I sent letters to President Dr. Norman C. Francis, The Times-Picyune, USA Today, and The New York Times.

Here is a copy of the letter to Dr. Francis:

June 24, 2006

President Dr. N.C Francis
1 Drexel Drive
New Orleans, LA 70125
nfrancis@xula.edu

Dear Dr. Francis:

As a concerned student of Xavier University I not only believe it to be important but also necessary for students to be aware of their environment. I did not know how to convey this concern until I registered into Theology Biblical Studies course this summer. As part of the curriculum includes that each student execute a project over a span of 11 weeks. The only guideline for this project is that a problem must be address along with possible implementations of solutions. There are many problems in our world today, but there is one that is consuming the young minorities who walk on Xavier’s campus everyday. We as young minorities have become oblivious to the world around us. If you were to walk around campus and asked random students about what is happening in government, I would not be surprised if you received blank stares. This statement is sad but true. This problem does not have to be set in stone and I have a possible solution in order to overcome this hurdle. I want to suggest that either a local or national newspaper be placed here on campus. I know that students can not be forced to read the newspaper but it will only benefit them. By taking 30 minutes out each day to read the newspaper has been proven to advance students standardize test scores. Also, with reading the newspaper comes enhance critical thinking and the obvious reason of gaining knowledge of our surroundings. Currently, I am sending letters to the Times-Picayune, USA Today, and New York Times newspapers to see if they can donate papers to our school. I do not know how effective my letters will be for I am only one voice. However, I hope this petition of the benefits of having newspapers here on campus could peak some interest. Dr. Francis, I thank you for your time I know that you are a busy man but I felt this problem needed to be addressed.

Sincerely,
Terin Lewis
Student at Xavier University of Louisiana

Here is a copy of the general letters I sent to the newspapers:

June 24, 2006

Dear Sir or Madam:

As a member of the media, the understanding of the significance of news distribution is clear. As a concerned student of Xavier University of Louisiana I too see the importance of the dispensing news to the public. I am sure that your demographics show a low percentage for young adults today. In most college campuses, newspapers local or national, are hard to find. Xavier University of Louisiana is no different. Most students are lacking sufficient knowledge of what is occurring in the world around us. For this very reason, I am petitioning to you to help be a solution to this problem. As I am writing to you, I have written a letter to the president of my school, Dr. Norman C. Francis. If students have accessible newspapers it will only have a positive impact in their critical thinking, standardize tests scores, and to have full awareness of the news. I can only present the problem and a suggested solution, but I need your assistance for it to be a success. I do not expect free newspapers but I would like to walk on campus and see students reading their copy of a newspaper on the yard. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Terin Lewis
Student at Xavier University of Louisiana

The Israelites, from the time they left Egypt to this point in time of 1 Samuel 8, needed something physical to admire. These physical beings were in the form of idols they made to represent deities. The Israelites were unable or unwilling to have the abstract thought or faith in God. Even after being rescued by God several times in Judges and other times prior to that, the Israelites still needed something physical to go to. Looking at their enemies and other cultures, the Israelites felt they needed a king. Asking the religious and sort of stand in political leader of the time, Samuel, they received what they asked for. This did not come without Samuel trying to warn the Israelites the troubles kings bring. Samuel told them that kings need armies, so he will draft our men for that army. They also need monies to finance their kingdom, so taxes will be imposed. Lastly, the Israelite daughters would not be safe from the kings’ recruitment to the bedside for his harem. Have you ever heard the saying, be careful for what you ask for? The Israelites know this saying too well, usually what they ask for is never good for them, and this is not any different with them asking for a king.
David was a king of the Israelites at about 1000 BCE. In the beginning David was a good king, he followed God’s every word and even tries to build a temple for God who refuses it. David shows faith in God by defeating Goliath with just a sling and rock in the infamous story of David and Goliath. Yet like the saying goes more money and power, more troubles, and that is what David got himself into. David fell hard from the glory of God. He committed three strikes against the commandments: thou shall not covet thou neighbors [stuff], thou shall not commit adultery, and thou shall not kill. David saw Bathsheba, who was the wife of Uriah, slept with her, and then killed her husband in order to cover his tracks and marry her. Along with this, David fell in taking part in the Holy Wars that were taking place at the time. I believe that David did not show leadership qualities as a king should. He broke three commandments, laws issued by God, and he did not take part in expanding God’s territory. How can the Israelites truly be walking the straight and narrow with God when the leader is clearly not? The answer is that they can not and they do not. The United Kingdom which was under the leadership of Saul, then David, later Solomon was divided under Rehoboams’s reign. Solomon was a tough leader to the Israelites and with his death Rehoboam was next to the throne. The Israelites were willing to stay under one king if Rehoboam would promise not to be as controlling or strict over them as his father was. Under much advice Rehoboam is told to respect the wishes of the Israelites while others told him to forget what they ask and be just as powerful as his father. Rehoboam did the latter, and with that decision he saw the United Kingdom divided itself into Israel and Judah.

