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Pompeii, an ancient city in western Italy buried in the seventeenth century by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, contains the well-preserved remains of various structures, mosaics, furniture, and even the city’s perished inhabitants. Thousands of tourists travel to this incredible archeological site, but in recent years the dwindling financial support and limited personnel of the site’s troubled management have left it dangerously exposed to the elements.

In Pompeii, only a few of the ancient buildings out of the dozens on site are open to the public. Unfortunately, conservators are repeatedly required to shore up eroding walls and water-damaged frescoes rather than plan the systematic maintenance needed to prevent sudden collapses.

The ancient city of Pompeii (Photo: New York Times)

The site’s degradation includes faded or fragmented frescos and mosaics, a majority of which line the floors and walls of the various buildings. Several structures on site are falling apart entirely.

According to the New York Times, officials say that many recent collapses were the result of bad drainage and the slow erosion of the ancient building materials.

Although Pompeii’s future has been a recurring concern since its initial discovery in 1748, significant warnings were sounded in 1996 when it was placed on the World Monuments Fund as a heritage site at high-priority risk of degradation.

The seriousness of the situation even prompted UNESCO (the United Nations Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the European Union to support the preservation through a $137 million effort known as the Great Pompeii Project.

The new conservation strategy will be focused less on restoring individual monuments and more on comprehensive maintenance, including the improvement of techniques of collecting and effectively removing excess water.

Working to balance preservation work with tourism, the project also wants to strengthen the culture-driven economy. Officials say that the project has a better chance of succeeding than several other plans that have failed because it is a program involving both the culture as well as the examination of the severe damage.

To many Italian citizens, Pompeii is an important historical site that needs to be salvaged. A resident of Calabria, Italy, Mario Pignatari, shares his experiences in Pompeii: “The first time I have been to Pompeii was when I was a kid on a school field trip. When I came back after about twenty years later, it was completely different. So much so that I never thought that visiting Pompeii again would arouse such strong emotions.”

Reflecting on its beauty, Pignatari says, “Getting to see Pompeii means entering into the story, and if you have the right imagination it is possible to really live the time of the Romans. It ‘s true, you are living the story, you go back in the past and rediscover a lost civilization… the one that gave us life. The city is beautiful, through the entrance gate you can go back in time. It allows you to enter the home of all, the poor and the rich, the common people and the powerful, all united by a common destiny, finished in one night.”

Pignatari worries about the future of Pompeii: “Pompeii must be safeguarded and protected because in addition to being a unique artistic value is a thin line that connects us to the past. In the words of Benedetto Croce, one of the greatest Italian writers, ‘the story is story of our soul and history of the human soul is the story of the world.’”

“Criticism of the [US News and World Report] rankings is nearly unanimous, but so is compliance with them.” – Colin Diver, former President of Reed College

 There is almost a universal condemnation of the US News and World Report’s rankings of undergraduate institutions in the United States. Reed College in 1996 refused to participate in the surveys portion of the rankings. In 1997, Stanford sent a letter to 480 colleges asking them to boycott the same survey. St. John’s College followed in 2005, also abstaining from the survey. In 2007, 80 college presidents from across the U.S. promised to withhold from the survey.

Students at Reed College. Reed decided to discontinue its participation in the surveys portion of the US News and World Report rankings in 1996. (Source: New York Times)

 There are many good arguments against ranking colleges. The first is that it is impossible to confine something that is inherently subjective, such as the choice of college, to a single number that can be objectively compared. The second is that it relates higher education to prestige and wealth. Schools that are ranked highly are traditionally seen as more “elite” or “prestigious.” The third is that rankings create an incentive for colleges to game the system- namely, in manipulating or distorting data to increase rankings.

 So if rankings are so bad, why do colleges still care so much?

 It is indisputable that colleges themselves pay great attention to the rankings. In 2010, The Washington Post reported that it was common practice for institutions to send promotional, glossy materials to other colleges so that they would subsequently view them higher in the annual surveys. In 2009, a researcher at Clemson University stated that the school systematically attempted to increase its ranking. The school increased class sizes of larger classes and gave other schools negative peer reviews. Much of the recent focus on advertising towards high school students through email and packages is geared on increasing application numbers, consequently decreasing acceptance rate and improving rankings.

 Even though rankings are so universally criticized, some schools actually benefit heavily from the rankings process. Obviously, schools that are ranked highly tend to benefit from their ranking. It is very easy for these highly-ranked schools to advertise their school by using their ranking, and this can give the school confidence. For example, at Dartmouth College, most promotional materials emphasize the fact that it is ranked #1 in undergraduate education.

