BY RECORD STAFF
Despite the rampant bloodshed and violence plaguing the nation of Israel — and the ever-increasingly soiled pages of the RECORD — at least one prominent member of the HLS community has a positive outlook on the conflict.
“Looky here,” said Office of Career Services Director Mark Weber. “Resolving territorial disputes is just like finding a job your 1L year. For some, it’s a piece of cake. For others, they have give a little extra elbow grease.”
Weber said that despite the years of failed diplomacy, thousands of lives lost and bitter ethnic hatred, he was confident that peace in the Middle East would arrive before the summer started.
“This year is just a very challenging situation,” he said. “Sure, you know, after September 11, it’s a very difficult geopolitical marketplace for oppressed peoples hoping to manipulate national governments through acts of random violence. But at the same time, the governments are feeling like they can’t accommodate quite as many oppressed peoples as they used to. They’ve had to ‘scale back’ their accommodation, if you will, and that means a tougher time for the people just trying to get their foot in the door.”
In his experience, Weber added, there is sunshine behind every cloud, and a smile under every frown. He also praised the RECORD for what he called “very balanced coverage” of the story.
“Heck, that little flap about the biased visiting scholar article and the opinion piece calling Dersh a racist just shows how much people care about the issue,” Weber said with a reassuring smile. “And we all know that when people care enough to get involved, well, that’s a good thing!”
Weber added: “Plus, I think it was ingenious for the RECORD to break away from traditional norms of ‘journalism ethics.’ By refusing to run with the pack, the paper showed students how to be more flexible with things we traditionally think of as firm and hard rules. There’s no one way to succeed!”
Weber said the Israeli and Palestinian authorities “shouldn’t give up.”
“If there’s one thing we’re learning this season, it’s that challenging situations shouldn’t spell defeat. The opportunities for peace are out there — we just need to get Sharon and Arafat to think outside the box,” he said.