New Disease Affects Soka’s First Study Abroad By Ryo Eugene Kondo

Acting Dean of Faculty Michael Hays officially announced the cancellation of the fall study abroad program to Taiwan and China earlier this week. Due to the risks involved with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Soka University of America has cancelled the programs. Much of the logistics still need to be finalized to accommodate the 19 unexpec ted s tudents dur ing b lock one and the fa l l te r m. Housing accommodations will adjust to the additional influx of students. Plans have not been fully developed but Director of Student Life, Michelle Hobby, explains that “Whatever we do, the focus will be on those students that are affected as opposed to looking at the student body as a whole.” Hays is considering several options that may replace the study abroad component for the students designated to go to China and Taiwan in the fall. One option is to create a dorm especially for the students and hire a faculty in residence who will conduct all classes within the dorm for the students. They are also considering internships in the US where the students would experience more contact with a Mandarin speaking population. Depending on which plan is chosen; SUA may have to develop more learning clusters in the fall block. Also, the projected number of sections of the required Writing 301 course will have to

increase if these students stay on campus in the fall. Administrators were also entertaining the idea of sending students to Middlebury in Vermont, one of the United States’ premier Chinese language programs. However, that idea is no longer an option for the fall because the registration period for their classes has already passed. Although, Middlebury may still be an opt ion cons idered for spr ing or summer of 2004 . Hays hopes that the threat of SARS will have dissipated by August when the decision whether to cancel the spring program will be made. “If they haven’t been able to contain the spread of SARS by August we can expect it to still be a concern in January” said Hays. On the other hand, if conditions improve, and SARS is contained, the student originally slated to go in the fall will go in the spring term. SARS first broke out on November 16, 2002 in Guangdong Province in China. It was identified in late February of 2003. The virus has steadily spread from China to 30 countries around the world. The countries with the most

identified cases include: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, Vietnam, and the United States. In total, there have been 6,583 reported cases of SARS, 461 of them resulting in the death of the infected individual. The World Health Organization (WHO) categorizes “affected areas” as regions where a specific country is reporting local transmissions of SARS within the last 20 days. Presently, only China, Canada, Mongolia, and Singapore still have affected areas.

The WHO has recommended restricting travel to Beijing, Guangdong, and Shanxi Province in China as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Persons planning to travel to destinations in the mentioned Chinese Provinces should consider postponing all but essential travel. Toronto, Canada was also included on this list of countries but was taken off once the WHO determined that SARS was no longer spreading in that area. Health organizations have slowly demystified the details of the SARS virus. The WHO believes the SARS virus is a new strain which has mutated to become more dangerous to humans. It belongs to the Corona family of viruses; the family includes the virus that causes the common cold. The initial symptoms of SARS are similar to that of the flu, which include high fever, headache, sore throat, and coughing. Research and testing of SARS has been a world wide effort. Clinicians based in China, Canada, Germany, the United States, and other countries are sharing information in order to deal with the virus as best as possible.

The Pearl strives to emulate slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s efforts to bring out the human side of every story. Fol-lowing his courageous model, The Pearl opens channels of communication in an endeavor to articulately and respectfully express differing opinions. The contributors of The Pearl report intentionally on issues of concern for the campus, the local community and the globe, aiming to unify the campus towards the realization of the mission of Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo.

To My Friends Who Are Leaving This School By Nobumasa Hiroi My friends, I hope that my heart will encourage you to reconsider staying at our school. I under-stand that there are many problems in front of us, but we can overcome those problems if we unite. Like the founder determined in his own youth, let us determine to spread the culture of peace. If we do not give up, SUA will be a leading force for peace and a hope for humanity. Even though most people do not know about SUA, creating the foundation is so significant that it is absolutely worthwhile to commit to this cause. SUA needs you; the world is waiting for you to be a global citizen. Please do not give up. Your unlimited potential is undeniable. I have seen your faces filled with disappointment, my friends. I regret that I have not been coura-geous enough to talk to you and listen to you. Maybe you have already decided what you will do after leaving this school. If your decision is best for you, I have to be happy for you. But, if you have any hesitation, I beg you to ask yourself this question: who do you want to be? Our school’s founder, Daisaku Ikeda, lived his youth during the World War II. The youngest of four brothers, he was sick with tuberculosis. Ikeda was the only one in his family not drafted into the war because of his sickness, but this left him the task of supporting his family. Having heard first hand about the callousness and cruelty of war, he hated war. When he was nineteen years old, he met Josei Toda who was just released from jail for opposing the war. Ikeda began studying under Toda and has lead his life working for

peace. On May 3, 2001, Soka University of Amer-ica opened as the realization of Ikeda’s determina-tion to create peace. I respect Daisaku Ikeda as a human being who has the same youthful spirit as all of the students at SUA and I want to fulfill his dream of each of us becoming world leaders for humanity. We live together, eat together, and study together at SUA. This is the best place to develop our character because we can face each other more candidly here than anywhere else. There are many problems, but you need to look at SUA with a broad perspective because the project is not easy to achieve in a short period of time. Unity and patience are indispensable to overcome problems. You might not have expected to be involved in this project, but it is a worthwhile mission. Yes, being at SUA is not the only way to achieve peace; you can fight for peace anywhere. But if you have passion, let’s work together at SUA.

