Global poverty and sustainable development probably aren’t the first things on your mind when you get ready for a big night, but the cosmetics and beauty products you use may be helping indigenous communities half a world away.

Products with natural ingredients line the walls at Douglas J Aveda Institute in downtown East Lansing (photo credit: Emily Lawler).

Douglas J Aveda Institute, 331 E. Grand River Ave., sells beauty products made from 95 percent plant ingredients, said Kate House, a Douglas J guest services coach. “There’s no plastics, synthetics, things like that,” she said. “People in their lives are trying to become more green. This is a way they can switch their beauty regimens over to a more sustainable product.”

Evan Miller, director of global communications for beauty products manufacturer Aveda, said its products are not certified as organic, but use as many natural ingredients as possible. According to Aveda’s website, it also has agreements with organic ingredient providers in Peru, Bulgaria, South Africa, Australia and Morocco. “We have a mission … to not only provide people with the most high-performing products possible, but to be as environmentally friendly as possible,” he said. “Aveda’s philosophy is that you shouldn’t put anything on your body … that you wouldn’t consider putting in your body or back into the earth.”

House said customers who use natural products see a difference over time, such as less build-up in their hair. “The ingredients are all water-soluble, so every time you wash your hair they all wash out,” she said. “Most people, once you use it, end up using mostly Aveda products. A lot of people come here primarily because it’s an Aveda salon.”

Some of the ingredients in the cosmetics come from traditional communities in the Amazon rainforest. The company has relationships with traditional communities around the world, especially in South America, and has been working with the Yawanawa tribe in Nova Esperanca, a town in the Brazilian rainforest, for 17 years.

“The founder of Aveda went to a summit about climate change in Rio de Janeiro” where he learned about rainforest destruction, Miller said. “What he learned was the Brazilian government was stealing [traditional tribes’] land.” The Yawanawa originally owned 200,000 acres of rainforest land. Miller said Aveda sent the tribe’s Chief, Tashka, to college so he could learn how to defend his tribe’s rights in court. The Yawanawa now have about 160,000, some of which had already been cleared for development. Now, the Yawanawa used the land that was already cleared for urukum, a nut containing a red pigment they use for sun protection. Miller said the urukum is useful for products with sunscreen or red coloring in them.

“We’ve provided them with a sustainable economy,” he said. “We’re helping communities in other parts of the world remain self-sustaining. … We want to not only help ourselves run a successful business, we want to help other people.” He said in addition to providing the urukum trees and jobs for the people who harvest the nuts, Aveda helped to build a pharmacy there. “We’re not just looking to buy an ingredient and leave,” he said.

This natural product features tea (photo credit: Emily Lawler).

Another traditional group with which Aveda has an agreement is a women’s cooperative in Maranhao, Brazil. Miller said the company found the babassu nuts the women harvest in 1996, while looking for a new ingredient for soap and shampoo. “We started looking for an alternative to some of the ingredients in our products that are petroleum-based,” he said. The women’s cooperative had formed before Aveda’s involvement, in response to threats to the women’s traditional way of life. “People … were burning sections of the forest to raise cattle on,” Miller said. “It was the women that actually fought back. They lobbied … and there was a law called the Free Nut Law” which gave forest-dwelling peoples the right to gather nuts and protected the land where they live from development.

Miller said Aveda agrees to pay traditional communities a fair price for ingredients, but he does not consider the agreements to be part of the fair trade movement. “We work as directly as possible with these people to get the products,” said Miller. “The people get all the additional benefits of us helping them economically and socially.”

Still, House said sustainable products are more expensive than others. She said Douglas J’s business dipped with the economy as customers bought fewer products. “It is more expensive, but it’s also a lot better for you,” she said. “Ultimately [our customers] understand that the difference is worth it.” She said, despite display boards highlighting traditional communities, the sustainability is probably not a major motivation for customers who buy their products. “The average guest coming in here probably doesn’t understand the depth of the commitment,” she said.

Jessica Wendlandt, a junior majoring in landscape architecture, said sustainability is one factor she considers when buying beauty products. “I like the fact they’re made of all-natural products. I think they’re good quality too, so that’s why I buy them,” she said, adding that she doesn’t buy them often because of the cost.

Jessica Stull, of Ada, Ohio, who was visiting friends in East Lansing, said sustainability is not usually something she considers when buying beauty products. “Most of the time I just buy name brands,” she said. “I’d rather buy the stuff here than go to WalMart and buy their products.”

This fall, Michigan State University created a ‘reflection room’ in Anthony Hall, which students of any faith can use for prayer. Certain faiths, such as Islam, require daily prayers during the hours classes are normally held, which can be difficult to fulfill on days when students have classes and have to find a quiet spot to pray. Yet prayer is just one religious obligation that students of a religious minority must fulfill. Sometimes students have trouble eating cafeteria food due to dietary restrictions, are unable to celebrate religious holidays not recognized on the university calendar and must work to overcome misconceptions about their faiths.

MSU does not collect information on students’ religious beliefs, said Paulette Granberry Russell, director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives. “I think the diversity of religious beliefs that are represented on campus is hard to gauge,” Russell continued. “It’s not mandatory for anyone to disclose that kind of information.”

While the university does not collect statistical data on students’ religions, it does try to ensure that these students feel included. “When MSU identifies and states that we value inclusion, that’s intended to include one’s religious values,” Russell said. MSU has a non-discrimination policy and has held workshops for faculty and administrators on the legal aspects of non-discrimination and how to accommodate students’ different needs. The university also has a religious observance policy that allows absences for religious holidays so long as they are prearranged.

Despite these efforts, some students of minority faiths still find campus life challenging.

Geoffrey Levin, an international relations junior and president of the Jewish Student Union, said Kosher food rules forbid eating pork and shellfish, and mandate other animals be killed in a way that drains their blood and minimizes pain. He said he keeps Kosher, though other Jews don’t always.

“I’m a vegetarian while I’m in the dorms,” he said. “It’s rough not being able to eat meat on campus, but you sort of get used to it.”

Kosher also requires different pans and cooking utensils be used for meat and dairy products. The Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center has separate kitchens for preparing different foods, Levin said, and Jewish students can set up to eat there for Passover.

“If you have the meal plan the university will give the money to Hillel to pay for the food,” he said.

Levin said there are three movements of Judaism who differ in how strictly they apply Halakha, Jewish religious law: reform, conservative and orthodox. Orthodox Jews observe the requirements for worship and daily life, including Kosher, as closely as possible, he said, and conservative Jews looking for a compromise between traditional law and modern society.“The reform movement is the most progressive. They think that the Jewish law is not binding … and they think that Jews should do what they find spiritually meaningful,” Levin said.

