The voyage continues
Lessons learned at sea greater than those learned on land
Semester-,
atSea
Atlantic
rv Ocean k -
ifes&x_
Melanie Falk/DN
Imagine eating, sleeping, studying,
partying, sunbathing, learning and liv
ing all in a space the size of one resi
dence hall at Nebraska.
This is what I, along with my 629
new friends, am doing on the SS
Universe Explorer.
We’re crossing the Atlantic Ocean,
a journey that is more than 3,500 nau
tical miles. The journey has opened my
eyes to so many new things and made
me aware of so many different types of
people who are around me.
Life onboard is unlike any college
in the world. In the morning, while I
stare off the back of die ship and watch
the sunrise, I contemplate my day
ahead.
After breakfast, I make my way to
the school union. Our union acts not
only as die central meeting place for
die students, but also as a center for
pre-port events, cultural performances
and classes.
The student body has a daily class
in the union referred to as CORE, the
first class of my day. CORE is a geog
raphy course designed to familiarafe
die students of the ship with the coun
tries that we will be visiting. It builds
an insight and background cm interna
tional problems that the world faces
and how they relate to me as a person.
I have begun to develop an aware
ness for die history, geography and
political aspects of die world around
me. The faculty has created an envi
ronment that makes our learning
process better than any institution I
have ever seen.
~ Our union also acts as our karaoke
bar, dance club, theater, coffee house
and pub. The same place that I begin
my day in, I end my day in with a
drink. On this boat, at die age of only
20,1 can legally drink. (We are in inter
national waters.)
These adult teachers who we are
supposed to take seriously during the
day are the same people that we party
with at night The thought of asking
your executive dean if he wants to join
in a game of volleyball or basketball
would be unreal anywhere else.
Alcohol has definitely been an
issue onboard. Every night, the line
begins forining at 8:30 p.m. to buy the
first drink when the bar opens at 9 p.m.
The evenings turn into a night of danc
ing and pure enjoyment.
Rules onboard state that students
are only allowed to purchase two
drinks at a time. The only problem
with this idea is that there is a line that
takes more than 30 minutes to go
through to get your drinks. This causes
the students to buy their two-drink
minimum and then run to the end of
the line while still drinking. This is
turning some students into binge
drinkers. The fun begins to break up
with last call at 11 p.m.
Trust me, though, a lot more
besides drinking is going on here.
Only a few hours a day
are spent in classes, __^
Ui if laorrtirm / 'S
that goes on is
unbelievable.
These classes
cannot be
compared to
anything I have
seen.
Semester at
Sea has gathered
the best teachers
with die most
knowledge from ^
around the world.
The courses
are not neces
sarily based on
academic achievement,
but use the world
around us to teach
mings mat couia ..
never be taught at home.
Most of our class time is
spent contemplating lessons
learned in the ports we visit. We use
our experiences to relate the visits to
what we are learning.
On our voyage across the Atlantic,
we have been learning about apartheid,
which always has been a controversial
issue in South Africa. To demonstrate
the feeling that one has when his or her
rights have been taken away, the facul
ty created a reenactment of apartheid.
The deans chose “privileged stu
dents” who did not have to wait in
lines and were able to use exclusive
shipboard amenities. At the same time,
non-privileged students had their rights
taken away, such as no use of public
bathrooms, no access to the weight
room and no seating for
classes.
This was the most overwhelming
experience I have ever taken from a
class. Students began after only one
day to revolt against the restraints that
were set before us. To demonstrate our
anger, teachers and faculty were
thrown into the pool and tormented for
their behavior.
The feeling I had when I did not
have the privileges I was used to is
indescribable - the sad thing is that it
was only for one day. It is an experi
ence I could not have gained if I was
not here. Semester at Sea is truly a
hands-on experience.
Our captain, Capt. Malcolm, will
be replaced when we arrive in
Cape Town,
South
Africa. In his closing speech, he left a
quote that was overwhelming to me,
“If this ship can go around the world
with 20 nationalities in peace and har
mony, why can’t the world go around
the sun in peace and harmony?”
I feel that people who I’ve been
touched by onboard and ashore look at
me not as an American, but as a friend.
My experience thus far only can be put
into so many words. Yes, time is spent
in the bar and tanning by the pool, but
the real time is what each student is
making of the interaction he ore she
shares with the world.
My dreams are coming true thanks
to my parents and family... these
dreams and lessons will live in me for
ever.
.
Andrew Broer is a sophomore seconday education and English major ana a natty Nebraskan columnist.