 Elie Mystal, an editor at Above the Law, writes that rankings simplify the process of judging a degree. She writes “Back in the days before U.S. News, employers and colleagues might have cared about where you went to school. But U.S. News allows clients and customers to judge you based on nothing more than where you got your degree.”

 Furthermore, rankings can also simplify the process that a college undergoes to “improve itself.” It is obviously very difficult to “improve” something as massive and complex as a college, but given the framework of a numerical and objective ratings system, the process is easier. Schools know that they can advertise to increase the number of applicants, campaign for alumni donations, and accept students with higher rankings and test scores to easily boost their “prestige.” While these factors do not even necessarily have anything to do with quality of education or life, they can be easily manipulated. Schools like Washington University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Southern California have risen quickly in the rankings in past years by focusing on these attributes.

 While most schools are hurt by the rankings process, the few schools that do benefit set the example for other colleges. It is too tempting to stay in the rankings in the hopes of eventually becoming the next highly-ranked university. Despite so much criticism, the response rate for the US News rankings survey is actually still growing annually. Antoine Garibaldi, president of Gannon University in Erie, Pa., says he completes the survey every year. He says “It’s not perfect. But the fact of the matter is, people look at it.”

The H7N9 avian influenza has continued to fatally infect several Chinese citizens, despite food agencies’ attempts to control and limit chicken production in nearby areas. In the beginning of the month, two people died after contracting and falling ill from the bird flu.

Throughout the past few weeks, efforts have been made to contain the problem. Live chicken trading in eastern China was suspended on April 10, and chickens in affected provinces were slaughtered as a preemptive measure.

Chinese authorities performing a mass slaughter at a poultry market (Source: news.bbcimg.co.uk)

On April 10, the death toll rose to nine; on April 18, the infection count rose to 83, and on April 22, it hit highs of 102 reported cases and 20 deaths.

Evidence still suggests that the disease cannot be transmitted from human to human. On Monday, April 22 the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in China to begin their weeklong assessment of the virus.

Dr. Michael O’Leary, the head of the WHO’s office in Beijing spoke to reporters and said, “Right now, it is still an animal-based virus that infects humans.” It is a developing story, and something more definitive should come from the WHO’s assessment later this week.

Ordos, Yujiapu, Chenggong, and other cities in China dubbed “ghost towns” all have one thing in common: almost no one lives in them.

Ghost towns stemmed from a fear of monetary inflation among Chinese citizens. Without many other opportunities to invest in, many Chinese citizens invested in the housing market. Newly built or renovated cities, such as Ordos, were advertised as desirable places to live and, therefore, a great place to invest in an apartment. Millions invested in buildings having no intention to live there, thus leaving entire cities empty.

China’s construction boom has resulted in empty real estate. (Photo: New York Times)

According to Business Insider, the most well-known ghost town locations include Ordos in the Inner Mongolia province, New South China Mall in the Guangdong province, Chenggong in the Yunnan province, Yujiapu in the Tianjin municipality, and Zhengdong in the Henan province.

New South China Mall, in the migrant worker town of Dongguan, China, is the largest mall in the world at five million square feet, according to Time magazine. That’s approximately equal to fifty-six Jeld-Wen fields, abandoned.

There are several theories as to how these places became abandoned. The most common argument, which is projected by the media, is that ghost towns are a result of the housing bubble.

Despite the abundance of abandoned towns, China plans to build twenty new cities a year in the next twenty years, according to Daily Mail.

Will the Chinese housing bubble burst? For more information, visit http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/chinas-push-to-cool-down-housing-raises-questions/.

 In recent weeks, the North Korean National Defense Commission has continued to release threatening statements raising worldwide tension and concern.

Despite the possibility of nuclear warfare, residents of Pyongyang, North Korea show no sense of panic. (Photo: New York Times)

Although not entirely credible, the proclamations are considerably more specific than in the past. American intelligence agencies expressed concern that the country may have made considerable progress in its nuclear and missile programs, despite long-standing sanctions.

United States intelligence officials have concluded that the most recent long-range rocket test was successful, and reached as far as the Philippines. The launching suggested a capability to launch a warhead much farther than before.

Intelligence officials have also become concerned that the latest rocket test indicated that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, might have decided that the confrontation could prove a more successful strategy to retaining power than a new attempt at difficult economic reforms.

President Barack Obama made his first public comments on the crisis when a congressional hearing was informed of the Pentagon’s latest intelligence assessment on North Korea stating, “We will continue to try to work to resolve some of those issues diplomatically even as I indicated to the secretary general that the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its people and to meet our obligations under our alliances in the region.”