The Jewish Student Center holds services for all three movements. Kesher and Koach, the student groups for reform and conservative Jews respectively, both have meetings there. Levin said he has gone to a reform synagogue and has orthodox friends, but went to a conservative high school.

“It tends to be more fluid than most religions,” he said.

Levin said, in addition to holding weekly services, the Jewish Student Center also holds special services the high holidays, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, observed in the fall, requires Jews to apologize to anyone they have wronged. Yom Kippur is celebrated 10 days after Rosh Hashanah and is dedicated to prayer for forgiveness for a person’s sins the previous year, he said. Yom Kippur also requires Jews to fast.“That definitely doesn’t make going to class any easier,” Levin said.

Fasting is also required by other religions represented on campus.

Sarah Bashir, an apparel and textile design sophomore and outreach chairwoman for the Muslim Students Association, said Muslim students have to fast until sundown during the holy month of Ramadan. Bashir said some Muslim students find it harder to focus in class during the fast, but others find it easier because they don’t have to interrupt whatever they are doing to go to the cafeteria. “When you’re busy and you have classes … it makes the day go faster,” she said.

At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid-ul Fitr by going to their mosques, visiting friends and doing charity work. About a month later, they observe Eid-ul Adha, when a sheep or goat is sacrificed to symbolize Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his older son Ishmael. The meat is often given to charity, Bashir said.

Bashir said Muslims can only eat an animal if its throat was cut to kill it quickly, and its eyes were covered so it would not be frightened by the blade or the sight of other animals dying. The concept, called Halal, is similar to Kosher, she said.

“It has to be from a place where the animals are treated right,” she said. “It’s quite difficult [eating in the dorms] for people who are carnivores.”

She said Muslim students can get Halal food off-campus.

Some Muslims may find it easier to eat off campus, but schedules often demand they find a place to pray between classes. Bashir said Muslims from all traditions have to participate in daily prayers facing the Ka’aba, a large stone cube in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims pray before sunrise, in the early afternoon, in the mid-afternoon, at sunset and at night.

She said the prayers generally take five to 10 minutes, beginning with specific phrases, followed by personal prayers and time with God. Some students find it difficult to find a quiet place to pray.

“We do have a reflection room [in Anthony Hall] now, which makes it easier,” she said.

In addition to having to adjust to dietary differences and challenges finding a place to pray, Bashir said students from countries with Muslim majorities sometimes experience culture shock because many American students have more relaxed attitudes toward drinking alcohol and interactions between males and females. Islam forbids premarital sex and using alcohol or drugs. “I think it’s eye-opening for some Muslims,” she said.

She said some non-Muslim students also are shocked when they encounter Muslim social norms. Bashir said she started wearing a headscarf about a year and a half ago, and many people she met initially thought she was being forced to cover her hair. The Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, does not explicitly require Muslim women to veil, or practice hi’jab, although this issue is constantly debated among Muslim scholars and academics. “I really loved the idea of being viewed as an individual … for my mind and my personality and my thoughts,” she said. “I think once I explained it to people they saw the beauty in it”

Ginger Gamble, a senior studying global and area studies- gender and global development and a member of the Bahá’í faith, said many students also have misperceptions of her faith. “A lot of people get it confused with a sect of Islam or Christianity,” she said.

Bahá’ís believe all religions come from the same God, and their religion’s founder, Bahá’u’lláh, is the most recent messenger from God.

“Bahá’ís believe in progressive revelation … God sends different manifestations for different ages,” Gamble said. “As long as humanity needs some guidance on social teachings and on their own spirituality, God will continue to send manifestations throughout the ages.”

Gamble said Bahá’ís pray one of three prayers daily. The shortest prayer is three or four sentences, she said, and the longest takes about five to seven minutes. The prayers can be read silently or spoken aloud.

“In college, specifically in the dorms, it’s difficult to navigate that roommate relationship [with prayer],” she said.

Bahá’ís hold a worship service called feast every 19 days, Gamble said, where they come together for prayers, singing, readings, and socialization. The 19-day cycle, based on the Bahá’í calendar, means that feast can fall on weekdays, making it more difficult for students to attend.

“There’s a lot of flexibility,” Gamble said. “When you go to church, it’s every single Sunday. That’s the way the calendar’s structured.”

Gamble said the Bahá’í faith started in Persia (modern day Iran), and its holidays are celebrated in ways similar to Muslim ones. Bahá’ís fast from March 2 to March 20, one month in their calendar, and celebrate the new year March 21. Part of the fast usually falls during spring break, she said, making it easier to use those days for reflection.

“You start thinking about why you’re fasting and why you’re a Bahá’í and why you believe what you believe,” she said.

Bahá’ís also celebrate the birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of their religion, as well the birth of the Bab, Bahá’u’lláh’s forerunner. Bahá’ís believe both are manifestations sent by God to guide the world. Other holidays include the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh and his son. Work traditionally stops on those holidays, but Gamble said observances vary depending on an area’s Bahá’í population.

Kritsada Kittimanapun, a physics doctoral student and practicing Buddhist, said Buddhist festivals are also celebrated somewhat differently at the Dhammasala Forest Monastery, near MSU, than in countries with larger Buddhist populations. He said in Thailand people traditionally celebrate the Buddha’s birth, death and entrance to Nirvana by giving food to the monks in the morning, listening to the monks’ teaching in the afternoon, and walking three times around the temple and meditating at night.“Here in Lansing we have the first two activities,” he said. “If [a holiday] is a weekday, we usually move the day earlier or put it off a little later to have it on a weekend.”

Kittimanapun said unlike followers of some other religions, Buddhists in the Theravada branch, commonly practiced in Thailand, are not required to attend services. They meditate to reach enlightenment by concentrating on breathing, though practices vary among the branches of Buddhism.“If you are in a quiet place, it might help you do it better, but in principle we can do the meditation anywhere,” he said.

Kittimanapun said Buddhists emphasize mental control and are also not supposed to drink alcohol.“Some people, if they’re not so strict, might drink some alcoholic stuff, but in the small amounts so they can control themselves,” he said.

Buddhists are also forbidden to kill animals, Kittimanapun said, but they can eat them to maintain life.“We can eat meat, but we are not allowed to kill a dog that just walks by us,” he said.

Raman Anantaraman, a physicist at the MSU Cyclotron and webmaster for the Bharatiya Temple of Lansing, said Hindus are not allowed to injure other living things, and vegetarianism is encouraged, though eggs and dairy products are allowed.