To Leave SUA, AV By Victoria Kraus Most people on campus know of the faculty and staff members who will not be returning next year. To know which students are leaving, though, has been more difficult. Freshman Giuliana Schroeder has been planning on leaving SUA, AV after finishing up the 2002-2003 academic year since January. According to Gigi, students who have thought of leaving or have left SUA already were not getting what they wanted in terms of academic curricula. This in-cludes limited course offerings and the policies professors set in the classroom that “baby” stu-dents. Gigi’s reasons included these and more. Though filled with energy in the beginning of the

school year, she soon began to feel that SUA, AV was not the place for her. She felt that the stu-dents here dedicate most of their time in their academics and not enough time engaging in out-side activities. She explained, “Personal growth goes in hand in hand with experience and it has hit me hard to witness a lack of social life. Many of my friends here are reluctant to leave the nest.” These past few months, though, Gigi has been reconsidering her decision of leaving. She realized that most of what she has been depressed about were things she could change herself by taking responsibility. Her inspiration has been the sup-port of her close friends and the sincere generosity of founder Daisaku Ikeda. “Reminding myself of the mission and the belief and warmth of so many donors toward the student’s success,” was what inspired Gigi to reconsider her decision. “I can not find it justifiable to leave the school without having finished what I came to do.” In his numerous messages to the students at SUA, AV, Founder Daisaku Ikeda constantly empha-sizes the value of education. In his speech to the class of 2005 on August 24, 2001 he said, “There is no greater education than adversity. The life we possess as human beings has within it the inherent capacity to transform any hardship or adversity into new flights of creativity.” Though reasons for wanting to leave SUA, AV may vary, it seems that the motivation for choos-ing to stay come from the same source; realizing the responsibility each individual is willing to take in building an institution.

Letter from the Editor By WuLa Dawson I would like to recognize Dr. Fred Balitzer’s ef-forts to support students at Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo. He is, to many students, a great professor and a great friend despite the fact that he has been a target in recent months. Aiming to be a student centered institution, I think it is important for administrators, faculty, staff and students alike to listen to student perspectives. Tetsushi Ogata (’05) was skeptical about Dr. B when they first met. He always saw him jovially interacting with students but he thought it was just an act. Tetsu recalls “Although when I had per-sonal contact with him I felt I could trust him. I saw in his words and eyes that he was ready to fight for SUA.” Pilipino Navarro (’05) feels Dr.B shows concern

for him as an individual. Pilipino said, “He sent me SARS information while I was in his Political Theory course because it is related to the Philip-pines.” Pilipino observes that, “There are many things that he did to help students privately that have not gotten a lot of publicity.” Nathan Gauer’s (’05) mother, who lives in Wash-ington, D.C., struggles with a serious illness. When Dr. B visited, he called her to see how she was doing. “Just by a phone call he made my mother happy. That is the most important thing he did for me.” Nathan said. Because SUA is not recognized by Turkish au-thorities, Sinan Salar (’05) has been worried that he might be drafted for the military. Dr. B devoted all of his energy to helping Sinan. He called, faxed and emailed the Turkish Embassy several times despite the time difference and offered to stop in T u r k e y w h i l e i n t h e M i d d l e E a s t , i f t h e y c o u l d n o t c o n t a c t t h e n e c -

e s s a r y a u t h o r i t i e s f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . Shinsuke Tanaka (’05) feels that Dr. B is someone he can confide in—even about personal issues. Shinsuke is inspired by Dr. B, “He has a great passion for education.” Shinsuke said, “We can’t ignore his contribution and dedication to students. Nobumasa Hiroi (’06) sees Dr. B as energetic and enthusiastic about what he is teaching. “When we met one on one, he encouraged me to read as much as possible.” I have only scratched the surface of what Dr. B has done for students but, it is clear that he is sincerely committed to us. Unlike emails taken out of context, second hand reports, and rumors, these are all first hand accounts. They describe only a fraction of the actions Dr. B has privately taken to help students. A truly generous person cares for others without expecting recognition.