GUATEMALA – The trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Rios Montt began in Guatemala City one month ago. Although world news outlets briefly covered the trial, there has been little reporting on the people his government massacred or their thoughts on the trial.

Now 86, Efraín Rios Montt is currently on trial for charges of genocide against his own people. (Photo: AP)

Rios Montt ruled Guatemala as a dictator from 1982 to 1983, during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war that ended in 1996. The war began soon after the CIA, under pressure from the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Bananas), installed a dictator in Guatemala to replace Jacobo Arbenz, a democratically elected president who the United States labeled as a representative of Communist and Marxist ideas.

This first dictator Over the next 36 years thirteen different dictators came to power, killing around 200,000 people and leaving at least 40,000 missing. Through much of this the United States assisted the Guatemalan army by providing weapons, training, and in some cases soldiers.

Despite the atrocities committed by other dictators, the seventeen months Rios Montt spent in office were the bloodiest of the entire war. Thousands of innocent indigenous people from approximately 600 villages, were brutalized, raped, and killed by the Guatemalan army who initiated a Razed Earth Campaign, essentially destroying anyone or anything in their path.

During the war people were tortured, killed, and buried within the walls of the Catholic church (the doors are pictured here). Before the war began in 1960, everybody in Chajul was Catholic. Today, only around 10% of Chajulense people practice Catholicism. (Photo: Andy Zechnich)

Though this trial is indubitably important to the people of Guatemala, it also represents a large step for the global community since Montt is the first ex-leader to be prosecuted by his own country (with the help of the EU) for the crimes he committed against his own people.

On a school trip to Chajul, one of the three major indigenous Ixil towns, which make up the Ixil Triangle (Chajul, Nebaj, Cotzal) and experienced some of the worst violence in Guatemala, I spoke with people from both sides of the war about their thoughts on the Rios Montt trial.

One of the first people who spoke about their experiences during the war and their thoughts on Rios Montt was our bus driver, Obel. At the age of 15 he ran away from an abusive family and, with few options open to him, joined the army, which was then under the command of Rios Montt. He remembers being offered a post as one of Rios Montt’s bodyguards, but turned it down. “I realized that he was a very bad person,” he reasoned.

Obel also recalled that he and other soldiers knew that the killings and massacres they took part in were wrong, “but, at that time, if you even mentioned you didn’t believe in the war or that you didn’t want to be a part of the killing, they would kill you. Many soldiers were simply killed by their captains for even talking out against the campaign.” The campaign was known as Tierra Arrasada or the Razed Earth Campaign and resulted in the deaths of around 7,000 people.

The house Anas Caba Caba fled from nearly thirty years ago is now a school. While the Evangelical church has led the majority of the population to forget and put the war behind them, a portion of the Ixil population still carries a strong desire for justice. (Photo: Andy Zechnich)

Another person we spoke with was a Chajulense woman named Anas Caba Caba. When Rios Montt came to power in 1982, she and her family were forced to leave their home in Chajul where they had survived for sixteen years of the war. They spent nine years (1982 to 1991) hiding in the mountains “unclothed, covered in ticks, lice, and sick from the many different diseases that come when somebody doesn’t have enough food.”

Don Nicolás, who lives in a small village near Chajul shared a similar story, but with a more terrifying twist. As a young man (he is now 72), he hid for eight months in the jungle until he believed the war was over. Upon entering a village, he was captured and spent three months, naked and starving, in the nearby airport which had been converted into a makeshift prison. After three months he, along with three other prisoners, was driven into the mountains to be murdered. All were beaten until their captors, believing they were dead, threw them down a ravine. Don Nicolás was the only one to survive and dragged himself to a house where he received help from a woman living deep in the mountains, and from there, returned to his home. During the war his first wife was killed and his second was kidnapped.

When asked what the people of Chajul think of Rios Montt today, Caba Caba’s answer was simple: “Most people think that Rios Montt is good.” She went on to explain that during and after the war the government, which was run by mostly Evangelical leaders, funded Evangelical missionaries to travel to Chajul and other surrounding towns and convert the native people. Today more than 80% of the Chajulense population are devout Evangelicals compared to the nearly 100% Catholic population before the war. And even people who originally partook in the conflict have tried to put it behind them. As Anas explained, “Due to the lack of education and specific history of the conflict, no one speaks about those years and what actually happened. It was confusing and chaotic.”

For a few people who have long waited for a turn to speak about “those years,” the time has come. The trial, which began on March 20, is expected to continue for at least six weeks. It will likely extend over a longer period of time, as there are more than 130 witnesses, each eager for a chance to help obtain justice for the crimes committed against them thirty years ago.