Anantaraman said the Hindu students have a temple nearby that holds worship services every day and provides spiritual resources. Each day of the week is dedicated to a different group of deities and the length of the services varies. For example, Ganesa, a deity with the head of an elephant, is worshiped for 45 minutes Sunday mornings.

Anantaraman said Hindus can also worship at home. The pooja can last from five minutes to an hour, and involves making offerings of food and other gestures to a picture or statue of the god being worshiped, after consecrating the objects involved.

“You invite the god as a guest to your home. He is like a guest who has gone a long way,” he said.

He said as Hindus grow spiritually they can move beyond using physical objects in worship.“The ultimate concept is that God is in you,” Anantaraman said. “Every human is potentially divine, and the core purpose of life is to manifest that divinity.”

Anantaraman said the university is inclusive, but believes that it is not the university’s business to do anything special for religious minority students.“They aren’t discouraging it. They are facilitating it at some level,” he said.

The students interviewed said the university has done a good job being inclusive to religious minority students. “I think with the diverse group on campus, the university has become more understanding,” Bashir said. “There are still some professors that need to have more training.”

She said the university could do better by providing more reflection rooms around campus and more funding for campus religious groups. Levin said the Jewish Student Union also is talking to the university about possible improvements.“If we could get just one mini-fridge in one dorm with some Kosher meat that would be a major accomplishment,” he said.

The university is legally prohibited from discriminating on the basis of religion, but is not required to accommodate all of students’ needs. Providing extra services, including the reflection room in Anthony Hall, is optional. Religious minority students will continue to face different challenges in terms of dietary requirements, holidays not on the university calendar and views of their faiths.

Human trafficking is defined by The United Nations as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” These words envelop the problem of human trafficking around the globe and can even be traced back to Michigan.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice approximately 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked around the world annually, which includes an estimated 17,500 victims of human trafficking brought to the United States.  Of these numbers, about 80 percent are women and children. One reason for such large numbers of child victims cited by the UNICEF web site was that children can be easily manipulated to provide cheap labor or sexual exploitation due to its lucrative nature.  According to the U.S. Department of State, human trafficking is the second fastest growing criminal industry only second to drug trafficking.  The amount of money generated from this is estimated at more than $32 Billion.

Human trafficking in the United States includes both domestic trafficking within the U.S. borders, and transnational trafficking into the U.S. for various reasons.  The majority of victims trafficked from overseas are brought from Africa, Asia, India, China, Latin America and the former Soviet states such as the Ukraine.  According to the Polaris Project, an anti-human trafficking organization involving joint efforts between the United States and Japan, the average age of a sex trafficking victim when he or she is first exploited by their trafficker is 13.  The Polaris Project implements eight different strategies to help combat human trafficking and modern day slavery.  These strategies include victim outreach and identification, victim services and protection, policy advocacy, prevention and youth empowerment, task force/infrastructure-building, technical assistance, leadership development and grassroots community mobilization. The eight different strategies were designed to engage the community and victims through direct services as well as social change and movement initiatives according to the Polaris Project web site.

Michigan has had its fair share of human trafficking incidents over the years as well.  In January of 2007, two Greenville, Mich., residents were arrested on federal charges of human trafficking and immigrant violations when they allegedly trafficked a young woman, held her against her will and forced her into servitude.

Later that same year a Detroit man was sentenced to 14 years in prison and to pay more than $1.5 million for serving as a ring-leader in a human trafficking conspiracy.  The man, 27 year old Aleksandr Maksimenko, forced women from Eastern Europe to work as strippers and exotic entertainers in Detroit night clubs.

These two incidents happened in 2007, yet the official ban on human trafficking in Michigan was still a new advancement and didn’t come until 2006, when Governor Jennifer Granholm signed House Bill 5747 into law on May 25.  This law now punishes perpetrators of human trafficking in Michigan.  The maximum sentence an individual can get if convicted is life in prison if the activity results in the death of another.  They can receive up to 15 years if a violation causes injury, and up to 10 years in other cases.  Additionally, Michigan currently has five new bills in the Legislature in an effort to continuously update the law for increased effectiveness.

Prior to these bills however, the first anti-trafficking act passed in the U.S. in the year 2000 was a victim-based law that provided an official definition of human trafficking and implemented different penalties with which offenders can be prosecuted.  Despite the variety of different laws and punishments for human trafficking, Associate Director for the National Center for Community Policing, MSU Criminal Justice professor and Co-Coordinator for the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force Jane White says that it’s estimated that only one percent of those who traffic have been criminally charged and punished in the U.S.  She explains that this is due to “many factors, including the inability to identify trafficking situations and victims who are so fearful of their captors that they fear for their lives and their family’s lives back in their home country.”

The Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force was founded under the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State two years ago.  Members of the organization include 70 different representatives at the federal, state, and local law enforcement levels as well as prosecutors, community members, and other victim service providers.  All of these participants come together “to coordinate, collaborate, and partner in order to identify, prosecute, and rescue victims of this modern day slavery”, said White.  The task force is always busy though as White points out. “Presently a major focus of the Task Force is disseminating information to local communities and law enforcement,” she said.

Though it may seem alien to some people, Michigan is considered a hot spot for human trafficking because of the boarders it shares with Canada.

“With the stress on the Mexican-U.S. border, victims are being brought through Detroit, the Sault and Port Huron,” said White.  She also cites the fact that Michigan is a big agricultural state, and depends upon large numbers of farm labor workers which can be brought in from outside the country or from within its boarders.

Students at Michigan State are affected by human trafficking as well, if not just as citizens.  White tries to make people aware of the more subtle, unintentional ways that everyday citizens could possibly be facilitating human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

“Whether it may be the dishwasher in the restaurant, kids on the corner selling cheap trinkets, buying, wearing, eating and using the products of slave labor, from cell phones [to] laptops,” White says that “understanding that trafficking is happening in Michigan is critical.”

Mary Flores, a Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigator and former Director of Refugee Services at the Refugee Development Center in Lansing commented on the fact that modern-day slavery in Michigan consists of an extensive web of operations among the traffickers.

“All of the players in the trafficking world in Michigan are connected,” Flores said.

The traffickers do a good job hiding their activities from the public view, with many people not even realizing this is an issue in Michigan.  Paul Lounsberry, a criminal justice sophomore at MSU says that he “didn’t know human trafficking was a problem in Michigan, I don’t see it in the local news much anyway.”  A common goal that all anti-human trafficking organizations and movements share is to gain awareness of the problem and make resources available to all those who wish to educate themselves or others, and also to provide assistance to victims of human trafficking.  As a result of this information, if you wish to report a tip; to connect with anti-trafficking services in your area; or to request training and technical assistance, general information, or specific anti-trafficking resources, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline. 