It is hard to believe that another year of life at Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo has passed. Any previous notion I had of how time passing is supposed to feel now lies in pieces, shattered by this glacial light-ing bolt of a year. This was simultaneously the longest and shortest year of my life. As we wind down, I am overwhelmed by questions. How do I want to end this year? What are my biggest regrets? What did I learn this year? How have I changed? What will it be like to not see some of you from anywhere between seven and 14 months? My mind is equally occupied with memories. There are many things I will never forget about this year; the foolishness of assuming that I know a person after a just a few en-counters; the power of a close friend’s smile; the importance of not cowering before doubt; the necessity of putting people before perspectives; the courage of international students who have yet to lament taking uni-versity level courses in a foreign language; the dry eyes and sore muscles of my friends who study until sunrise; the confusion that gripped SUA, AV on February 7, 2003; the joy that permeated SUA, AV on Apr i l 5 , 2003 . Of all that happened this year, I was im-pressed the most by how we responded to what happened February 6-7, 2003. I have never seen so many people simultaneously stand up with a sense of responsibility and purpose. Although our reactions and subse-quent action did vary, dialogue flourished on this campus like never before. People that never even looked at each other sat down and shared their lives. The momentum and

earnestness of these discussions took con-crete form in the second annual student forum April 5, 2003. I believe this festival signifies a new direction in the culture we are creating at SUA. At the recent Faculty-Student Forum, a staff member expressed feelings about the past and future of SUA, AV. Referring to the rumors and miscommunication that have bounded campus discourse for the past two years, he said that, “we all know that the car hit the tree. Instead of arguing over whose fault it was and how fast we should have been going, we would be better off if we learned from our mistakes and set out on a new direction together.” I could not have said it better myself. I cannot deny that what came out in the open this year was both necessary and in many ways beneficial. However, now that administrators are improving communica-tion with students and sharing information, we students have the opportunity to broaden our focus. I hope that we can begin to develop an intellectual climate that gives rise to ideas and solutions relevant to the world at large. In many ways, we have spent two years traveling inward. Now is the time to expand the relevance of our cultural and intellectual activities at SUA, AV. Led by Tetsuo Motoi and the incoming Soka Stu-dent Government Association, next year will mark a significant step forward in the history of SUA, AV. The past has vanished, Everything that was uttered belongs there. Now is the time to speak of new things --Jelaluddin Rumi

By Nathan Gauer

AC Update By Lisa Kawai, Diana Ueda, Tommy Tomiyama, Tetsushi Ogata The Academic Committee will ask for your participation in the Year-End Evaluation Questionnaire regarding the academic cur-riculum. Sample questions include: What did you think about the curriculum this year? Do you have any suggestions, prob-lems, and/or concerns about the curricu-lum? What are your suggestions for im-proving the curriculum? Please give as much input as possible. The new AC mem-bers will use the results of the question-naire in the next academic year. This will he lp them take up i ssues that need to be addressed . Congratulations to the 2003-2004 Aca-demic Committee. The new members have many plans for improving our curriculum in the upcoming school year. AC would like to address concerns regarding the lan-guage program, academic advising, faculty hiring, as well as other student issues. AC plans to support the SSGA executive branch by organizing more Student-Faculty forums in order to have continuous dia-logue throughout the year. Plans also in-clude working on internal projects such as the AC constitution and archives, while working alongside with the other SSGA subcommittees. AC hopes to see more student involvement next year by recruiting more members vigorously. We would like to thank Tetsushi and Mit-suko for guiding the Academic Committee with their compassion and dedication for the students. We hope to take AC to an-other level upholding the same spirit. Fi-nally, we would like to thank all of you for your continuous support. Please feel free to give us your ideas, concerns and sugges-tions because we are here for YOU!

Shared Governance By Cornelia Kull The Shared Governance Department was formed by the Soka Student Gov-ernment Association to do research and drafting proposals. One accomplishment since the formation of the department was actualizing student representation on the Board of Trustees. Shared Govern-ance has many exciting plans ahead like creating strong relationships and effec-tive communication with the different

areas of the campus community, and continuing to build its relationship with the Board of Trustees. We also plan on developing a research library and moni-toring the decision-making processes on campus for future clarity. Soka Univer-sity of America’s business affiliations need to be evaluated to see how they line up with our mission statement. We want to find innovative solutions to improve SUA, AV through research, the promotion of open and clear communi-

cation, dialogue, and building trust and relationships. Shared Governance is here to assist the students to contribute to the growth of SUA. Currently we are pre-paring for the upcoming meetings with the Fluor Corporation on May 15, and the Board of Trustees Investment Com-mittee as well as the Student Affairs Committee of on the weekend of May 17. For concerns, ideas, contact Kim-berly Mitchell, Cornelia Kull, Monica Kawai, or Cecilia Ocampos.

