Well my project has not gone as good as I would like it to be. I have not saved the world yet. I have written letters to government officials that I feel have a great impact on their immediate communities as well as the world as a whole. Let me get off subject for a minute. I feel that in order for a person to better their country they must first better themselves. Recently I have done a lot of self evaluation. I started writing in a diary. On a daily basis I reflect on the events that happened. I got this idea from the movie by Tyler Perry: Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I thought this was an excellent movie and I think that every woman or man that has ever been done wrong in a relationship should see this movie and the “Notebook”. The “Notebook” is the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. Dr. Homan: You definitely need to watch that movie with your wife. Now back to the subject at hand. I think that my project is going well, but I am focusing more on a personal level. I have informed many individuals like friends and family members about the issues of the war in Iraq. I feel that the letters that I wrote were important, but I also feel that they were more than likely not read by the person in which they were addressed to. I’m sure president Bush recieves hundreds of letters a day. Can one letter from me really make it to him? I don’t think so. I’m not trying to be negative, but hey I’m being realistic. I think that the letters may have reached Kwame and Govonor Blanco, but hey I may be wrong. I did have the opportunity to talk to a political figure in New Orleans, Cynthia Hedge Morrell. She ran for City Council District D. I helped her campaign with a community service project. We passed out flyers with her imformation on it and we held up signs and wore her shirts on street courners. It was really fun. I had the chance to have a one-on-one conversation with her and she seemed very concerned about the issues I confronted her with. I asked her how she felt about the money New Orleans alone has and is still spending on the war in Iraq. She said she was aware of this, and she did indeed have a problem with it. She said that the issue of war was a very controversial issue. I had the feeling that she didn’t want to too much express her feelings about war because it could definately hurt her campaign. They issues that she focused more on were issues that had immediate affects on the community. Mrs. Morrell seemed like a very down to earth, educated and aware women. She told the group of community service volunteers that she was very concerned about issues such as education, safety and job availability. She was very impressed that all of us volunteers attended Xavier and we were giving back to our community. I wanted to do something more, but it’s hard starting clubs and orginizations being a full time college student. I am on the othe hand in the process of getting together groups of students who are interested in the issues we face on the war. In order to get a club started at Xavier, a lot has to be done. I am going to work on the paper work this this summer, and find out all the in’s and out’s of starting my orginization. I have researched what needs to be done, and believe me it is not as simple as it seems. At least I have people who are interested in learning more. I want to get other schools involved. I need to get in contact with Dean Bird and see what he has to say. Maybe I can look further into it in the summer time. I do not regret my project though because I feel like I got more out of my project than I ever suspected. It seems like the issue of war is being less focused on then it was earlier in the year. I think that the war was overly publicized because the presidential candidates wanted the people to agree with their positions. I feel like George Bush and John Kerry both like the concept of war. John Kerry, a war vet cannot deny the fact that he has a strong military background. I feel like John Kerry wanted to portey his self as the lesser of two evils, which I personally feel he is. I wanted anyone but Bush in office. I regret, deeply regret to say that I did not vote. I feel terrible about this especially after all my anti-war sematics. My project actually made me want to vote. My project actually made me realize that every vote does count. I admit I did not vote last year because I feel like I wasn’t satified with either candidates. John Kerry on one hand tried to focus on issues that made it seem like he was against the war. I wonder what Kerry would have done about September 11th. I’m not saying George Bush made the right decision, but I do think he was looking out for number one. All these presidents are only concerned with one thing: making history. Kerry wanted to finish a job his father couldn’t. Bush let his personal issues get in the way of his role as a leader. I feel like the capture of Sadaam Hussein was not necessarily needed. Yes he was a dictator, and he was a “bad man” but what does that have to do with us? I’m really confused about the whole issue of his capture. Was Sadaam captured because the weapons of mass distruction. Wait a minute! Did the United States government ever find these so called weapons of mass distruction? Or was it a distraction to us citizens? What happened to the issue of gas?All these questions are still unanswered. I feel that so many things are hidden from the American public. We don’t know the real issues, we are being deceived. The media has the ability to make the world believe whatever it wants. It’s a never ending cycle. I feel that I did make a diffrence with my porject. Although I did not complete what I intended to with this project I did get the chance to educate myself about issues that are going on in the world today. From the comments I’ve received I know that I have made other students realize the issue of war and how it directly affects us.

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