Editor’s Note: This article is a creative non-fiction piece, and details one person’s journey in understanding young missionaries. The sources, therefore, are her friends- her brother and TBG all-star and Associate Editor Mallory Hines. Please direct any questions toward tbgletters@gmail.com.

A missionary looks like a straight-laced kid. Neatly-pressed khakis, tucked in collared shirt, hair perfectly in place. A missionary lives for God and nothing else. They sell religion onto those in countries in need, where they can find people the most vulnerable. It’s their goal to convert as many as possible to a religion these people may not understand. They’re uptight and make others uncomfortable.

This is the vision of a missionary that we’re all raised to believe, and you’ll find this true in every generation. You hear someone say they’re a missionary, and you roll your eyes, just like I’ve done. You picture them in a small village, going house to house and converting people with no sincerity.

A missionary isn’t focused on numbers, and they’re not a victim of brainwashing. However, as hard as it is to realize that this stereotype is false, you cannot move past it.

Now, I wouldn’t consider myself religious. I do believe in God, but after attending a Catholic school and being forced to study religion and attend mass, I have no intention of ever becoming a church-goer. However, it bothers me that this stereotype is still so solid. Everyone that goes door-to-door is lumped into the same group, one to witness behind locked doors.

“(Christians) are not looked at as genuine,” said Mallory Hines, an MSU journalism senior. “Being a missionary is like being super Christian. Like, I want to go and change everyone’s mind and brainwashing people into believing the Bible. But really it’s just about being a representative of God and just serving people.”

The Missions

Modern missionaries tend to immerse themselves in the culture that surrounds them. Trips, if you can call them that, are spent in generally-poor or dangerous countries. Whether it’s helping villages scarred by war or illness, or trying to save victims in an illegal business, missionaries give their heart to those they’re helping. Natives aren’t a number, but humans that others have no concern for.

“It’s really hard work, I mean, it’s really hard work. I went to Sudan for (my first trip), and you definitely leave your heart there,” said Nick Kolenda, a 20-year-old missionary and Grand Rapids native. “The whole foundation of what people think of as missions is really false. When people think of Christians, they think it’s people that go to church on Sundays and don’t do anything bad. People will say that they hate Christianity, that they hate religion. But you know what, I hate it too, because that’s not what I follow.”

Kolenda is a part of the organization Youth With a Mission. Everyone involved in YWAM receives no salary, a value the founder also follows, and each missionary is trained for a three-month period before leaving base and going into outreach. The three-month training allows the students to take appropriate classes and learn about the countries they will be traveling to in terms of history, current events and issues.

Hines, who leaves in September for training in Chile with YWAM, will be living in dorm-like rooms with bunk beds. Because this particular base is in Chile, everything will be in Spanish and she is only one of two Americas to be based at YWAM Chile.

YWAM operates in more than 1,000 locations in 149 countries and have more than 16,000 people on staff. Though there are many mission organizations throughout the world, YWAM is one that focuses on bringing change to those in the 10/40 parallel window, a place in the world where people are least-reached and where only 5 percent of the world’s missionaries work.

Though missionaries are stereotyped to work in strictly evangelistic ministries, YWAM provides outreaches in other areas including medical, performing arts, construction and sports. This year alone, YWAM has 400 scheduled outreach trips to countries such as Africa, India, Korea and the Netherlands.

Kolenda recently left for his second mission trip to Cambodia and Thailand, where he will be working with victims of sex trafficking.

“Thailand is the sex capital of the world, and you know, 60 percent of the men that fly into the Thailand National Airport are there for sex tourism. You have little girls sold into sex slavery for many reasons; it could be because they were kidnapped, or often their families sell them for money,” said Kolenda, who added that their mission focus is seeing these girls set free from the restraints they’ve grown up in.

After her training in Chile, Hines will be traveling throughout Brazil and India.

“I’m very excited because I’ve never been to those places and they’re places I’ve always wanted to visit. I’m excited to be able to make a difference and have it be noticeable. I like going on adventures and that’s exactly what this is. It’s cool to be able just to focus on Jesus,” Hines said.

Well-received

Though many believe that missionaries are intruding by traveling to other countries and that they are not welcome, many have found their experience to be the opposite. Villages in pain welcome outsiders and give everything they have to show their gratitude. Children flock to these visitors and crave a love that’s not often shown to them.

While Kolenda traveled Sudan, his group leader revealed to the guards at a checkpoint that they were missionaries. Because the group was told to never share this information, they were surprised when the guard responded with “you’re welcome,” which in Sudan, means that you are welcome into the country with open arms.

“Sudan has had the longest civil war in history. They need change and they want change,” Kolenda said. “They have realized over the last two decades that things aren’t really going to cut it anymore.”

The hope of Kolenda’s group in Sudan was to help its people see the change they want to make, and with the help of the missionaries, see that change and be able to make it on their own.

When Hines traveled to Mexico with Back2 Back Ministries, the group focused a lot of their attention on local orphanages. It’s there where the smallest things to Americans can mean so much to others.

“Just giving a kid a piece of candy, they’re so excited. We went to this village and I had my camera, and they’d never seen a camera, and they were just in awe,” Hines said. “Seeing people thankful for the smallest things is so rewarding.”

When describing the kindness of Africans on his trip, Kolenda related it to southern hospitality. In a country that lives without so much, its people would give everything to meet the needs of a foreigner. While visiting a Congolese refugee camp, a woman was always there to boil water just so the missionaries could enjoy a hot shower.

“They say southern hospitality is great, but southern hospitality is nothing compared to going into another country where they give you everything and have nothing at all,” Kolenda said.

In Harm’s Way

While the stereotype of a missionary focuses on what they do overseas, there is little knowledge of just how challenging an outreach mission is on the group. In countries like Sudan, where there is no religious freedom, missionaries must conceal the reason they are in the country, or face persecution from officials. It is then that missionaries must ask themselves if God’s really worth it, if it’s worth it to risk your life to spread Christianity.

Though Kolenda rarely felt concern for his safety while traveling throughout Africa, the dangers were clear. Whether it was the gun shots acting as alarm clocks, or having your bus stopped because of land mines in the road, Africa made it difficult for the missionaries.

There were the men that would make cruel remarks to the mission group as they walked by, or fear of running into the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA is well-known throughout Africa as a resistance group that attacks villages and marketplaces. They do unspeakable harm to these natives and often kidnap young children for the purpose of forcing them into the rebellious army.

