��� ��� ������ ����������... ��������� spirit ����. ��, �����-��������! � ���� �����-�� � �� ����� ������ ��������� �� ����, ��� �� ��������� � �� ��� �� ����� ���������� � ������������. ��������� ��� �����. � ������?..
����, �������, ����� (�����, ������) �������� � ������ �����. ��������, �������, ��� �� ������ ������ � ������� ��� � ��� ������ ����� ��� ��������� �����������. ��� ������, ������, ������ ��, � �� ��� �������.
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By Zarina Osmonalieva, PR manager of SIFE AUK�
������, ��������, ��������, ��� � ���� ���� SIFE A�� �������� �������� PR � ��������. ������� �� �������������� ������� � �������� SIFE � � ����� �������, �� �����, �������, ������������, ����� ������������� �������������� ���� ��� ���� ����� ����� ������������.
���� ����� SIFE ������ ��� ����������� ����� ������� ������� � ������ ������������� ����� ��������� SIFE � �������. 6 ������ ������� � ���� ����� ���������, ����� �������������, ������ �����������, ������ ����������, ����� ����������� � ������ ������������ ������������ ����������. ����� � ������������� ����������� 24 ������� �� ����� ����. ������������ ������ �� ������� ������, � ��� ��������������� ���������� ����, ����� ������� ���� ������������� �������� ��������� ��������: BIC, Electrolux, Heineken, ������������ �������� ��������� � �����, ������� ������������� � ��������������� ������ ������.
������ ��, ��� ������������ ���� �������� ������ �������. ����, ������������� ������� - ������� ����, ������� � ������������ �����: ��� � ����� SIFE ����������, � soup kitchen ��� ��������� �����, � �������� ������ � ��������� �������������������.
����� �� ������� ��������� ����� ����������� �������� ���������������; ������� �������� ������ ������������� � ����������� ����� �����������. ������ ������� 10 ������ ������� SIFE ��� ������� ������� �SIFE Alumni to new members�. ����� ��������, � ��������� ������ �������� �� �������� �������� Reemtsm�-Kyrgyzstan, � ������ ��������, ��������� �������������� ������ �������� ��-������, ���������� � ���, ��� ������� ������ � ��������� �� ������������� ��������, ��� ������ �������, ��� �������� ����������� � ��. ��. ��������, ��� �������� �������� ����� ����������� � � ����������. ����� � ���� ���� ���� ������������ ��� ����� �������� ����������� ������� ����������.
��� SIFE ��� �����, ������ ��� �������, ��� ������ ��������� �������, ��� ���� ���� �� ����� ������������� ���, ����� ���� ������ �������� ������������ � ����, ����� ���� ������ ������������� � ����� ������ ������������ � ����� �����.
By Elena Rotokla
��������, ��� �������� ���� ��� ������� � ����� ����� � ����� ����������� ��������� �Intelligence Service�, ������� ������������� � ��������� �������. �� �� ������ ��������, ��� ��������� �� ����������. ������, ���� ����������������. ���� ������� ����� ������������, �� �� ���� ��������� ��, ��� ��� ����������� �� �������������� ��������. ������ IS, ������� �����, ������� � ����� ����� ������ � �����, �������� ������ ����� ����� ����, ��� ��� ��������� � ��������� �������������, ��� ����������� ������, ������� ������ ������������ � ���������� �����. ��������, ��� ����� ������� � ������, � ������� ������� ���������� ����������� ��������� � ������� ���� � ������������� ����������� ��� ������������� ���� ��������, �������� � ��������������� ������ �����������, ���������� ������������� �������������, �������� ������ �� ������������ �������� � ������, ��������� �������� ������� �������, �� ���� �����-�������, � ����� ��������� ������ �����, ������� �����. �������� ����� �������� � ��� ��������� ������, �������������� ����� ����, ������������ �����������, �������� ������ � ������������ �����. ���� ������� ����� ������������, ������� ����� ����� ������� ���������� � ������ �� ���.
