Friday, April 27, 2007

 

IRAQ WAR FORUM FEATURES TESTIMONY FROM A NEW VETERAN

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Back at his base in Iraq in 2005, Marine Capt. Tyler Boudreau outlined the tactical reasons he thought U.S. troops should be called home. He had just stepped down from his command, after admitting he loved his troops more than the mission.

Capt. Tyler Boudreau

A military leader “has to love the troops and the mission and has to love the mission a little bit more,” he explained to MWCC students, faculty and staff and the public Friday, April 20 as part of a faculty-sponsored Iraq War Forum. “I loved my troops more than the mission. I had to resign.”

Boudreau said his opposition to the war in Iraq “is based on military operations alone.”

The problems begin with the war’s unclear mission statement, he pointed out with a PowerPoint slide that included bringing Iraqi liberation, weapons of mass destruction eradication and stability operations in Iraq as rationales for the war. An unclear mission statement, he said, leads to mass casualties.

“For a military operation, this is unacceptable. You must have a clear mission statement,” he said.

The Marines were sent to Iraq “in green cammies” to provide stability operations, military jargon for humanitarian work such as building schools. His group, Fox Company 2/2, was told to wave to Iraqis as they drove into the country from Kuwait. “One thing I noticed going into the Sunni Triangle, [Army] troops heading back to Kuwait weren’t waving,” he said.

Indeed, when Fox Company 2/2 arrived in the Triangle, they were fired upon and returned fire. “We changed into our brown cammies,” he said.

The reality of the war is, the way it is being fought contradicts Army Gen. David Petraeus’ counterinsurgency manual, Boudreau said. The manual states the insurgency depends on popular support, and the way to neutralize that support is to build popular support for the U.S. through stability operations.

“What you find is in operation after operation, we’re not doing what we need to do to win the Iraqis' hearts and minds,” he said.

He described a personal experience with this. Route Jackson, which runs between Latifiyah and Mahmudiyah, was rife with roadside bombs planted by insurgents. “It [really angered me] every time I had to send somebody out,” the Marine captain said.

After one of the IED explosions left one of his soldiers dead, he ordered the start of “operation trash Latifiyah,” which entailed searching houses and arresting residents. It felt like the right thing to do at the time, he said, but afterward he came to the conclusion that “this isn’t winning the hearts and minds” of Iraqis.

“The good things we do have been quickly overwhelmed by the violent things we do,” he said, adding that this is happening because fewer troops are focusing on stability operations as more troops are redeployed to infantry roles.

Boudreau’s presentation was part of a three-part Iraq War forum sponsored by MWCC professors Susan Blake, Lorie Donahue, Yoav Elinevsky, Sue Goldstein, Thomas Matsuda, Elena Natalizia, David Patterson and Michelle Valois. It concludes today with a lecture by David Entin, a Vietnam veteran who will speak about the parallels he sees between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq, at 11:30 a.m. in room 127. The film “The Ground Truth” was shown Friday, April 13.

FOURTEEN HIGH SCHOOLS ENTER THEATRE AT THE MOUNT’S ‘TAMY’ AWARDS

By Gail Steele

Theatre at the Mount is pleased to host the High School Musical Theatre Awards (The TAMYS) recognizing exceptional accomplishments in the production and performance of musical theatre in area high schools. This program publicly acknowledges the outstanding effort local schools make to strive for excellence in the performing arts and celebrates the casts, crews, directors and designers who make outstanding musical theatre happen.

Fourteen area high schools have entered their musical production for consideration by the Theatre at the Mount adjudicating panel:
Keene High School – Man of LaMancha
Leominster High School – Annie Get Your Gun
Narragansett Regional High School – My Fair Lady
Cushing Academy – Into The Woods
Gardner High School – Music Man
Nashoba Regional High School – Hello Dolly
Clinton High School – Hello Dolly
Littleton High School – High School Musical
Burncoat High School – Anything Goes
Quabbin High School – Beauty and the Beast
Lunenburg High School – Anything Goes
Oakmont Regional High School – Hello Dolly
Fitchburg High School (all – district) – Sound of Music
Chelmsford High School – Les Miserables (school edition)

