It’s here. Graduation day. Maybe you’re a parent watching your child graduate. Perhaps you’re actually graduating. You might be the guy who takes tickets.

No matter who you are, congratulations for getting to this point in your life. For all those graduates celebrating today, however, I urge you to do one thing: Do not go to grad school.

I’m not against graduate school entirely. I just believe that when deciding to dive into your next educational journey, it’s best to head out into the real world first.

Your priorities may change. We all wanted something coming into college, whether it was new friends, discovering the purpose of life or learning to chug a few beers. But we all wanted to grow. What you want to study in grad school may change after having a few years of real world experience. What is interesting or beneficial to you will most likely change after experiencing something new.

Most grad students become teaching assistants, or TAs, either as a requirement of their department or just to make money. I assume most grad students do not want to pursue teaching for their entire career. If they do, I’m pretty worried about the quality of teachers coming out of grad schools.

Though there are a few exceptions, the resounding response I’ve received from fellow students and friends is that most TAs are awkward, nervous and boring. But I can’t blame them. They’re not in school to teach and engage a group of hungover college students on a Friday morning. They’re in school to learn, just like us undergrads.

The power is all yours. Rather than listening to what a professor tells you and taking their word for it, you have the power to confidently make your own decisions with the information you are given. There’s no speculation involved. With a few years of real world experience, you’ll know how people in your field think and what they really care about. This not only allows you to form educated thoughts from new material, but to focus on areas you may not have otherwise thought to study.

It’s not a guaranteed win. The job market is pretty barren these days – having a graduate degree is not going to guarantee you a job, or even help in getting one. According to The Economist, “Graduate courses are so specialized that university careers offices struggle to assist graduates looking for jobs, and supervisors tend to have little interest in students who are leaving academia.” There’s a common misconception that more education will put you above the rest, but it’s not just about the degree—it’s about experience.

We’ve been in school for 17 years. Isn’t it time for a break?

Thomas Benton of The Chronicle of Higher Education agrees. “Don’t be in such a hurry to re-institutionalize yourself. Throw your mortarboard in the air. Consider yourself free for the first time in your life.”

So congratulations, graduates. Don’t go back to school. Turn to something new, something exciting. Head on out into the world and show ‘em what you’ve got.

The California State Assembly voted Thursday morning to pass one of two bills that make up the California DREAM Act, which would provide university-funded grants to undocumented students.

The 51-21 vote passed AB 130 – authored by state Assemblymember Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles – which would allow the UC, CSU and Community College systems to provide financial aid to undocumented students from their financial aid reserves and will have no direct fiscal impact on the state. The bill will now move to the Senate.

Assembly Bill 131, which would allow undocumented students to be eligible for state financial aid such as Cal Grants, makes up the second half of the act and was placed under suspension by the assembly’s Committee on Appropriations April 13. It is expected to be voted on again later this month.

Though former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed versions of the act last year, Gov. Jerry Brown has said on several occasions that should the act come to his desk, he would choose to approve it.

Cedillo read a letter from University of California President Mark Yudof at the meeting, which stated his support of the bill.

“The outstanding accomplishments of these leaders of tomorrow should not be disregarded, nor their future jeopardized, simply because of their legal status,” the letter states.

Though the bill has garnered a majority approval, Assemblymembers Chris Norby, R-Fullerton, and Bill Berryhill, R-Ceres, spoke out in opposition of the legislation prior to the vote, stating that while the intent of the bill is admirable, current immigration laws would prevent employers from hiring the undocumented students that would benefit from the bill’s passage.

“I too share the compassion and the understanding of what these kids bring to our economy, to our future,” Berryhill said at the meeting. “I agree with literally everything that’s been said on this floor, but I don’t feel that until there is truly federal immigration policy … or we take the penalties off employers for hiring … I just regretfully can’t support this today.”

But supporters of the bill argued that there is still time for reform in immigration laws. Assemblymember Marty Block, D-San Diego, said at the meeting that he believes it is very likely that there will be immigration reform within the next decade.