“From where we were staying (in Sudan), the LRA camp wasn’t even 30 miles away. And to wake up in the morning, hear gunshots and know that the LRA is within 30 miles and that they’ve just beaten up a woman and child (at a local market), and you’re walking their way, that makes you uneasy,” Kolenda said.

In the End

It may be evident to anyone who knows a missionary that the stereotype, as by definition, is completely false. However, we cannot change this way of thinking when children are still raised to believe that missionaries are intruders with no concern for those they interact with.

YWAM is a missionary organization that reaches out to the least-reached. It’s showing love to those who’ve never experienced it. It’s not by saying God’s word but showing his word that Christianity is spread, and you cannot spread a religion and hope for it to survive if you don’t reach out to people and pour your soul out for them.

It’s not about numbers, but putting yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s going to a country with dirt roads and no transportation. It is falling so deeply in love with an AIDs-ridden orphan, that after word of his death reaches you, you mark your chest with a tattoo of remembrance.

Missionaries are human beings with concern for the world. They don’t become a missionary to spread a religion, but spread a name. And no matter how much is said to refute the stereotype held over these dedicated people, they will always be looked at with judgmental eyes.

“It’s just giving people the opportunity to se Christ in you and the way you live your life and your actions. They need to see Christ’s love and Christ living in you,” Kolenda said. “He gave his life for us when we didn’t deserve it. He gave his life for us when we turned our back on him. We’re awful people.”

Missionaries have done life-changing work in countries no one knows or cares about. Yet, the mission of these men and women is lost because of the strength of this stereotype.

The legacy of Michigan State University president John Hannah runs long and deep, especially with the international community. In 1956, Hannah created the International Programs, which aimed “to initiate, coordinate, and other wise support internationally related activities throughout the institution”. This program, later renamed the International Studies and Programs, continues to flourish.

According to the annual Statistical Report by the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) at MSU, 4,509 international students were enrolled at MSU during the fall 2008 semester, approximately 9.7 percent of MSU’s total enrollment for that that semester. Additionally, the study reported that “International freshman increased by 34 percent over fall 2007. This is extraordinary growth of 67.5 percent from fall 2006.”

The exponential growth of these programs presents new challenges for the university. While international students and American students share similar worries and concerns about adapting to college life, international students face additional burdens.

“It’s even harder than for American students because international students are really far away from home and families,” said Amber Arashiro, international student advisor and orientation coordinator of OISS. Also, there are a lot of pressures such as cultural differences, expensive tuition in comparison with most American students, language barriers and so on. Arashiro added that international students need help assimilating into both MSU and American culture.

How has MSU helped international students?

Over 50 of groups and organizations exist to help international students, scholars and their families. (see the list below) Each group and organization has provided various programs to support them.

The OISS is the biggest organization to help international students and scholars. It focuses primarily on issues pertaining to immigration and documentation. The organization also coordinates programs to help international students such as international orientation, welcome week, weekly ‘coffee hours,’ field trips and essay contests. “OISS tries to promote internationalizing on campus and helps to promote students’ events,” Said Arashiro. If international students have any problems, Arashiro said that “OISS is the first place to come and talk about their issues.” OISS has strong partnerships with other units on campus such as the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions (OCAT).

OCAT focuses on both international and American undergraduate students. “To be successful in college, students have to make changes to adapt totally different expectations and have to transition adapt to new environment culturally,” said Maggie Chen Hernandez, Associate Director of OCAT. According to her, the program “is applied to all students no matter if they are international students or not.” The OCAT has created a Cultural Aides Program to support students’ academic success. The 66 student staff members of OCAT are charged with working in the residence halls and they visit freshmen students to talk and understand some changes and transitions students going though. “Most students make friends who are just like them. It’s human nature,” Hernandez said. “We try to interrupt this and establish interactions between different cultures and give information how to be close each other.”

According to Jan Stacey Bieler, vice president of Community Volunteers for International Programs, American students participate in volunteer activities to help international students, who may need help adjusting to new environments. “Volunteer groups for international students and families were established not by one direction but by mutual interactions,” Bieler said.

Alexandra Albers, a global and area studies and English senior, volunteers with OISS and the TA tutoring program for international graduate students in order to meet new people. Albers said she wanted to have opportunities for new ways of thinking and different ways of living, as well as familiarize herself with international issues she might know nothing about. Albers added that she was satisfied with the programs she’s participating in.

Ann Desiderio, a teaching English to speakers of other languages master’s student and the representative of International Students Association to Council of Graduate Students, said “we have a lot of dedicated people working behind the scenes to help keep MSU diverse and to also assist our international community. And MSU does a great job make the campus more global.”

Problems

Although many events and other activities have been held on campus, many students have missed it because they don’t know events are happening. Also, there are many organizations and groups for students, but there are an insufficient number of volunteers and staffs to support programs for international students. Arashiro said that “even though the international student population keeps increasing, our OISS staff isn’t increasing.” There are a lot of demands for programs but resources are limited. Thus, Arashiro said that OISS has taken feedback seriously and tried out different ideas.

“I wish there were more volunteer opportunities offered by OISS and other departments around campus working with international students,” Albers said. She added that “I know there are students all around campus searching for a way to get involved, and it would be a shame for OISS to ignore this untapped pool of possible volunteers.”

“A lot of students haven’t heard about COGS and other programs at MSU before,” said Robin Blom, the representative of J school to COGS and 3rd year in the media and information studies doctoral program. “So organizations should be more prominent within the beginning of the semester. But it is difficult to reach every student.”

MSU has worked to help international students transition into MSU and American life. However, there are still some problems. Albers said that volunteer experiences are spread directly by word of mouth, and the lack of volunteers is in part due to communication problems. In other words, MSU has to focus on how they can be a strong bridge between international students and American students. Through interactions with people who come from different cultural backgrounds and countries people learn about other cultures, even themselves, and people who are different. By getting different nationalities clubs together and inviting each other to cultural events, international student groups can help students have cultural confidence and to promote cross cultural opportunities, Arashiro said. That’s why MSU has organized many global and international programs. Hernandez said that American culture is egocentric in comparison with other cultures, so through many programs, they want to help students to have cultural confidence when they graduate.

Interested in getting involved?

Most organizations and groups send out mass email to students, put posters and inform mouth to mouth. Recently, they also join Facebook and Twitter to spread out information effectively. Desiderio said that “the possibilities are endless if you want to get involved with international affairs at MSU.” She gave many tips on how to get involved.

