Widely misunderstood and often maligned, rhetoric in the simplest sense is the effective use of language in speech or writing. Much as law and medicine have well considered standards of conduct, so too does the field of communication. Experts in this area look at--patterns--of discourse in relation to specific kinds of events--tornadoes,…

This article assesses the potential of online news reporting to create discursive spaces for emphatic engagement--of bearing witness--at a distance, especially where human rights violations are concerned. Taking as its focus the emergent forms and practices of citizen journalism, it examines the spontaneous actions of ordinary people compelled to…

Certainly, individuals in many colleges and public schools address the impact of race, class, and power on schools, yet the institutions as a whole continue, even a year after Katrina, to ignore the imperative to explicitly and consistently deal with these issues. Human justice must become an institutional mantra, not just the conversation of a…

The importance of multiculturalism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina can be illustrated through a comparative view of the 1967 controversial, seminal, and Academy Award winning film, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". In the film, a multicultural cast starred in a groundbreaking tale of interracial marriage--then still illegal in some United…

The current study tests a theoretical model illustrating a potential pathway to reactive aggression through exposure to a traumatic event (Hurricane Katrina) in 166 adolescents (61% female, 63% Caucasian) recruited from high schools on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Results support an association between exposure to Hurricane Katrina and reactive…

Across America, the numbers of homeless children and families are growing as a result of many factors including the recent economic crisis, home foreclosures, and natural disasters. Because of an increase in the number of homeless children throughout the United States, this population has unmet needs that can be targeted in school settings under…

"Education Week" Staff Writer Michelle R. Davis sat down with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, on January 9, 2006, in the secretary's office at the U.S. Department of Education. This article contains excerpts from that interview. Secretary Spellings notes that being a parent of school-age children has given her an unusual…

This article offers an interconnected, grounded understanding of how two Gandhian endeavours in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, make us rethink the notion of "education" in terms of civic and communal engagement. Drawing on local, vernacular ways of living, learning, being, reasoning, and believing--in this case Gujarati--I show…

This article features the text of a speech by Richard Whiteside, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admission at Tulane University in New Orleans, that was presented during AACRAO's Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) Conference, November 15, 2005, in Chicago. In his speech, Whiteside recounts his personal story of living…

The literature notes that natural disasters, including wildfires, that damage human settlements often have the short-term effect of "bringing people together." Less recognized is the fact that such events can also generate social conflict at the local level. This study examines the specific sources of such social conflict during and after…

I examine academic performance and college going for public school students affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Students who are forced to switch schools due to the hurricanes experience sharp declines in test scores in the first year following the hurricane. However, by the second and third years after the disaster, Katrina evacuees…

This study evaluated a community-based grief and trauma intervention for children conducted postdisaster. Fifty six children (7 to 12 years old) who reported moderate to severe levels of symptoms of posttraumatic stress were randomly assigned to group or individual treatment. Treatment consisted of a manualized 10-session grief- and trauma-focused…

This study examined the influence of aspects of the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery environment (i.e., discrimination, social support) and coping behaviors on children's posttraumatic stress reactions (symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], anxiety, and depression). Data corresponding to 46 youth (M = 11.43 years; 39% girls; 33% African…

Following the devastation of hurricane Katrina, a university located in the southeastern United States created a service-learning program. This program was established so that physical education teacher education (PETE) students could provide physical activities to children living in a temporary, government-funded housing community. The purpose of…

Cell phones have become prevalent on college campuses. Most students use them as their primary phone to avoid changing phone service every year or dealing with university-based long-distance charges. In the wake of recent college shootings and threats of violence on campus, administrators have begun to deploy cell phone solutions to send emergency…