Thousands of Chinese factory workers are living and working in unsafe and hazardous environments manufacturing Apple products to be shipped worldwide. These conditions expose the human costs of Americans’ iPads and MacBooks.

Apple in particular has had many serious problems at the factories it uses to outsource production of its products. Foxconn is one of the largest Chinese factories in which Apple products are produced, and it has recently seen controversy and media scrutiny.

Employees at Foxconn receive a minuscule hourly wage of just $1.78, as compared to the United States’ minimum wage of $7.25. The average shift for workers is 12 hours and includes two one-hour meal breaks. Foxconn factory workers are encouraged to work extra shifts so that they can make more money. However, this promise of extra shifts was found to be coercive during an audit done by the Fair Labor Association. The audit revealed that most workers did not receive fair compensation for unscheduled overtime.

Besides receiving inadequate wages, employees at Foxconn are forced to live in unsafe environments and put into hazardous working conditions. According to the New York Times, in May of 2011, an explosion at the Foxconn Factory claimed three employees’ lives and injured many others. Before that blast, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions, but hadn’t made any changes prior to the explosions.

Suicide Nets Outside of Foxconn (Source: wired.com)

As a result of these horrible conditions, nine Foxconn workers killed themselves during a three-month time period. In response, Apple installed suicide nets in spring of 2010. Before Apple decided to install these nets, many people tried to take their own lives, and and 18 total people were successful.

Apple has publicly displayed an interest in improving conditions in general for their factories, but has shown little initiative. The suicide nets are the one and only change that Apple has made to improve Foxconn, and problems have continued since.

Since the first calls were made on Bell System’s 80-pound Mobile Telephone Service in 1946, the telephone industry has strived to make communication devices smaller, faster, and more inclusive of the many services available to customers.

In 1973, Motorola released the first handheld mobile phone, which gave rise to thirty years of cellular phones of all shapes and sizes, and to increasingly fast and widespread networks.  In 2007, Apple released the iPhone, which introduced the concept of calling, texting, Internet browsing, and using various applications all in a compact and easy-to-use touch screen device.

Today in 2013, we are finally getting a glimpse of the next level of communication with the release of Google Glass.

(Photo: Google)

Google announced its new device with a YouTube video (link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE) that features a compilation of shots from the point of view of people using Glass to share various activities. Recording a video of riding on a roller coaster, taking a picture of a child blowing bubbles, video chatting with family far away, plotting driving directions on top of the roads in front of you, even translating spoken language within seconds are all things you can do with the new invention.

Google Glass is essentially a set of glasses with a heads-up display (HUD) that projects a smart phone-type interface onto the corner of your view. All interactions with Glass are done through speech recognition (think Apple’s Siri), in which a user says “Okay Glass” and then a command. Glass contains a 720 pixel camera that can take pictures, videos, or even live stream video to others using Glass or any other mobile device. Glass connects to WiFi, but can also wirelessly tether with an iPhone or Android device.

JetBlue’s submission for #ifihadglass (Photo: JetBlue)

How do you get Google Glass? Well, it’s complicated, to say the least. Until late February, Google held a contest in which people submitted applications consisting of a required social network post (no more than 50 words) with the tag #ifihadglass attached to it. In the posts they explained what they would do with Glass, and used video or photos to complement it.

I spoke with Catlin Gabel Middle School intern John Zingale about his application for Google Glass in order to see an example of an application. In his essay, Zingale wrote that with Glass, he could “revolutionize education forever…view a student’s profile while we converse; record student moments in class and share with parents; expand the classroom to the entire globe.” In addition to the essay and complementary photos, Zingale chose to submit a video, which featured pictures taken by middle school students, and concluded with the class yelling, “let’s change education forever!” You can watch Zingale’s application here (http://youtu.be/y2qfQNVa-GQ).

(Source: Google)

From the applications (which tallied in the hundreds of thousands), Google will invite 8,000 people to purchase Glass in Silicon Valley or New York for $1,500. The deadline for applications has passed, but if you want to purchase a pair for yourself, Google is expected to put Glass on the retail market by the end of 2013 according to an article by IGN Entertainment.

When it comes to people talking about what Google Glass could do, there is no shortage of imagination. An article from Gadget Review (link: http://www.gadgetreview.com/2013/03/google-glass-concepts-what-is-and-what-could-be.html) provides images of Glass mock-ups released by JetBlue that include directions to gates, assistance in finding available power outlets in terminals, and taxi cab cost estimations. Notable Glass applications include providing videos inside the helmets of Indianapolis Colts players, live step-by-step instructions in a 911 emergency, and a look inside the lives of American soldiers.