1. Check out OISS’ website, ISA’s Facebook and other groups’ internet pages. (See the list)

2. Coffee Hour, which is on every Friday at 4-6pm, International Center Cafeteria, to talk with people from around the world.

3. McDonel Hall’s McGlobe puts on many cultural and international events.

4. A resource fair in the beginning of the school year. MSU holds a resource fair where many international groups provide information about how to get involved.

5. Global Festival in November. It is a big event to help celebrate cultures from around the world.

Associated Students of Michigan State University

African Student Union

Arab Cultural Society

Asian Pacific American Student Organization

Association for Vietnamese Students and Scholars

Black Student Alliance

Brazilian Cultural Association

Caribbean Student Association

Chinese Student and Scholar Association

Chinese Undergraduate Student Association

Chinese Students Coalition

Community Volunteers for International Programs

Comunidad Latino Americana

Council of Graduate Students

Counseling Center

Culturas de las Razas Unidas

Family Resource Center

Filipino Club

Friendship House International Student Ministry

Hong Kong Student Association

Indian Student Organization

(Coalition of) Indian Undergraduate Students

Indonesian Student Association

Internationalizing Student Life

International Athletic Association

International Sponsored Students Association

International Students Association

International Studies and Programs

International Volunteer Action Corp

Japan Club

Kazakh Student Association

Korean Student Organization

Malaysian Students Organization

Modern Greek Club

MSU International Alumni

Muslim Student Association

North American Indigenous Student Organization

Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions

Office for International Students and Scholars

Pakistan Student Association

Phi Beta Delta

Russian Club

Somali Student Organization

Sri Lankan Student Association

Taiwanese Student Association

Thai Student Association

Turkish Student Association

University Apartments Council of Residents

University Housing

Vietnamese Student Association

Visiting International Professional Program

Volunteer English Tutoring Program

Writing Center

Disheartening. Hypocritical. Blatantly unfair. These are just a few words that angry parents have applied to the state’s decisions regarding education budget cuts. The Michigan Legislature cut $165 per pupil, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm cut an additional $127 per pupil.

Many parents and students felt that this decision signified the devaluation of education in the eyes of government officials.

According to an upset and worried parent who wrote a letter published in the Lansing State Journal, the question is no longer about how many programs his childrens’ school will lose, but which legislator will listen. “My kids attend one of the elementary schools that will be closed if the proposal is implemented…As parents, we must unite in one voice to demand school funding reform from our Legislature – and we will over the next few months,” said the letter’s writer, Mollie Woods.

Lansing school officials are particularly concerned that these budget cuts will affect the bus inspection program, compromising bus safety and increasing both the insurance liability and premiums for districts using vehicles that have not undergone any inspection.

This bus inspection cut was breifly applied to Lansing public schools, but the funding was promptly reinstated. “I suppose there are more important things to fund, considering bus drivers do have responsibility over their vehicle and its passengers,” said MSU education junior Erin Margolis. Margolis toutors in a Lansing classroom as part of her TE250 class’s service learning project.

However, paying attention to the track record of crime levels within schools and budgeting inspections accordingly is one route to contemplate, she added. Margolis said letting students know inspections had been cut could lead to more vandalism and crimes.

As for cutting after school, child development and special education programs, and how this would affect the classroom, Margolis said “It disadvantages the students ability to learn and the teachers ability to teach.” She also tried to empathize with the legislators making decisions about what to cut, and went further to say parents who accuse them of caring little for their child’s education are essentially slapping them in the face. They’re under considerable pressure, difficult to fathom for someone who is not faced with such crucial decisions.

It may be unfair to assume that education means little to legislators, said Michigan Education Association director of communications Doug Pratt. There are other factors involved. “The funding system is broken and the legislators are trying to update the tax system so it can deal with a 21st century economy,” said Pratt.

Executive Director of Communications in Government Relations for Lansing school district Steve Serkaian echoed Pratt’s thoughts. “Every public school is in the same boat. The bottom line is there is not enough revenue to go around. There has to be a fundamental look by the state – at its tax policy and in particular on how it’s schools are funded,” Serkaian said. He said that parents should attempt to recognize the struggle state legislators face each day when it comes to making decisions about what remains in or is cut from the budget.

One way educators have attempted to combat funding cutbacks is through a concept known as ‘Reduction in Force,’ or RIF. RIFs could be used as a type of temporary relief for schools suffering economically through staff layoffs.

However, many debate whether RIFs truly alleviate schools’ budget cut woes. “The RIF program has brought about the layoffs of 5,000 to 6,000 teachers across the state. This increases class sizes while decreasing the number of teachers,” said Pratt.

Some argue classrooms housing too many students for one teacher to handle will inhibit the teacher from educating as effectively as he or she did when contending with smaller class sizes, and this means a less structured atmosphere as well as a downgraded educational experience.

As of yet, the Lansing school district had not decided to use any type of RIF system. “The budget will be decreased, but no formal plan regarding RIFs has been presented to the board,” Serkaian said.

Perhaps it is accurate to say that the decisions legislators make when cutting education programs are sometimes devastating, but when considered from all sides, a major step towards alleviating some stress is to stop pointing fingers and identify with each others struggles and viewpoints in order to respect the common goal.

As the wars in the Middle East have lingered on through eight years, students and faculty alike have been impacted directly or indirectly by the war. The idea of war in the Middle East seems to be stale, forgotten and unimportant.

Yet not too long ago eight American soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). IED’s are a major concern of the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, as they cannot easily be detected and defended against.  For this very reason, a new deployment of 3,000 troops was approved by the U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Still, a violent war continues to rage on the other side of the world. Troops and civilians are still dying and mass amounts of money are still being spent, though the signs at home point the other direction.  The campus of Michigan State University shows few signs of the lasting war; bumper stickers on cars reading “Support our Troops” are becoming more infrequent and there are no chalk drawings across the sidewalks proclaiming approval of U.S. business overseas.  Even the ultimate sign of love for one’s country, the American flag, is hardly ever seen taped to a dorm room window or hanging from the side of a house.  The patriotism of students and faculty is not in question here, but the general consensus of the war is, and waivers with each passing day.

Headlines in newspapers still report the status of places like Afghanistan and Iraq, but they don’t lay claim to the American advance over the miles of sand or keep a daily tally of the troops that were wounded or killed in action.  The papers deliver news of bombings or a large weapon cache stumbled upon, but the days of a glorified GI Joe are over and the average individual residing stateside is moving on, leaving behind them a Vietnam-like wake.