“I think it’s been very clear in this discussion that it is the law – that these young students do have rights and that they do have a right to education in this state at this time,” Cedillo said at the meeting. “While it may be illegal to hire them, it is not illegal to educate them.

An effort that began as a way to return the generosity Alabama fans showed toward Auburn University earlier in the year has now become a grassroots phenomenon. Toomer’s for Tuscaloosa is helping those who have been affected by the deadly tornados that devastated areas across the state Wednesday.

“We’ve pretty much become a nationwide organization at this point,” said Warren Tidwell, an Auburn resident and organizer of the Facebook group.

Among the states already signed up and organized to send supplies are Georgia, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Maine. Groups were called to action and organized through the popular social media sites Facebook and Twitter.

“Wednesday night at 8 p.m. I got online and started the group, which was of course inspired by the act of Alabama fans. It was so classy of them to raise money. I had hoped for a big response, but I had no idea it would be as big as it’s been. It’s gotten really crazy.”

Alabama fans raised $50,000 after word that Auburn’s beloved Toomer’s oak trees had been poisoned. The check was presented to the Toomer’s Trees and Tradition Fund March 25.

Tidwell said the reason he originally focused on Tuscaloosa was because he had no idea of the extent of the storms’ impact on the state.

“We had no idea it was our worst hit ever,” Tidwell said. “So now, we’ve gotten to a lot of the affected areas with supplies, water, food, tents and tarps. We’re actually about to transition into a large warehouse to work out of as a home base.”

The volunteers have been working out of the Five Points Baptist Church in Northport, but Tidwell said they’ve outgrown the church’s gymnasium. The church will be the volunteers’ home base until later in the week. Toomers for Tuscaloosa, however, will still be accepting donations through the church’s website: www.fivepointsbaptist.com/tornado.

“That website is where we are accepting donations that are going directly to the victims throughout the state,” Tidwell said. “We are helping in Tuscaloosa, but we’re spreading the donations throughout the state.”

Helping smaller towns hit hard by the storms is something Tidwell is most concerned with because he’s had experience with relief efforts after natural disasters and knows how easily they can be forgotten.

“I worked in a forgotten area in Mississippi (after Katrina), and the last thing I wanted was for the rest of the state to feel like we forgotten them because of Tuscaloosa,” Tidwell said. “We got into communities today where people hadn’t eaten in three days. We delivered diapers to areas today where babies were in the same diaper for days or were wrapped in T-shirts or whatever they had.”

So far, Tidwell said it’s been hard getting help from federal agencies because of red tape.

“The Red Cross is coming to us for needs,” Tidwell said. “We’re sending stuff to Temporary Emergency Services. We’re getting far more stuff out into the community and out into the state of Alabama than the Red Cross, FEMA or any federal agency at this point.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love the Red Cross, and they do wonderful work around the world, but in the initial aftermath of a disaster, we don’t need red tape. We’re cutting through the red tape and getting stuff into the people’s hands. When people bring stuff to us, we don’t tell them that we don’t have approval for that, or we don’t have anywhere to put that, or don’t bring that. We tell them to bring it, and we’ll figure it out.”

And people have been giving. He said he’s lost track of the number of cars, trucks and tractor-trailers of donations that have showed up at the church, not to mention the monetary donations given through the church website.

“The money we’re spending is coming directly from donations to the church,” Tidwell said. “The money that is donated is being immediately used. You’re looking at somebody at the disaster site going out and getting whatever we need. There’s no bureaucracy, there’s no red tape, and there’s no power struggle. It’s simply people helping people and us doing whatever we have to do to get this stuff done.”

Through the support of hundreds of volunteers, Tidwell and his crew have been able to ship food and supplies to places from Alberta City to Hackleburg. Donations are brought to the church and sent to those in the most need. People use the Facebook page to ask for help and responses are almost instantaneous.

“You can’t beat putting a request out on Facebook or Twitter and getting it responded to in five minutes,” Tidwell said. “There’s no way we couldn’t have done this without social media and the Auburn Family.