Award nominees will be announced by Tuesday, May 15. Productions will be considered for recognition in a variety of categories including:
• Outstanding overall production of a musical
• Outstanding performance by an actress in a leading role
• Outstanding performance by an actor in a leading role
• Outstanding performance by an actress in a supporting role
• Outstanding performance by an actor in a supporting role
• Outstanding performance in a cameo role
• Outstanding performance by a chorus/ensemble
• Outstanding production number
• Outstanding performance by a student orchestra
• Outstanding achievement by a director
• Outstanding achievement in choreography
• Outstanding stage crew
• Outstanding achievement in scenic design
• Outstanding achievement in lighting design
• Outstanding achievement in costume costuming
• Outstanding achievement in graphic design/playbill
• Outstanding achievement in lobby display
• Additional awards as warranted

The TAMY Awards ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 5 at 6 p.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster. Participants are invited to dress up and walk the red carpet looking their best. Tickets for the awards ceremony are $30 and will be sold between Tuesday, May 15 and Friday, May 25 only through the Theatre at the Mount Box Office at (978) 632-2403.

More MWCC News:

• Early Childhood Education students, from left, Erinn McKary, Lisa Dubrule and, Amy Moores with MWCC Trustee Jim Garrison, whose $1.4 million donation to the recent capital campaign helped fund construction of the new childcare center and scholarships for ECE students and childcare stipends of MWCC students.

  The conclusion of a three-part Iraq War forum at MWCC’s Gardner campus by several faculty will feature a lecture by David Entin, a Vietnam veteran who will speak about the parallels he sees between the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq, in room 127. The film “The Ground Truth” was shown on April 13, and Tyler Boudreau, a Marine officer who served in Iraq, gave a lecture about his experiences in Iraq and his lessons from the war April 20. For more information, contact Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Tickets are on sale for a special performance by renowned fiddler Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul at Theatre of the Mount. The show will also feature Irish dancers. Tickets for this May 5th performance are $35 each, with a $2 online service charge, and can be purchased at the Theatre at the Mount box office and online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu. Proceeds will benefit Theatre at the Mount. Doors open at 7 for the 8 p.m. show. Cash bar and refreshments will be available from 7:15 to 8 p.m. and during intermission. Gardner Ale House and the Olive Garden in Leominster are show sponsors.
• MWCC’s new Biotechnology program will host information sessions Wednesday, May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. at the main campus. Another session will be held at the Leominster campus, 100 Erdman Way, Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. With the decision by the drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb to locate a large biotechnology company at Devens, the college anticipates starting the biotech program in fall 2007 at the Devens and Gardner campuses. Registration is required. To register and for more information, contact MWCC’s Dean of Science Charles Weitze at cweitze@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9207.
• The annual Alpha Beta Gamma Induction Ceremony will be held Friday, April 27 starting at 6 p.m. in the south dining room. State Representative Lewis Evangelidis, R-Holden, will be the keynote speaker. For more information, contact ABG advisor Linda Bolduc at (978) 630-9385.
• The Center for Democracy and Humanity has rescheduled the next Democracy Café panel discussion on all the presidential hopefuls for Monday, April 30 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the north cafeteria at the Gardner campus. WTAG talk show host and former Worcester Mayor Jordan Levy will moderate. The panelists include MWCC Political Science Professor William Welch, MWCC student Jack White, Gardner Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire, Worcester State College Director of Student Affairs Sybil Brownlee and Fitchburg State College Political Science Professor Rodney Christy. Complimentary coffee and refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the public. Register by emailing ahart@mwcc.mass.edu or calling (978) 630-9458. Learn more at http://democracy.mwcc.edu/pages/DemocracyProject.html.