The eye of the hurricane
American justice system should be consistent when setting bond
If the experience of Rubin
“Hurricane” Carter hasn’t shown us
there is something dreadfully wrong
with tiie criminal justice system, then
perhaps the ongoing case of another
prominent athlete will.
The athlete is Ray Lewis, a middle
linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens
professional football team. Lewis was
charged with the double murder of
Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker on
Super Bowl Sunday. It is a highly
notable case, especially since he is the
second pro football player in three
months to receive such a charge. The
other is Carolina Panther wide receiver
Ray Carruth.
Considering that Lewis was arrest
ed for murder and incarcerated for
nearly three weeks, there is significant
preliminary evidence against him. He
already has been linked to the scene,
and supposedly his limousine was used
as a getaway car. He also has been
known to have associated with two
known felons, Joseph Sweeting and
Reginold Oakley, who also have been
charged in this case.
But Lewis has maintained his inno
cence, and it would be wrong to convict
him before his trial is complete.
After being formally charged by
the Atlanta court for double murder on
February 17, he was given a bond hear
ing. A $1 million bail was set
For most of us, Lewis’bond would
stick us behind a steel wall with no way
out But as a three-time pro-bowler
who is considered by many insiders as
die best linebacker in pro football, $ 1
million is not an impenetrable wall
Instead, it is a small percentage of the
multimillion dollar contracts that the
pro football elite receive each year.
Lewis is part of that elite, and to no
one’s surprise, he posted bail.
Lewis’ bond was a mere formality
in his own attainment of freedom.
Lewis was not only a millionaire him
self, but a man surrounded by other , „
millionaires. A number of NFL players
testified at his bond hearing on his
behalf, and so did Baltimore owner Art
Modell, a billionaire in his own right,
as well as a man who wants to keep
Lewis cm his team.
What happens now is that Lewis
will return to his Maryland home while
awaiting trial, but he does have stipula
tions. Lewis is not to use alcohol or
drugs, and he must return home by 9
p.m. He is also under a gag order.
But even with stipulations, Lewis is
afforded luxuries that most people in
his case could never afford. Murderer
or not, his money has allowed him to
buy himself out of the legal system.
For the 90 percent of the population
who don’t earn seven-figure salaries
like Lewis, a $1 million bond is equivo
cal to no bail being set at all. Without
any reasonable way to make bail, they
sit in jail, innocent or guilty, awaiting a
court date that could take months, and
returning to captivity each night while
their trial drags on.
The Atlanta court tried to make a
statement to Lewis by giving him a
bond at $1 million. They wanted him to
know that they meant business.
But did they succeed in making
that statement?
Hardly.
Bonds are not in any way based on
a percentage of individual personal
income. A $1 million bond could have
gone to a garbage man. 'Vet the courts
don’t recognize this.
If the Atlanta court has done any
thing, it has done Ray Lewis a huge
favor, while shortchanging the rest of
the American population. <
If they really wanted to make a
statement, they should not have
allowed him bail.
Instead, they continued to allow the
rich their continued dominance over
the justice system.
In this country, white-collar crimes
are treated with more leniency. It is the
people who show up to trials in busi
ness suits rather than prison jumpers
who are more likely to be judged inno
cent
By no means is Lewis already a
guilty man, and he should not be
viewed as such. Nor is it Lewis’ fault -
that an Atlanta judge decided to set a
bail that was within his means.
The outcome ofhis trial may take
months to be resolved. If he is inno
cent, then perhaps it is fair that he was
let out of captivity before his trial. Why
should he be imprisoned for any
amount of time if he didn’t commit a
crime?
Of course, why should anyone else,
professional athlete or not, serve time
for a crime he or she chdn t commit?
Doesn’t the law say innocent until
proven guilty? And though Lewis has
more freedom than most in his situa
tion, by his stipulations, he is still in
some ways a prisoner.
Oi the contrary, if Lewis is guilty,
the court system granted months worth
of freedom to a murderer. ItTs as if the
court system can’t make up its mind to
incarcerate him or not, so it goes a
beleaguered halfway and gives him a
curfew.
Either way, the braid system is out
of whack and out of line. The braid sys
tem in America blatantly is saying
those who have money can go free,
while those who don’t can’t So much
for die myth that all Americans are
equal.
If the court wants to let people
charged with crimes out of jail until
they are convicted, then so be it
Or if it wants to keep people who
are charged with crimes in jail, then
thaffe fine as well, as long as it is con
sistent
But if a person is accused of crime,
especially murder, should a checkbook
really decide who goes free?
Trevor Johnson is a junior English and secondary education major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.