Just the facts

A busy college schedule is no reason to be uninformed

By: Robert Preliasco

Posted: 9/7/07

Hello, and welcome to college. Or welcome back to those of us returning. I would like to direct this piece to our students than our faculty and staff, denizens of the "real world." Have you heard that distinction made before? Students often consider college to be a sort of limbo between adolescence and adulthood, and in many ways it is. After we graduate we will never again be surrounded by so many of our peers; never again will most of the people we know have their room and board paid for by their parents. Never again can we devote as much free time as possible to having as much fun as can be found. Serious work and family obligations are just around the corner. In a few months you will hear shell-shocked seniors complain that they are not ready for the "real world."

Or maybe you will be one of those seniors. I have a feeling that I will be, for one. Let's admit it, the "real world" is a little scary. But how separate are we really from this "real world?"

College students live unique and busy lives, which sometimes leave little time for keeping up with the news. But here on a university campus, the obligation to remain informed is at least as strong as it will be in the rest of our civic lives.

Earlier I mentioned all of the things that we may never do again after we leave college. Well here is one more: we will never again be so firmly entrenched in the marketplace of ideas. Here at the university, we are surrounded by experts in almost any field you care to name. We live in an environment that values curiosity and knowledge for its own sake. Intelligent and accomplished people can be found at every turn to help you find what you care about most in this society and to challenge your ideas. Thousands of peers are on hand to challenge your assumptions and your conclusions further still. Now is the time to embrace that resource and the issues of the "real world" along with it. Informed citizenship is the foundation of democracy and there is no better place to become informed than on a university campus. As a journalist, I hope you will not miss the opportunity. In that spirit, here are some facts to consider, in no particular order:

- 3,753 American soldiers have died in Iraq since March 19, 2003, according to the Department of Defense.

- From the same source, 439 soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

- 27,767 American soldiers have been wounded.

- According to Iraq Body Count, a public database, at least 71,302 Iraqis have died since the start of the U.S. invasion. This figure includes insurgents and loyalists killed by American forces and Iraqi civilians killed in sectarian violence.

- Human Rights Watch estimates that 290,000 people were killed during Saddam Hussein's regime. This does not include casualties from the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 or the invasion of Kuwait.

- The difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims arose after the death of the prophet Muhammad when a successor needed to be chosen. Sunni Muslims believe that spiritual leaders can be elected from a pool of individuals who are not descendents of Muhammad. In Arabic, the word "Sunni" means "one who follows the way of the prophet." Conversely, Shiite Muslims believe that successors should be chosen from Muhammad's own family, those appointed by his family, or those appointed by God. Shiites do not recognize the authority of Muslim leaders and instead trace their own lineage of leaders, or Imams, directly back to Muhammad and those they believe have been appointed by God.

- Shiites are the majority in Iraq but they are a minority in most other Arab nations.

- Iraq's third largest sect is the Kurds, who were the greatest victims under Saddam's regime.

- The newest contender for president is Fred Thompson, an actor and former senator, who entered the race as a Republican last Wednesday.

- The first event of the Presidential nomination process, the Iowa Caucus, will occur on Jan. 14, 2008.