“This is a grassroots effort from average Americans from every walk of life, and I honestly believe this will revolutionize relief efforts in the future.”

For now, Tidwell is hoping people will stay interested and keep donating because he says the relief effort is a marathon.

“We will need volunteers for a long time. We’re going to need supplies for a long time. We’re talking about months of recovery around the state. This will not be a few weeks of donations; I need dedicated people who want to work with us.”

Tidwell and his wife are Auburn residents. He returned to school and finished his classes at Southern Union two years ago with plans to continue at Auburn. He left his job to coordinate the relief effort and has been offered a job in Opelika whenever he returns to the area.

“Sometimes you have to go out on a limb,” Tidwell said.

Those interested in volunteering or donating can find opportunities through the Facebook page by searching for Toomers for Tuscaloosa or via Twitter @Toomers4Ttown. Volunteers can also call Tidwell at 334-444-9100.

One of the nations that has been in the throes of civil unrest since January is Syria. The nation, like many others in the Middle East and Africa that have seen people’s movements dedicated to ousting a regime and engendering social change, has seen a corrupt Ba’ath Party regime rule in an authoritarian manner for over 40 years, with long-time leader Hafez al-Assad handing power over to his son, current leader Bashar al-Assad, upon his death in 2000.

Although many of the social issues demanded by protesters are similar to those in places like Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia, there is a major difference between the Syrian uprising and the people-led movements in these other nations.

It begins with the phrase “people-led.”

While there is absolutely no denying the abuses imposed on the citizens of Syria by the al-Assad family, particularly in the massacre of people currently living in Daraa, one should take a more discerning look at the opposition and ultimately question the true objective of this movement. More importantly, what is the current direction of the uprising in the region as a whole? The answer might shock you.

It is true that many nations in the region lack strong opposition parties due to suppression from the government, and opposition parties or large organizations did not lead the protests in Tunisia and Egypt. In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood, one of Egypt’s largest opposition parties, firmly declared itself as mere auxiliaries in the protests. The same cannot be said for Syria, considering that the initial protests back in February were spearheaded in part by the Reform Party of Syria.

The party is not based in Syria, but rather in the United States of America.

Meanwhile, recent cables released through WikiLeaks suggest that America has supported another opposition party, the Movement for Justice & Development in Syria, with financial assistance to the tune of over $6 million from 2006 to at least September 2011, if not currently. The MJD, headquartered in England, had members who were formerly part of the ruling Ba’ath Party that had only stepped down in order to “be on the safe side” should problems arise.

Meanwhile, the US has also helped fund a London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, which has been a key player in filming coverage of the protests.

President al-Assad has echoed his Libyan counterpart Muammar el-Qaddafi in denouncing the protests as a foreign-led movement, and based on the evidence above, he might not sound so crazy after all.

But this is not just about Syria. This is about a region that in February, America was losing its influence over. Allies like the Mubarak regime in Egypt and the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia were toppling, and the focus of the international community was on these nations and a nation like Bahrain, an ally on the verge of losing power.

But while these situations have entered a phase of status quo, and even suppression, in the case of Bahrain, the international community has begun to focus on the Civil War in Libya and now this emerging situation in Syria. Unfortunately, the U.S. has also ignored the fact that unlike Mubarak, Ben Ali and Bahrain’s Khalifa regime, al-Assad has actually removed the state of emergency that has been in effect since 1963, and the protests have somehow spiked after the lifting of it — one of the protesters’ major demands.

In a few short months, America and its allies have transformed the nature of the popular protest movement by turning the spotlight on situations and nations it can actually control, removing the power away from the people and back to the murky political waters that have ruled the Middle East for decades.

Following in the footsteps of UCLA, A.S. Council unanmiously passed a resolution on May 4 requesting the UCSD bookstore promote sweatshop-free apparel.

UCLA passed its corresponding resolution after a demonstration by students in February; the school hopes to increase revenue to over $16,000. According to the Daily Bruin, other schools, like Duke University, have purchased over $200,000 worth of apparel.