Voyage à la Southern California By Cielle LaFleur Welcome to the first installment of the new Travel Section, a.k.a. The Pearl’s attempt to get Soka students off campus. As a Southern California resident for almost 20 years, I’ll be the main writer for this section, but I’m open to any ideas or requests for events and places you’re interested in. Still looking for that perfect vacation spot for this summer? Want to travel to good Oklahoma or Texas but can’t afford a plane ticket? Tired of clean, conservative and wealthy strip mall infested South Orange County? Are you searching for a tranquil and modest place that’s also affordable? Look no further! What you’re looking for is right around the corner in…“the 909!” Riverside County, also referred to by its area code—“the 909”—is a pleasant, hot, dry and dusty area of Southern California that most visitors are unaware of. To get there take the Interstate 5 North, then the 241 Toll Road

North, to the 91 East, and then take the 15

South, exit Lake Elsinore. The route includes the breathtaking cacti and road kill scenery of cities like Temecula. When you pass Corona into “the 909,” it’s like you instantly traveled down to the rural South of the United States. Everyone has a southern accent, the boys wear boots and cowboy hats and girls keep chickens for pets. Men and women alike sport mullets, the popular short on the sides and long in the back hairstyle as seen on soccer great Roberto Baggio. The people of “the 909” consider clothes you thought were popular in the 1950’s still fashionable. No one lives life like Lake Elsinorians. They enjoy the simple things. It’s the home of California’s largest natural lake where you can float around in circles on a rented houseboat all day long. Better yet, you can skydive! On the way down you can have a nice view of the haze and trailer parks at 200 feet per second! And if you don’t get enough of Lake Elsinore this summer, come back in February to enjoy Southern California’s most exotic winter carnival ever, as they celebrate Arabian heritage at the Riverside County Fair and Annual Date Festival featuring date (the

fruit) eating contests, the ever-popular band Foghat, camel races, alligator wrestling, and the 56th annual Queen Scheherezade beauty contest! The fun never ends in the 909, so get out there quick! Points of interest: www.lake-elsinore.org www.skydiveelsinore.com www.datefest.org

My Diatribe: Protect Pauling 216! By Victoria Emily Mariko Kraus Let’s eat dinner in Pauling 216 during the Core II Plenaries, Study Abroad meetings and Creative Arts Forums; but if a guest lec-turer comes from afar, don’t bring your din-ner because it’s rude. I’ve heard it a million times: “I don’t have time to eat at the cafete-ria,” “The professor doesn’t mind,” “It’s Soka!” Here’s the problem when food is brought to 216: (1) it stinks; (2) students without food are distracted by their neighbor’s plate; and (3) the clinkity-clank noise from silverware hitting the plate disrupts class. Pauling 216 is one of the few places where a large group can gather to communicate infor-mation, have forums, hold meetings and spe-

cial lectures; it’s not a cafeteria. Most stu-dents are involved in several activities such as work, multiple clubs, committees, P.E. classes, and required forums, but does that mean we have to bring our dinner to Pauling 216? Do our schedules not allow enough time to eat between the hours of 5:30 to 7:30-ish? What does this have to do with P216? Eve-rything, dammit! And about those clinkity-clank noises, doesn’t it get on your nerves when your neighbor is cutting his or her steak while you’re trying to take notes on Jeff Green’s lecture on identity crisis? Fellow students don’t hold it in! Tell your neighbor how you really feel! You know it’s rude, on top of the fact that the steak-cutter is totally not paying attention to anything else but the steak. Why do they come to the lecture in the first place, then? Finally, it’s just plain rude to eat your spaghetti when Professor Walsh is discussing the relationship between

the wilderness and Latin America.

Students! The cafeteria opens at 7:30am so that means if you wake up early enough, you can enjoy a nice unrushed breakfast before your 8:30 class; you have a full hour! If you work and absolutely cannot make it on time for dinner, then ask a friend to pack food up in Tupperware. Sound simple enough? Professors! Put your foot down, make some class rules and let us spoiled students know that eating while you’re speaking is rude and annoying! Let’s fight against the stink and protect Pauling 216!

The Pearl Staff: (New Staff) Emily Frausto, Anna Ikeda, Monica Kawai, Lizzie Kurita, Cielle LaFleur, Okacchi Okada, Jenny Tang, ; (Photos) Nicole Chu, Ryo Kondo, Vicki Kraus, Andrew Reker, Naomi Yamamoto; (Last Month/Technical Support) Derrick Springer, Pamela Stoyka.