��������� ������� ��������� ������ ������������� ���� ������������ ������������ ��� ��������������� ������ �����������, ���������� �������� ����� ��������. ������ IS ������������ �� ������ ������ � ���� ������������� ������������ �� ����� ������� ��� �������� ��������������� ������ �����������. ��� ������������ ��������� ���������� ����������� �����������, �������� �������������� � ��� ��� �����, ������� ����� �� ���������������� �����. ���������������� � ���� ������� ������� ���������� � � ������ ���������� ��� ����� ������� . ���� ����������� ������:
[email protected], [email protected].�������������� ����� ���� �������� ��������� �������� �������� ��������, � ����� �������� �� �������, ��������� � ���� ��������. � ��������� ����� ����������� ������� ����� ����������, ����� ������� �������� �������������� � ������ ������������ ������. �� ���������� ����������� ����������� � ����� �����������. ����� ����������� �����:
[email protected].������ ������������ �������� ��������� �� ���������� �������� � ������������ ����� ������. � ��������� ��� �� �������� ��� ������� ��� ������ ���� ������� ��� ����, ����� ������������ ����������� ������� �������, ��������� � ������������ ��������-��������� �������. �� �������� �������� ������� � ������� ����������� � ������ ������������, e-mail:
[email protected]. ��������� ������������ ����������� � ������ 2002 ���� � ����� ��������� ������� � ����������� ������. ����������� � ������ �������������� ���� ��� ������������� ���� ������, e-mail: [email protected]��������� ������� �������� ������ �������� ������ ������ ������ ��������������� �������� ��� 16-20 ����� �� ���� ������� �����. ������ IS ��� ������� ��� ����� ��������, �� ����� ������� ����� ������ � ����, �����, ��������� ��������, � ����� ���������� �� ��������������������� ������. ��������� ������� ����� ��������� ������� �������.
������ IS ������ �������������� � ���������� ������, ��������� �������� ����������� ������������� ������, ���������� ��������� �� ����� ����� ������ �� ���� ������� �����. ������ ������������� �� ������ ���������� ��������� ����������� ���� Fatboy�s, ��������� ����, ������ IS ��� ���������, ������ � ����� ��������. ���������� ����� ����������� ����� ��� ���, ��� ����� ������� ������� � �������: ��� ����: [email protected]
���� ������� ������������ ����� � ���������� ������ ��������, ����������� � ��������������� ��������� � �������� ( ����� �� ������� �����), � ������������� �����������. ���� �����, ������� �������� ������� ����������� ������� �������� ��� �� �������� ��� ������, ����� �������� ����� ����������� ����� � ����. ��� ���������������� � ������� ������� ���������� � ����, e-mail:
[email protected].��� ��, ��������, ������ ��������, Intelligence Service � ��� �� ������ ��������� ������, �� ������ IS ���������� ������, ������� �� ����� ��������� � �������, ��� ������� ������� 007. ��������� � ����, � �� ��������� � ���� ������ ���������. ��� �����, ��� �� ����������������� �������� �� ����������� ������� �����-������ ���������� ��� ���� �������. ���� �� ������������� ��������������� ������������� ������ �����, ��������� � ���� �� ����������� ������� ��� ��������� �� ���� ������� ������ ������� � ���� �������� � CH 2. ������� ������ ����� �� ������� ������ ����� e-mail [email protected].
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Questions and Answers |
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Daniel O�Connor. On holiday and lecturing in BA and Law |
Name and position |
Elnura Djenish, economics [freshman] |
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Cusp of Gemini and Cancer |
Horoscope sign |
Pisces |
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Relationships with family and close friends |
What really matters? |
The result |
| I�m not very attached to anything I own |
What is your most valuable thing? |
My family |
| Questions like this. So much is right with AUK. | What is wrong with AUK? | AUK doesn�t have a marching band and a football team (don�t mean soccerplayer) |
| A good lunch with my closest friends | What gift would you like to get for your birthday? | Saxaphone |
| I am very grumpy when tired. | What is the darkest side of you? | Well, is the sun shines on me from the left side, then... |
| Created by imagination and with aesthetic value. Preferably, it moves me (and doesn�t disgust me). | What does �art� mean to you? | Express yourself |
| Performing dangerous rescues. | If you were senteced to death how would you like it to be realized? | �would I like it�??? |
| It isn�t. | How important is The Star for you? | I never measured its importance to myself. I just enjoy reading it. |
| Jurisprudence. Intro to Ambient Trance. Financial Transactions in Developed Economies. | What non-existing course do you think there should be? | Scuba diving |
| Having recently escaped paid employment, I am fairly content. Perhaps the reflex of avoiding psychological pain. | What do you want to escape from? | Homework assignment |
| A Heart in Winter. Or Wings of Desire. | Favorite movie: | Too many. The recent one: Remember the Titans |
| See 3rd question. | Who/what do you live for? | Today, for being an AUKer |
| Miodrag Stojnic�s Q: What is the leimotiv of materials used to construct your identity? *sigh* A recurring theme for me is the joy of spending time alone. | Q previous issue | Svetlana Kulikova�s Q: How is the credit-hour system working for you personally? Fine |
| What piece of advice should all new foreign lecturers at AUK be given? | Your Q for the next interview | There are exchange students. How about exchange presidents? |
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Advisor: Evangelia Papoutsaki
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Contact: Room 105, 205 Abdumomunova str., Bishkek