• Jordan Levy

  The TAMY Awards ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 5 at 6 p.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster. This program, sponsored by the Theatre at the Mount, publicly acknowledges the outstanding effort local schools make to strive for excellence in the performing arts and celebrates the casts, crews, directors and designers who make outstanding musical theatre happen. Participants are invited to dress up and walk the red carpet looking their best. Tickets for the awards ceremony are $30 and will be sold between Tuesday, May 15 and Friday, May 25 only through the Theatre at the Mount Box Office at (978) 632-2403.
• More than 350 Bay State high school students from some 60 public and private schools across the Commonwealth are expected to compete in the 20th annual Massachusetts Envirothon on Thursday, May 10 at MWCC’s Gardner campus. At this outdoor event, teams of five students rotate through four “eco-stations” where they demonstrate their environmental knowledge through hands-on activities such as soil analysis and plant identification. Each team also gives a presentation on their research into the year’s designated current issue. This year’s current issue is “Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy for Massachusetts Communities.” For more information on the Massachusetts Envirothon visit www.maenvirothon.org.
• MWCC will celebrate the expansion of its Leominster campus with a special reception Friday, May 11. Located at 100 Erdman Way, this satellite campus now has 11 classrooms and five computer labs. Sixty-five accelerated courses and four full-semester courses are offered at this campus, and the English as a Second Language program, with 19 full-semester courses, is now located here. In addition, the Center for Democracy and Humanity, which features the Institute for Nonprofit Development, United Way Youth Ventures and Community Builders, and the Entrepreneurial Resource Center operates at this campus. The event is by invitation only. For more information, contact Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.
• MWCC’s 42nd graduation will be held Thursday, May 17 at 6 p.m. at the Fitness & Wellness Center. Governor Deval Patrick will deliver the commencement address. Diane Castelli (’83) will be honored as the 2007 Alumna of the Year. During the ceremony, students who have completed qualifying service-learning projects will be awarded Civic Scholar Medallions as part of the ceremony. Outside the fitness center, members of Phi Theta Kappa will hold the annual Project Graduation, a food and children’s book drive for the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center as part of the Decade of Civic Engagement initiative. For more information, contact Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.
• MWCC, in association with the Broadcasting and Telecommunications program and Phi Theta Kappa, is pleased to once again offer 2007 Commencement DVDs. This professional quality, edited DVD of MWCC’s 2007 graduation day ceremony will be available for a limited time at a cost of $15 each. This low cost includes the cost of shipping and handling. Fifty percent of the profits from the DVD sales will go to MWCC’s Phi Delta Chapter of the PTK Honor Society. PTK students will donate the other 50 percent of the profits directly to the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center. To place an order in advance, contact Sheila Murphy, PTK advisor, at smurphy@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Eileen Ivers

  For the second time, HealthAlliance Hospital, Leominster Campus is teaming up with MWCC to host a Kid Expo on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., which also will feature the free child safety I.D. kits, a health and safety fair, demonstrations, free bike helmets car seat safety inspections, and other give-aways, while supplies last. The event will also include the Sheriff’s office Mobile Command Unit and search dogs, a bike rodeo, karate and cheerleading demonstrations, many other hands-on health and safety activities for children and families, and lots more. For more information, log on to http://mollybish.mwcc.edu or call Andrea Dudley Hart at (978) 630-9458.
• The Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety at Mount Wachusett Community College will host the fourth annual Kid Expo Saturday, June 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gardner campus. The free event will feature free Molly Bish Foundation child safety I.D. kits, r.a.d.KIDS self-defense demonstrations with Campus Police, car seat safety inspections, a health and safety resource fair, free bike helmets courtesy of Heywood Hospital (while supplies last), raffles for bikes, car seats, tons of free raffle baskets. Smokey Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog and Lil’ Iguana will be present. The event also includes a Lifeflight helicopter landing, complementary health workshops including Chi Kung, the Fitchburg Fire Department Smoke House, lots of safety vehicles to explore, the Worcester County Sheriff’s office search and rescue dogs, food, music, entertainment, lots of fun games and activities such as a climbing wall, and lots more. For more information, log on to http://mollybish.mwcc.edu or call Andrea Dudley Hart at (978) 630-9458.
• Registrations are now being accepted for MWCC Foundation, Inc.’s 12th Annual Golf Tournament to benefit student scholarships. The tournament will take place Monday, July 16 at Sterling National Country Club, 33 Albright Road, Sterling. The cost is $175 per person to play and $40 for dinner guests. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available. Two raffle drawings and an auction will be held. Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast buffet starting at 9. The shotgun start will be at 10 a.m. The tournament will conclude with a social hour from 3 to 4 p.m. and dinner and awards at 4. Players must wear soft spiked golf shoes. Proper attire is required: All golfers must wear a collared shirt. For more information about registering or becoming a sponsor, contact Darlene Cloutier at (978) 630-9387 or dcloutier@mwcc.mass.edu.