Union Board launches lecture series on war

The Union Board launched a series titled "Perspectives on War" on April 21, which includes five different topic sessions where students can discuss the war with faculty experts. The remaining four discussions will be held in the Indiana Memorial Union Commons.\nUnion Board Debates and Issues Director Libby Lewis said the luncheons are designed to encourage students and professors to think, interact and discuss current international issues in an informal setting. \nLewis said the Union Board decided to make these discussions less formal because they wanted to diversify their debates and issues program. They also wanted to provide students with events scheduled during the day. \n"We've noticed there are a lot of panels and other events planned in the evening," she said. "We wanted to provide students other avenues."\nOne topic session has already featured professor of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Zaineb Istrabadi who commented on the war from an Iraqi cultural perspective. Istrabadi is an Iraqi-American woman who fled Iraq twice in the 1960s and 70s.\nVice President of Membership Mzilikazi Kone attended Dr. Istrabadi's presentation Monday afternoon. She said she enjoyed hearing about Dr. Istrabadi's personal experiences and said she made many good points about the relationship between different religious sects and the war. Kone said she thought it would be a good time to learn something out of the classroom for a more personal experience.\n"I liked the setting," Kone said. "It was really effective."\nUnion Board member Daniel Beben, who will facilitate two of the sessions, said the series differs from other war discussions and panels on campus because they are made for smaller groups.\n"Instead of having someone talk at you, this will allow students to ask direct questions and tailor the discussion to the students' needs rather than the other way around," Beben said.\nToday, Dr. Salih Altoma, also of the NELC department, will be speaking about Arab and Muslim views of the war. Altoma is also an Iraqi-American professor at IU.\nLewis said she believes the series shows how students and faculty at IU are proactive in their responses to world events.\n"By students and faculty being willing to take their lunch hours to discuss the war shows a recognition that these issues are important and they do impact us here in Bloomington," she said.\nRemaining topics include U.S. international business relations, foreign policies and relations with Syria, Iran and North Korea. The luncheons will feature Dr. Alan Rugman from the Kelley School of Business, Dr. William Bradford IU-Purdue University Indianapolis law school and Dr. Dina Spechler from the political science department.