UCSD has carried apparel from Alta Gracia — a company based in the Dominican Republic that pays higher wages (or “living” wages) to its workers instead of minimum wage — since last fall.

According to UCSD Bookstore Director Don Moon, the bookstore currently carries T-shirts and sweatshirts from Alta Gracia. Four types are women’s items and three types are men’s items. These items have been here since last fall and some of the women’s items have sold out this year.

“We are supportive of Alta Gracia, we think it’s a good cause and we have some plans for the fall, so we will see what happens,” he said.

Right now, the bookstore has a hang-tag in place to advertise the Alta Gracia story, but next year, they plan on having a branded area within the bookstore to promote the company.

“I’m caught off-guard [by the resolution] because I don’t think it’s necessary to propose one,” Moon said. “We are making every effort to bring in more product for the fall, so it surprises me.”

According to Moon, bookstore officials are mostly waiting for Alta Gracia’s selection and graphics to improve in order to gain more customer interest in the line.

The Worker Rights Consortium — a nonprofit organization that serves as independent labor watchdog organization — established the living wage of the Dominican Republic with the assistance of 180 affiliated universities.

According to the WRC, in the Dominican Republic, the legal minimum wage is $0.84 hourly in U.S. dollars. To meet basic needs of their families — including food, clean water, housing and healthcare — WRC determined that the living wage should be $2.83 in U.S. dollars. Alta Gracia pays its workers $9.62 hourly.

“The WRC’s mission is to ensure that university logo apparel is produced in factories where workers are paid a genuine living wage that is sufficient to support themselves and their families and enjoy respect for all other basic rights, as embodied in university codes of conduct,” WRC communications director Theresa Haas said.

According to Haas, there are approximately 350 campus stores that carry Alta Gracia’s product nationwide.

“Our hope for Alta Gracia is that the factory will continue to grow and will serve as a model for the rest of the apparel industry,” Haas said.

Muir College senior and co-chair of the Student Worker Collective — the group that proposed the resolution —  Arianna Peregretti said the resolution is asking council to show it support.

“We are asking A.S. to support us in [the resolution] and to take the time to let the bookstore know that they are behind wanting to increase orders for the bookstore, community events, and conferences around campus,” Peregretti said.

Campuswide Senator Victor Flores-Osorio said he hopes council write a letter to bookstore management showing its support for Alta Gracia and other sweatshop-free apparel.

“When I ran for campuswide senator, one of my main platforms was social justice, and I see this as a way that UCSD can promote social justice,” he said. “I really doubt there will be much contention [surrounding the resolution] because this is a neutral resolution in that it promotes a clothing line and most people would agree that sweatshop-free is a good thing.”

Peregretti sees the effort to bring in Alta Gracia apparel as part of a national to make people more aware about their clothing origins.

“If you take the time to actually look up and beyond your schoolbooks and see things that actually affect the framework of our society, you will see that doing something so small like buying a sweater from Alta Gracia, you’re taking the initiative to say that there are more important things out there than myself,” Peregretti said.

If you went to Nicole Anderson’s Facebook page on a Friday evening, you’d most likely be able to tell where she was. Anderson, a psychology senior, frequently uses the “check-in” application on her phone, allowing it to access her location and post it on her page.

Anderson chooses to use check-in, but not everyone wants their whereabouts posted.

Users of any Apple device — like an iPhone or iPad — with a recently upgraded system have had their location tracked automatically for up to a year without their permission.

The upgrade came out a few days before the iPhone 4 in June 2010. Data showing the devices’ tracking records was released by security researchers two weeks ago.

For Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., this is a serious and dangerous violation of privacy. As chairman of the Privacy, Technology and the Law Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, Franken will hold a hearing May 10 on the issue. Representatives from Apple and Google, which has a similar operating system in its Android phones, will be testifying at the hearing.

Franken recently sent a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs about his company’s most recent operating system. In the letter, Franken said the technology raises “serious privacy concerns” for users, especially kids and teenagers.