All of the hype surrounding Google Glass has been met with ample criticism, however. In a March article for Forbes, Elise Ackerman asks the question “could Google Glass hurt your eyes? ” She lists potential health problems including computer vision syndrome (when your eyes get tired from looking at a screen for too long) and visual confusion from seeing multiple images in front of you, which can lead to “binocular rivalry, visual interference and phoria, a latent deviation or misalignment of the eyes that appears when both eyes are no longer looking at the same object.”

JetBlue’s submission for #ifihadglass (Photo: JetBlue)

Google Glass has also been criticized for its appearance. Bianca Bosker (a Catlin Gabel graduate) reports for the Huffington Post that “Even Mark Zuckerberg, the ultimate reshaper of social norms, wondered if there might be something a bit off about wearing Glass. ‘How do you look out from this without looking awkward?’ Zuckerberg asked Google co-founder Sergy Brin at an event earlier this [year].”

Others have called Glass “freakish” (Atlantic Wire), “ridiculous” (Business Insider), and “pretty goddamn nerdy” (Gizmodo). Jonny Evans opines for ComputerWorld that wearing Google Glass also makes individuals more susceptible to crime: “Google Glass will be the equivalent of a sign saying ‘Mug me now’.”

If you are considering purchasing your own Google Glass, also keep in mind rumors that Apple has its own wearable computer in the works. A ComputerWorld blog recently reported that Apple has obtained a patent for an “iWatch” that functions like an iPhone wrapped around your wrist. Such a device could rival Google Glass, and divide the growing market for new mobile technology

(Source: Wikipedia)

Despite all the criticism, Google Glass will still be released to the select few whose applications are chosen, and later to the public. In this world where new high tech devices are thrown away to make way for the “next big thing,” a device like Google Glass should spread rapidly once it hits the market. While some projected problems may or may not come to pass, one thing remains clear: Glass’s release signals a new era for mobile technology. The days of giant brick phones are long behind us. The future has arrived.

Roger Ebert, famed film critic and screenwriter, died last Thursday, April 4, succumbing to the thyroid cancer he had been fighting for 11 years.

Although Ebert and his former film critic partner Gene Siskel are largely known for their creation of the phrase “Two Thumbs Up,” Ebert was revered for his in-depth and often humorous reviews that went far beyond a simple rating. His thorough knowledge and passion for film came through with every movie he wrote about, from the worst (such as Mad Dog Time and Transformers 2) to the best (films like Apocalypse Now and 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Ebert's lighthearted take on the movie industry was refreshing and engrossing to readers (Photo: New York Times)

Ebert had an uncanny ability to incorporate humor into his reviews, which distanced him from the stereotype of a snooty film critic. In his description of the 2001 film Freddy Got Fingered, Ebert wrote with his signature wit, “This movie doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn’t the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn’t below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.”

He had a lasting effect on the film industry, an important influence that has only become clearer in the days since his death, as more and more people come out of the woodwork to share stories about the pundit.

Filmmakers, writers, and actors alike have paid their respects. Martin Scorsese, when asked about Ebert’s passing, said, “The death of Roger Ebert is an incalculable loss for movie culture and for film criticism. And it’s a loss for me personally…There was a professional distance between us, but then I could talk to him much more freely than I could to other critics. Really, Roger was my friend. It’s that simple.”

Ebert is survived by his wife Chaz. Although he has no children, he will not soon be forgotten by the generations of younger moviegoers he has influenced.

Perhaps the best way to capture Ebert’s spirit is through his own words from his 2011 autobiography, Life Itself: A Memoir, in which he reflected on his death:

“I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state … I have no desire to live forever. The concept frightens me. I am 69, have had cancer, will die sooner than most of those reading this. That is in the nature of things. In my plans for life after death, I say, again with (Walt) Whitman:

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,

If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.”

The week of March 27, as some decorated their homes with pastel colors for Easter and some observed Passover, Hindus around the world celebrated Holi, the holiday commonly known as The Festival of Colors. Holi commences when the first full moon of the year arrives in early to mid March, and continues for two days thereafter.

Bonfires are created in town squares the night of the full moon to kick off the celebration. Before the new moon arrives, however, people begin throwing vibrant colored powders and water in the streets and at each other in anticipation and preparation for the celebration.

Women in India celebrating Holi. (Photo: New York Times)

There are several purposes for Holi, including celebrating spring’s arrival, colors, and new harvest. Holi’s religious meaning dates back to Hindu mythology, and ultimately signifies the triumph of good over evil. In some Indian cities and towns, businesses are closed during the two days of celebration.

Enjoy photos of the Festival of Colors in Nepal and India here.