The behavior of suppressing one’s expression of approval for the war, whether it be a student or any other American is typical, according to Barry Stein, is a professor of Political Science at Michigan State and holds a doctorate.

“Eight years into a war, you’re not going to have people showing support”.

Part of the course reading for Stein’s War and Revolution class is the New York Times, enabling students to stay up to date on global news.  Stressing global events is important to a student’s education.  These are the issues that students will inherit firsthand once they make the transition into the workforce, and being properly acquainted with them is only the first step to diagnosing and treating them.  Still, action among students is a little more rare than some would think.

For there to be a student movement at MSU, Stein points out that there would have to be some significant opposition in the Middle East, something would have to entice support in order to rekindle the emotions felt at the beginning of the war.  Dr. Stein also agrees that there was much more support at the beginning of the war in Afghanistan than there is currently and it continues to fade.

When news of a war goes stagnant for long periods of time, it’s hard to keep it at the front of your mind, to see it as real, to embrace it and appreciate the sacrifices made for it.  That is, unless you have direct ties to the war.  By this account, support for a war is thus relative to the time that has elapsed since its beginning.  Either way there will always be strong pro-war supporters and anti-war supporters whether it started yesterday or like the U.S., is nearly a decade into it.  The long span of time that this war has endured takes its toll on students in other ways as well.

Many people would agree that the sooner the war in the Middle East ends, the better it will be for America as a whole, especially its economy.  That being said, the impacts of the war are prying into the wallets and pocketbooks of students already piled knee high in loans and other debt.

This problem may hit home harder for some more than others, with Michigan being one of the states most affected by the economic crisis in the country.  It’s no surprise that concerns surrounding the U.S. military budget overseas sits at the top of the list for students paying for college as the U.S. government funds a war.  The deficit created by this budget detracts from the government funding allocated to public universities.  As a result, less university funding means more money being shelled out per student, which does not help their financial situations.  Though this is an impending fear for many, students can take solace in the fact that they aren’t alone.  This is a problem being dealt with across the state, the country, and world.

The hope for a quick solution may be a far cry from reality. However, Stein says we better settle in for the long haul.

“There’s still a lot of debate going on around Afghanistan, so I don’t see an end in sight”.

This may be a discouraging statement to some people hoping for the hasty return of American troops and the end of major U.S. presence in the Middle East.  Maybe the absence of a visible student support network calls for a voice in the crowd to renew the spark of an old cause.  Maybe it’s a sign that the efforts of the U.S. are feudal and simply circle each other continuously.  Or it could quite possibly show that many a person have been lulled to sleep by the constant and monotonous stream of data coming at us from different angles and different news media.  Most students seem to have a decent grasp of the world around them both locally and of foreign nature.  Putting this knowledge into action, whether it’s right or wrong, is still an issue that many believe it deserves more attention than it’s getting.

“Everything $15 or less!” displays a large white sign, a sign not ordinarily seen in front of a clothing store, much less a fair trade boutique.

But for La Bodega, the new fair trade retail store located in Downtown East Lansing, ordinary wasn’t enough. “We’ve always focused on being cute and funky and unique,” said Denice Miller, the store manager.

Fair trade can be loosely defined as a trading philosophy and a social justice movement that promotes fair wages, better working conditions, and environmental sustainability. La Bodega is the newest addition to a growing list of fair trade shops in and around campus. While some retailers disperse certain fair trade products throughout their stores, few sell fair only trade products.

The fair trade movement first began as a collective grassroots effort within Eastern Europe following World War II. Religious-based organizations, such as the Sales Exchange for Refugee Rehabilitation and Vocation (SERRV) and Oxfam, began purchasing handmade wares from countries recovering from the war, primarily in Eastern Europe. These ‘Alternative Trade Organizations’ soon expanded to help others in developing countries.

“SERRV and several others that started buying goods and operating according what evolved into fair trade principles, which are respect for the producer, respect for cultural identity and if when possible cutting out the middle person so more of the price of the product would go to the producer,” explained Paulette Stenzel, a professor of International Business Law in the Department of Finance at the Eli Broad School of Business at MSU. She specializes in fair trade, sustainable development, and environmental law.

Today, fair trade has become a major movement within Europe. Yet within the United States, the movement has been slow to progress. “We are very much the late-comers with respect to that,” Stenzel said. “It’s growing tremendously, but we are definitely in the wake and not the forefront.”

Within Michigan, there is a growing network of fair trade businesses and organizations. Notable retailers include ’10,000 Villages’ in Ann Arbor, ‘Mission Marketplace’ in Chelsea, ‘The Bridge’ in Holland, and ‘Kirabo’ and ‘La Bodega’ in East Lansing.

Gail Catron, a managing partner for Kirabo, contributes the continued success of fair trade within Michigan to the growing awareness of fair trade.

“’The Bridge’ in Holland has been there seventeen, eighteen years, long before the rest of us. And for a while no one really understood the concept,” Catron said. “But as fair trade has become more and more talked about, and now that there’s at least eight stores in Michigan, [The Bridge’s] business is just going crazy.”

Despite its popularity, no single official organization determines which products can be labeled fair trade. Due to this lack of centrality, various organizations have begun developing their own fair trade standards.

“There are a number of organizations that have developed their own fair trade standards and have tailored them to make it easier on themselves,” said Stenzel. “There’s a need for a more standardized definition, a need for more consistent standards.”

Despite such concerns, many within the fair trade community accept the standards set by FINE, an information organization that includes four major Fair Trade networks – the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International, the International Fair Trade Association, the Network of World Shops, and the European Fair Trade Association.

FINE created a set of five fair trade principles. Other organizations, such as Ten Thousand Villages, one of the largest fair trade organizations for hand-made products in the United States, have created similar standards. All fair trade stores differ from one another, including East Lansing’s La Bodega and Kirabo, even though they are close in proximity.

La Bodega

La Bodega adheres to the principles and philosophy of the fair trade movement, but is not certified by any major organization.
“We’ve always supported traditional hand-made goods, things that are native to the country, things that people are recycling and reusing,” Miller explained.

While La Bodega opened its doors this summer, it’s sister store, Orchid Lane, began in 1986. Nancy Elias established Orchid Lane, located in Ann Arbor, after a trip to Ecuador.

“She met a lot of indigenous people, a lot of single mothers, unwed mothers, who had certain skills of sewing or fabric dying or whatnot. And she worked with them to help them organize and group themselves,” Miller said. Elias organized a cooperative within Ecuador, and began to sell the products – primarily colorful wool sweaters – to her customers.

