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An art museum in plain sight

WASHINGTON D.C. — The nation’s capital is home to about 70 art museums. However, it isn’t always necessary to travel as far as the National Mall or Dupont Circle. The American University (AU) art museum features the work of artists from around the world.

The AU art museum receives about five applications each day from artists eager to have their work displayed. The director and curator, John Rasmussen, says AU graduate students can also have their work displayed once a year.

Rasmussen describes the museum as paralleling “the strengths of the university.” The artwork, which has a strong international focus, reflects AU’s diverse community and Rasmussen adds that the museum shows political and social work because it “can’t be found elsewhere in D.C.”

The museum is three floors of art work and more can also be found outside the museum walls in overlooked nooks and crannies, including in stairwells, elevators and on windows, as a part of the exhibit by Danielle O’Steen.

Rasmussen said that the AU art museum is similar to the Corcoran art museum just a little bit more “nimble.” Some of the exhibits are traveling shows, coming from places like the Grey art gallery at New York University, and Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

The museum has a diverse array of artwork both inside and outside in the sculpture garden, too. With its emphasis on international art and diversity, the museum adds to culture of D.C. art museums.

The American University Art Museum in the Katzen Arts Center is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. 

 

 

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US sends troops back to Iraq for first time since withdrawal

The ISIS conquered the city of Tal Afar, shown above in 2007, prompting the U.S. government to deploy troops in the region for the first time since 2011. Photo by Afrosty [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
The ISIS recently conquered the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, shown above in 2007, prompting the U.S. government to deploy troops in the region for the first time since 2011. Photo by Afrosty [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
WASHINGTON — Three years after a full withdrawal of American armed forces from Iraq, the U.S. government is sending 275 troops back to the war-torn country. This decision is a response to an  insurgence by an Islamic extremist group known as the ISIS. 

President Obama notified Congress of his decision on the evening of June 16, just three days after stating that no U.S. troops would be sent to Iraq. However, after ISIS captured the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, which is less than 300 miles north of Baghdad, the capital, the Obama administration decided to send troops in an effort to protect U.S. assets in the region. 

According to a June 16 Huffington Post article, the combat-ready troops are in Iraq for the purpose of providing security for U.S. Embassy personnel in Baghdad. Obama insists they will not engage in direct combat unless they are attacked. 

Despite his administration’s assurance that the troops will not be fighting, Obama’s decision has drawn criticism from those who feel that the decade-long war in the region never really ended. Around the American University campus, this fervor can be found. 

“I’m disappointed because he promised that we would take the troops out, and yet, we’re still there,” said American University student ambassador Ariel Shvartsman. After all, she went on, “if you’re going to promise something, you should keep it.” 

Boming Xia, a secretary at the School of Public Affairs desk at American University, said the decision to send troops back to Iraq is “unwise” because the administration should focus its attention on domestic issues such as the nation’s struggling economy. 

While many have criticized the fact that U.S. troops are returning to Iraq, others said that the military’s most recent deployment of troops to the region will not fix the problems in the Middle East. 

“At the moment, the troops are mainly for advisory…and intelligence purposes,” student Matthew Agar said. “However, the intelligence may be used to conduct air strikes, and I’m not necessarily in favor of those air strikes because it doesn’t address the political vacuum within the Iraqi government.”

According to a Department of Defense press release, 170 of the troops arrived in Iraq over the weekend of June 14 and another 100 were moved into the region to provide airfield management, security and logistics support.

Despite the relatively low number of troops sent to Iraq — the U.S. deployed 148,000 troops in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 — some fear that Obama’s decision could eventually lead to further U.S. involvement in the region.

“The extension of combat opposition in the Middle East is something I’m always very speculative of,” said American University student ambassador Joe Flannery. “I understand where Obama is coming from, but I am personally upset by this decision.”

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Adding a touch of green

Martha Barron
Martha Barron plants a variety of flowers and vegetables.

WASHINGTON — Here in the city, not many would expect to wander into a 4-acre community garden. Newark Street Community Garden, however, defies the stereotype that there is little green in cities by providing community members with the opportunity to garden a plot of land.

Newark Street Community garden, started in 1974,  part of the District of Columbia’s Department of Parks and Recreation, has a waiting list of 80-plus people and more than 200 members. Current gardeners and aspiring ones share a passion for gardening and treasure its many benefits. Martha Barron, a lover of the outdoors and dedicated gardener, values this urban garden because she thinks “it is a healthy outdoor activity,”and“it is good for the oxygen and all the scientific elements.”

With green living becoming more popular in areas around the U.S., cities are beginning to open their eyes to having city community gardens. As Barron said, the plants are good for the oxygen because they filter the air removing fine particles. Plants also hold the soil more firmly, preventing runoff and increase the communities overall consumption of locally grown foods, which has both health and environmental gains. Lastly, according to several studies, merely seeing plant life can lower blood pressure, alleviate muscle tension and reduce anxiety.

But Newark Community garden is not alone in bringing a little bit of green back into concrete cities. In several other major U.S, cities urban gardens  have  become  more prevalent as more people are catching on to the benefits city gardens provide to both the environment and community.

 New York, Chicago and Washington have taken advantage of the soothing nature of gardens in order to make their cities more livable. To many garden goers coming to the Newark garden is like what Martha described as “being a therapy.”  Personally, Barron “enjoys seeing things grow ” even the overgrown vines she said as she tried to tear it down in order to prevent getting a citation.

However, while the gardens may offer up a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle  found in the city, maintaining the garden is no easy task. Susan Akman, a past president of the community garden said she looks at the garden rules as being a strict framework, a framework that has to be followed in order to keep the gardens positive influence. Akman describes their policy toward gardening as not doing anything that will “hurt the community and environment.” Gardeners are also expected to come in for 10 hours a week and help out with maintenance every so often.

To some this framework may appear to be daunting, but Akman said that they “don’t want to to lose people …they want people to be educated.” And almost always Akman says, they will give their gardeners the “benefit of the doubt.”

Newark garden welcomes the community.

In Washington alone there are more than 30 community gardens, but the members of the Newark community garden believe that there is something special about theirs. Besides differences in gardening style and its size and age, Akman says that it is a “wonderful community.” She says that it is one of the few places in the city where “no one asks you what you do.” Newark community garden has made huge efforts to make the gardens even more welcoming to the community. With a dog park, tennis court, playground, picnic area and grills, the gardens welcome the members of the community to spend time in their sanctuary from the city.

Akman and the other gardeners “have a great love and passion” for gardening and therefore try to share it with the community.