Researchers who looked into Apple’s tracking system found the information the phone stores is likely accurate to 50 meters or less, Franken said in
the letter.

“Anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of a user’s home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend and the trips he has taken — over the past months or even a year,” Franken wrote.

Jim Dawson, a mechanical engineering senior and iPhone user, said he’s not too concerned.

“It’s not as big of a deal as people are making it,” Dawson said, because the information isn’t sent to Apple, but stored locally on the phone or computer. The only way someone would have access to it would be through those devices.

But Dawson said it’s something users need to be aware of.

“[Apple] should tell us why they’re storing the information,” he said. “They just kind of went and did it.”

Apple was unavailable for comment, and Google said any type of location sharing for its Android is voluntary.

For Franken, as technology continues to advance, a stronger awareness of consumer privacy is needed.

“The same technology that has given us smartphones, tablets and cellphones has also allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of their daily movements and location,” he said in a press release.

The Senate hearing next week is the “first step in making certain that federal laws protecting consumers’ privacy — particularly when it comes to mobile devices — keep pace with advances in technology,” Franken said.

Even in death, Osama bin Laden managed to strike heavily against the United States. Unlike his past aggressions, his aim was not towards brick and mortar but at the very ideals and principles of our nation. In his final act, bin Laden exposed a certain level of decay that has taken hold of our country since the twin towers fell nearly ten years ago.

What he has revealed is a nation still gripped by a nebulous type of fear that has robbed us of our notions of justice, honor and reverence. We have regressed to petty vindictiveness, as Americans take to the streets in perverse celebration of one man’s death.

By taking such great pleasure in his killing, our solemn sense of duty seeking justice is replaced by a sickening blood lust. Bin Laden’s death was necessary and should bring with it a sense of satisfaction. But to revel in it, to parade around his demise, elevates the man to mythical proportions in a twisted sort of veneration of evil.

For quite sometime, Osama bin Laden has been little more than a symbol for terrorists across the world. The United States’ dogged pursuit of him, severely curtailed his ability to mastermind any further attacks, and, apart from the occasional videotaped diatribe, he had been rendered insignificant. Yet we still feared him. The name bin Laden became synonymous with terrorism. In effect, we gave him power over us. As long as he remained alive, the nation lived in fear, waiting for the next bomb to go off or plane to fall from the sky.

However, it was not bin Laden who posed a threat. The fragments of al Qaeda and other jihadist factions clamored to destroy us with intensity far more menacing than the hamstrung coward bin Laden had become. It is not that we were oblivious to these legitimate dangers, we simply gave bin Laden too much credit.

As a result, his death brings us an unfounded sense of relief. The removal of such an impotent figurehead does very little to increase our safety, and potentially lulls us into a false sense of security.

Killing bin Laden was a victory for the US, but not a triumphant routing of world terrorism. It is foolhardy to behave as if we’ve won the Super Bowl when all that we’ve done is complete a pass. And even this small achievement is a solemn one, as thousands of innocent people are dead because of the actions guided by one man. The fact that Osama bin Laden is no longer alive does nothing to bring them back.

Make no mistake, Osama bin Laden deserved to be killed. His final act of resistance to being apprehended sealed his fate and precluded the US from capturing him alive. More than likely, he never intended to be taken alive, knowing full well that his imprisonment would be both humiliating and demoralizing for his followers.

In addition, by dying at the hands of US soldiers, bin Laden will almost certainly become a martyr for thousands of ideologues and al Qaeda sympathizers. However, America’s exuberant outpouring of jubilation is only adding to bin Laden’s appeal. Such celebrations indicate to others that one man can pose such a threat to an entire nation that his death is nothing less than salvation from destruction.

We as a nation have every right be proud, even happy that Osama bin Laden has been killed. But our response should reflect the true significance of his demise. Bin Laden was a marginalized figurehead. Our initial relief must be tempered by continued vigilance and pursuit of those who wish to do us harm.

The U.S. must also remember that we sought and obtained justice not vengeance. Our revelry and raucous behavior indicates just the opposite. We cannot allow ourselves to be reduced to such depravity or else the difference between the enemy and ourselves becomes blurred. And ruined principles are often harder to replace than any fallen building.

