| Scholarly Activities |
| Fall 2003 |
| To promote good academics amongst the uniiversities entering freshmen our chapter went to speak to several University Seminar classes. Members discussed the importance of starting off strong academically by encouraging students to take advantage of their resources, including teachers and tutors. Good time management techniques were mentioned, along with the significance of writing down goals. |
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| We also wanted the students to get involved socially on campus by joining clubs and organizations. Our chapter believes that being involved in activities increases school spirit and it is an excellent way to network and make contacts. |
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| Spring 2004 |
| Alpha Chi Honor Society Hosts Keynote Speaker Dr. Kenneth Maciorowski Where Do We Go From Here �Effect Of Avian Influenza Outbreaks On The Delaware Economy� |
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| The chapter sponsored an essay contest on three topics: Should Same Sex Marriages Be Legalized? Was The War In Irag Justifiable? and Is The Death Penalty Justifiable? The first place winner received a $125 cash prize and here is his essay� Was the War in Iraq Justifiable? By: Bardrick Harris The War In Iraq has been looked upon by some as being unnecessary, while others see it as a means to an end. You also have those that try to stay neutral on the subject, allowing themselves not to become persuaded by either side. No matter where you stand, you must ask yourself, is it worth it; is this war a justifiable one? President George W. Bush has orchestrated this whole ordeal and he has his reasons for starting the war, which may be good, bad and some in his own self-interest. Some say his reasons are more political and economic based; on the other hand, skeptics say that it�s nothing more than a personal vendetta followed by self-greed. Whatever the reason may be war is now in session. With this war there are many different perspectives, views and ideas. Different ideologies have individual standpoints on the war such as Realism and Liberalism. Not to mention the concept of necessity over availability. With the War In Iraq, these perspectives can be seen as having influential significance with the way things are turning out, but what is the overall view of each in conjunction with this war. The War in Iraq began on March 19, 2003. This war seemed to have many unclear causes of how it began, but we still sent American troops over. There are several reason why this war came to be; first, because of the lingering tension left over from the Gulf War of 1991 where Kuwait took its land back from Iraq with the help of U.S. Second, the U.S has not yet controlled the vast quantities of oil that are over in the middle east. With this perception George W. Bush is trying to finish what his father started which to me seems like an issue of self-interest. Then, after the terrorist attacks on the U.S particularly the world trade center on September 11, 2001, the president stated that the attacks by Al-Qaida have an Iraqi connection. Finally, the Iraqi connection means that Saddam may be involved and Iraq had already been sanction by the U.N. to hand over all WMD�s immediately (Gulf War (2003) 3, 2004). The problem was Saddam could supply WMD�s to terrorist who could strike at the U.S once again. During the beginning of the search of WMD�s, the U.N. had full control over the situation, giving the U.S authority to send inspectors over to Iraq. Prior to inspection, there was Resolution 687 from 1991 and �Resolution 1441 passed on November 8, 2002 that gave Iraq the final opportunity to disarm all WMD�s and to hand them over to the weapon�s inspector� (Wikipedia 1, 2004). After a 12,000-page weapons declaration filed by Iraq was submitted to the U.N claiming no WMD�s, the U.S was not satisfied. The U.N wanted to extend the period of inspection and for no military action to take place, but the U.S along with the support of Britain and Spain had war on the brain. They thought that Resolution 1441 was enough and that they no longer had to comply with the authority of the U.N. From this point, you can say that the president has an obligation to make sure that the citizens of the United States are safe; therefore obtaining all WMD�s is first priority. On the other hand, we have this issue of Middle Eastern oil, which is not nearly as important as the WMD�s. With these facts in mind, was this war a necessity or did we jump at an opportunity to show the rest of the world what it actually means to be a �Super Power�? Realism is associated with a worldview. It focuses on the way things are and how they were achieved through power. Realism is defined as the exercise of power by states towards each other (Goldstein 45, 2002). Those who are the elite, the wealthy and the president control power in today�s society. The War In Iraq has clearly shown the power of the president and all that he can do with his position. Some say the cause of this war was simply to settle a personal grudge with Saddam Hussein. Although there is no substantial evidence that supports this, he did however come out and make a statement that Saddam had possessed weapons of mass destruction in an address to the nation (The White House 1, 2003). This of course lead to the search for the weapons and as it has been pointed out, there are no weapons, but we still managed to engage in war anyway. To the average American all of these different events leading up to the war will have left some unanswered questions in your mind, but it does not matter because we have no real say, we have no power therefore we can not determine if this war is justifiable or not. To understand the ideology of liberalism means to have �a belief in individual equality, individual liberty, participatory democracy, and limited government� (Pease 55, 2003). Liberalism also refers to a free market system where the economy is unrestricting. In today�s society individual rights are being pushed a side and unheard to an extent, but the idea of liberalism is to have the world functioning in whatever you do with little assistance from the government. Since the tragedy of 9/11, the world�s economy has been on a roller coaster. The president has taken it upon himself to initiate war that should not be going on. The cause of this is said to be over Iraqi oil in the Middle East. To the economy of the U.S., the control over their oil would be very beneficial to Americans, not to mention a cheaper price for gasoline across the nation. The problem with this takeover is that we are morally wrong if this is the case, and that we are loosing too many lives to this war, but we are currently about to send more troops over, why? Our economy is better off without the lives of thousands dieing for unconstitutional reasons, but who determines what is unconstitutional and justifiable? The War in Iraq in my opinion is not justifiable. Sure we want to do what is right and we want to be safe, but I don�t believe that the U.S. exhausted all of its possibilities. Weapons of Mass Destruction are dangerous, but don�t we have some? You have to take a look at the notion of sovereignty in this whole situation. Of course I don�t make the rules and I really don�t have the authority to say what is justifiable or not, but I have a voice and I will do my best to use it. WORK CITED Goldstein, Joshua. International Relations. NewYork:Longman Inc. 2002. Pease, Kelly. International Organization. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2003. The History Guy: The Third Gulf War (2003). http://www.historyguy.com/gulfwar2.html. 2004. The White House. Saddam Hussein must leave in 48 hours. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030317-7html 2003. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. UN Security Council Resolution 1441. http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/un_security_council_resolution_1441. 2004. |