“She really wants them to be strong and do their own thing,” Miller said. “That’s always kind of been our motto. We don’t want to come in and find a cooperative and change them in any way, we want to work with them and grow with them.”

Since its conception, the store has expanded, and now buys from over fifty different producers primarily in India, Nepal and Bali. The owners and store managers discover new suppliers either through word of mouth, or during their own travels abroad.

“If we find a business owner that is nice and amiable, if they’re open to showing us their factory and how things work, if they let us speak with their workers, then we know that they’re trustworthy,” Miller said.

While no formulaic criteria exists, the retailers ensure that their suppliers provide fair working conditions and a fair wage, in addition to using recycled materials.

“We also really like working with women’s cooperatives,” Miller said. “They reinvest better in the community. So women’s cooperatives will provide free child care for their workers or they’ll feed them during the day or something like that.”

Kirabo

Unlike La Bodega, Kirabo actively engages with the larger fair trade network within Michigan. The stores communicate with one another “at least once a month, if not five times a month,” Catron said.

“One thing that is so cool in fair trade … is the transparency and the non-competiveness between stores,” Catron said. “Because fair trade is such a little small piece of the retail market at this point still, we’re all about getting the word out.”

The retailers exchange information such as new suppliers and best-selling items. They recently pooled their money for a joint advertisement in a magazine published at the Ann Arbor street art fair, held annually in July.

Such resources are extremely helpful for new businesses such as Kirabo, which opened in August of 2007.

Catron first encountered fair trade products at a crafts fair held by the Okemos Community Church, in the fall of 2006. “There was a booth of this Nicaraguan pottery. And I thought it was beautiful; it really caught my attention,” Catron said.

A fair trade store, Esperanza en Acción (Hope through Action), created and shipped the pottery. “So I went on Esperanza’s website, read all about it,” Catron said. “I was particularly drawn to one of the employees in the shop. Her name was Jamalette, and it told her story about how she used to live in the dump, a single mom with her children. And that one just went straight to the heart.”

Catron volunteered at the church for six months, helping sell fair trade products, before deciding to open her own fair trade store. Throughout the process of opening her business, she received support from both the Ten Thousand Villages regional manager, and her mentor, Brian Smucker, who also partners with Ten Thousand Villages and owns a chain of stores in California.

Catron must wait a minimum number of years before the store can be certified by a fair trade organization. Until then, “I buy from suppliers that are affiliated [with the Fair Trade Federation] because then I feel much more comfortable that all the principles are being followed,” Catron said.

She also promotes fair trade to her customers. Catron explains the principles of fair trade to her staff, so that they can relay the information to customers. The staff also hands out small cards with information about the product and who made it. “When [customers] can hear the story behind the product, it really helps them understand how they’re benefiting the artisans,” Catron explained. “Everyday we’re telling what it is, and telling the story, and the mission, and what we’re all about. “

Misconceptions

Despite efforts made by Catron and others to educate the public about fair trade, many misconceptions remain.

One such misconception characterizes fair trade as “this really left-wing social movement,” sociology and interdisciplinary sciences junior Lauren Hayes said. Hayes is president of the goupt MSU Students for Fair Trade. “It is a social movement, but it is also very business-oriented and there is a lot of economics behind it. It’s really a non-partisan movement that helps bring people out of poverty.”

Stenzel believes that “The public often thinks that it’s a charity … whereas, it’s business. Fair trade is a type of trade. It’s becoming more and more mainstream in the E.U. [European Union] and elsewhere.”

“Business today is now moving toward the realization that we have to look to what is known as the triple bottom line: economy, social equity and environment,” Stenzel said. “And that’s really what fair trade is all about, is looking to the triple bottom line.”

Many also assume that fair trade products are more costly than ‘regular’ products. In order to guarantee a fair wage for workers, buyers set a market price for fair trade goods. And while this price can be more expensive than the regular market price, “It changes a lot,” Hayes explained.” It depends on the market and what kinds of wages are being set.”

Due to fair trade certification fees, some products such as chocolate and coffee are more expensive. “It is a little more pricey in chocolate and coffee, perhaps,” Catron conceded. “But the craft side, that is not the case. […] What you’re getting on the craft side is amazing for the price.”

Critiques

Higher prices can be a deterrent for customers. Sparty’s convenience stores, located in and around Michigan State University’s campus, sell only fair trade coffees and have encountered problems selling fair trade chocolates. “It was a little higher than the competing chocolates. The product was good, definitely, but being that it was more expensive people kind of shied away from it a little bit,” said Mike Harding, the Operations Assistant Manager for Sparty’s. “It’d be safe to say it wasn’t popular enough to continue, but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t do it again.”

The price of fair trade certification makes it difficult for smaller cooperatives to become certified. The certification process also requires a certain level of sophistication, “to be able to understand the requirements, being sufficiently literate to wade one’s way through all the paperwork,” Stenzel said.

And while over 2,000 fair trade products are available, including more unconventional commodities, such as fair trade tourism, fair trade certification standards have not been created for every product available. “It’s a laborious and painstaking task to develop standards for a particular product. So there are a number of products that have standards, but there’s a lot left to be done,” Stenzel said.

Businesses and organizations recognize the limitations of fair trade. “It’s not that we’re trying to take over the whole needs of people and say that it could eventually be all fair trade,” Catron said. “What we are trying to do is raise the awareness about what are you paying that worker, what kind of conditions are they working in.” Fair trade’s real aim is to give everyone involved a fair shake.

On October 7, the Associated Press reported that government ministers from the Republic of Maldives had begun preparing for their first ever underwater cabinet meeting, to emphasize the impact of climate change on rising sea levels. Maldives is the lowest-lying nation on earth, with its highest point only eight feet above the sea level, and thus the most vulnerable to such oceanic changes.

Located to the southwest of Sri Lanka in the Indian Sea (maps), the Republic of Maldives consists of 1,190 coral islands, which form 26 major atolls – islands of coral that encircle lagoons.  These atolls are one part of the Laccadives-Chagos Ridge, which stretches over 2,000 kilometers.

According to a 1998 census, an estimated 270,000 people live on the island. While English is widely spoken, Dhivehi is the official language of the republic. The Maldives currency is the Rufiyaa, with an exchange rate of 1 U.S.D. to 12.97 Rufiyaa.

The earliest settlers on the island were known as the Giraavarus, and many believe they descend from the Tamils people, in Sri Lanka. The second kind of Maldives, Dhovemi Kalaminja, converted the island peoples to Islam in the 12^th century. In 1887, Maldives became a British protectorate. The republic received full political dependence from Britain on July 25, 1965.