Changing an entire industry that is relatively unregulated is a daunting task. But Gallatin junior Jessica Assaf isn’t one to back down from a fight.

Last week, Assaf took on the cosmetics world, visiting various drug stores to paste stickers on Secret deodorant products, warnings about toxic chemicals. They read: “Warning: Toxic Hazard. Ingredients in this product have been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity.”

But this is not the first time Assaf has spoken out.

At the age of 15, Assaf participated in an Environmental Working Group study that found 13 hormone-altering chemicals in Assaf’s blood and urine samples, including above-average levels of parabens — chemicals that have been linked to cancer and all from common cosmetic products she used. When she later learned that the Food and Drug Administration had no authority to require pre-market safety assessments for many of the products young women in American use everyday, Assaf began her campaign for change.

“I was furious,” Assaf said. “For someone who considers herself a ‘conscious consumer,’ I was outraged to realize that we are unknowingly being exposed to toxic chemicals because cosmetic manufacturers are not required to conduct safety testing or even disclose all of their ingredients on product packaging.”

Throughout high school, Assaf worked tirelessly to raise awareness of environmental health issues throughout California. She reached out to legislators and lobbied Congress. Spreading her focus to a number of different issues, she traveled to Ghana for a semester, working to create a documentary focusing on women who were HIV-positive. But turning back to environmental health, Assaf then helped to organize a picket outside Abercrombie and Fitch, targeting the toxins found in its signature perfume products.

Her efforts soon impressed many around her, including her Gallatin advisor, David Moore.

“I first became Jessica’s advisor in 2010,” Moore said. “And right away I was extremely impressed with her knowledge of issues [like] environmental health [and] the dynamics of social change. I’ve come to know that she is very driven to [make] a difference in the world, and I have the utmost respect for her.”

Along with these projects, Assaf began educating consumers through events and panel discussions with the Gallatin Green Team and her own organization, Teens Turning Green.

Working with the Yes Men, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of social issues, Assaf became inspired by the idea of direct action as the answer to many growing environmental issues.
“Since the 1960s there is much less of a societal emphasis on direct action as a form of activism,” she said. “We have really lost that action-based mentality, and I want to bring it back.”

Assaf began her NYC campaign last week with $20, a few other NYU students and some bright yellow warning stickers.

“I know what I did is illegal,” Assaf said. “But why should I act within the system if the system is enabling injustices like this to occur? If I really want to make a difference, I have to put my best interests aside and think about the bigger picture.”

Working with fellow film student Emma Thatcher, the small team is planning to complete “Body Burden,” a documentary that will bring attention to the harmful effects of prevalent toxins that exist in products young women use everyday.

“Jessica has so many connections, and working with her has been the easiest process,” Thatcher said. “I mean, just feeding off her passion and her work, I believe we can do this.”

Summer Schoop stayed up all night Sunday to watch President Obama inform the world about the slaying of Osama bin Laden.

The University of Iowa junior, who is studying abroad in Seville, Spain, said she streamed Obama’s speech online after she saw the news on Facebook and Twitter.

The next morning, Schoop, 20, began to receive e-mails from the U.S. Embassy about travel warnings for Americans abroad, she said.

“I am definitely nervous now to be traveling back to the States, especially now since I will be by myself,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Schoop is studying with Cultural Experience Abroad, and she said the organization sent an e-mail to students, making sure they don’t participate in any demonstrations. The e-mail also said participants should “try not to ‘appear’ American.”

“I have been keeping up with all of the news and hope that all will be safe as I journey back to America in two weeks,” she said.

Meanwhile, officials emphasized the safety of the more than 300 UI students abroad is their top concern as the world reactions to the death of the Al Qaeda leader.

Even before the latest foreign-policy frenzy, UI Office of Study Abroad had started planning to expand its system for tracking students studying in other countries, said John Rogers, an assistant director of the office. The change comes on the wake of natural disasters in Japan and prolonged political unrest in the Middle East.

