Despite the "political gloom and human rights problems" Tibet faces as an autonomous region within the People's Republic of China, rural Tibetans are confident about their economic future and continue to preserve their cultural traditions, Tibet scholar Melvyn Goldstein said in a lecture in Kemeny Hall on Tuesday. "Rural Tibet, where 82 percent of Tibetans live, is culturally intact and economically on the rise," Goldstein said. Goldstein spoke for an hour and a half about the last 100 years of Tibetan history, the recent conflicts and riots in the region, and whether reaching a solution between Tibet and China is possible. Goldstein is working on the third and last book in his series on the modern history of Tibet and recently learned that he will be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences for his work.
Several College employees took part in a protest in front of the Bank of America building in Hanover on Tuesday, calling for Ken Lewis, the corporation's CEO, to step down, or for the company to fire him. "We're asking [Sen.] Judd Gregg [R-N.H.] to stand with us and ask Ken Lewis to step down as CEO of Bank of America," said Deborah McDonnell, a member of Service Employees International Union Local 560's "Change that Works" campaign. The union organized the protest, and participants asked passers-by to sign a petition supporting the termination of Lewis' employment and economic reform. "It's time that [Bank of America] took the money they've been given and give it back to the American people," McDonnell said.
Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard Law School professor, has declined to receive the Laetare Medal, an award given by the University of Notre Dame to a leading American Catholic scholar in the arts and sciences, The Harvard Crimson reported on Tuesday. Glendon said she rejected the medal in light of the university's decision to grant an honorary degree to President Barack Obama, its commencement speaker, The Crimson reported. Obama's moral beliefs, particularly his pro-choice stance on abortion, differ from those of the Catholic Church, Glendon told The Crimson. Notre Dame plans to name another recipient in the near future.