The history of Israel is filled with ups and downs; at the beginning of where we are going to start is Saul’s reign. Saul was the first king of the Israelites; he was picked from the smallest tribe to assure no real advancement of power. Next after Saul’s death in a war, one of his sons Ishbaal took to the throne. However, there was another man David who was anointed by the High Priest Samuel while Saul was still reigning king. After word of Saul’s death reached David, Ishbaal was killed and David moved into his kingship with Saul’s daughter Michal on his arm. Later, David decides to move Israel’s capital to Jerusalem. The Israelites parade the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem which they wer happy to have in their possession again after losing it to the Philistines. David tries to build a temple for God but God builds up David’s dynasty instead. David’s descendents have unrest trying to get to the throne, in the end Solomon wins the crown. Solomon builds a temple in Jerusalem in 922 BCE. After Solomon’s death, Rehoboam, Solomon’s son takes the throne. Rehoboam threatens to be even stricter and overpowering to those underneath him which would be the Israelites. The Israelites disagree and in 722 BCE the United Kingdom is divided. Like any kingdom, it is easier to guard one better than 12, so the Israelites were more susceptible to being attacked. The Assyrians took their try of controlling Jerusalem but failed in 701 BCE. However, the Assyrians were able to set a king there and the influential Israelites were sent out which marks the 10 lost tribes. Later on in 586 BCE, Jerusalem is destroyed by the Babylonians for God lifted His protection and the Israelites got what they deserved.

Jehu a soon to be king of the Israaelites is said to be the son of Omri as told by a inscription on the Black Obelisk. Many might say what is the big deal, we hear of kings and less than kings having a long family interconnected lineage. the problem with Jehu being the son of Omri is that Jehu formed a coup d’etat against Omri. In the Bible, as stated by Schneider, Jehu is instructed to kill the King Joram which is the son of Omri. If this family connection is so, Jehu would have been a brother or so with Joram. What makes matter’s worse that makes scholars confused if the Omrides was truly Jehu’s family, is that Jehu set out to destroy everything the Omride dynasty touched. Jehu killed distant cousins, those who were intimate with the family, and even priests which is told by the Bible. So, was the inscription correct, was Jehu the son of Omri and have a vendetta for his family’s blood? According to Scholars, Schneider reports, that there is a misinterpretation by the Assyrians of the Israelites customs and politics. It is possible that Jehu is named “son” of Omri because he had contact with him first as a ruler of the Kingdom. However, all of these explanations do not have enough evidence to help support the thinking. Schneider comes up with a new explanation for Jehu’s tyraids, which has multiple supporting evidence from other occurances in the Bible. Schneider believes that Jehu is in fact a descendent of Omri. Like many other families, rulers had multiple wives. This could mean that the mother of Joram is different from Jehu, we see this with Joseph and his brothers. All the sons did not come from one mother but four and there was bitter rivalry on the part of Joseph’s brothers, excluding Benjamin his full brother. It is possible the same bitter sibling rivalry had formed itself in the house of Omri. Jehu kills all that are in the line for the kingship and to speed things up for his thrist for the throne he starts a coup d’etat for Omri. There are some parallels to Jehu and Osama Bin Laden. Jehu and Bin Laden had both executed a very bloody war on those they felt were their enemies. The difference is that Jehu felt his enemies was his family and Bin Laden felt his enemies were the Americans, who had helped him years ago to fight a war in his own country but that is another story. Both had backstabbed those who gave them a leg up. Like the descendents of Jehu, the followers of Bin Laden are destructive. The followers of Bin Laden are now creating havoc in their own cities and countries. Which is the same method Jehu and his descendents did.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 25th, 2006 at 6:06 pm and is filed under Week 08: Letters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.