The current system keeps record of where students are studying, the dates of their programs, and a photocopy passports, he said.

Rogers said only students participating in UI study-abroad programs have been required to send the information, but now it’s becoming required of UI students traveling through other programs.

The U.S. Department of State travel advisories are always forwarded to students in other countries, Rogers said, and one was sent out Monday after bin Laden’s death.

The message included a note advising UI students to keep a low profile and avoid large crowds, he said. He said the Study Abroad Office has not received any indications of any UI student being in danger or expressing concerns about safety.

Rogers said the joint effort between the Study Abroad Office and UI administration is to ensure officials can contact students overseas in the event of an emergency.

No UI students are in Pakistan or Afghanistan because a United States travel warning prohibits the university from sending students to the area, Rogers said.

Alison Kiss, executive director of Security on Campus, a national organization that works to prevent criminal violence on college campuses, compared the time following bin Laden’s death as the time immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and said students should work to be informed about the political state of the country in which they plan to spend time.

“Many times for students, it’s their first time leaving the country,” she said. “Imagine [a high risk] added to that.”

But not all UI students who are studying abroad said they are worried about their safety.

UI junior Joe Moriarty, who’s studying in Cork, Ireland, said he is not concerned about anything bad happening during his travels.

He said he is confident about his safety because of increased safety precautions in the area after bin Laden’s death.

“If anything, I’d say people back home have more to worry about than anyone in Ireland, or Europe for that matter,” the 20-year-old said in a Facebook message.

Friends of Clare M. Gillis—Harvard graduate and freelance journalist—urged for more action to bring back captured journalists in Libya at an event on Tuesday, which was World Press Freedom Day and also marked a month after Gillis was captured by Libyan loyalists.

A group of Gillis’ friends showed their support at an event in Boston honoring the work of James Foley, another freelance reporter who was detained in Libya with Gillis.

Family and friends of Foley shared his stories and writings, in addition to combat videos recorded while he was in Libya.

Ece G. Turnator, a Harvard graduate student who has known Gillis for five years, delivered a brief speech in support of the event and called for joint efforts to expedite the release of Foley and Gillis.

“We should act together and show a united front,” Turnator said. “When both come back, we will have a good party.”

Yet despite the optimism expressed by Turnator, the recent developments in Libya have made the situation of the captured journalists more uncertain than a week ago, when Gillis was allowed to make a second call home.

The Turkish government, which was previously negotiating for the journalists’ release through its embassy in Tripoli, made the decision to temporarily evacuate the embassy on Monday due to safety concerns following the NATO mission strike that the Libyan government claims killed one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons and three of his grandchildren.

Michael Foley, James Foley’s brother, said the U.S. Department of State has not communicated to him about a “second course of action” after the Turkish embassy evacuation.

“The situation is dire out there,” Michael Foley said. “The amount of action required of all of us has now doubled. One conclusion is that if people in the room here aren’t prone to action, I don’t know if we will see a positive outcome.”

Renee Loth, an editorial editor at The Boston Globe who was at the event, stressed journalists’ safety and acknowledged the importance of Gillis and Foley’s work.

“Journalists operating in war zones should be considered civilians, with all the protection and immunity that civilians enjoy,” Loth said. “Reporters like James and Clare are the root and branches of democracy—they must be protected.”

Friends of Gillis are planning on holding a vigil in Harvard Yard next Monday, hoping to draw more support and attention to Gillis’ situation in Libya.

“This event shows a lot of people are putting pressure on all that they can think of to get the release of the imprisoned journalists,” said Jesse C. Howell, another friend of Gillis and a Harvard graduate student.

Howell said that individuals should continue to publicize the journalists’ ongoing captivity via mass media and the U.S. should uphold diplomatic pressure on the Libyan government.

“It makes me feel much more real to be here, hearing James’ parents talk. It also makes Clare’s situation much more present,” Howell added. “We really don’t know what effort would create the change, but like Michael said, there is really no effort that’s too small.”