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That's What She Said!
March 10, 2010 | Carly Silver
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Try to follow my train of thought. I watched the most recent episode of The Office a week ago, when Pam and Jim finally have their baby. Spoiler alert: she's named Cecilia Marie Halpert. My brain immediately floated to the name "Cecilia," which sounds like an Anglicized version of the Latin name "Caecilius," who was a character in my freshman year Latin textbook. It turns out the name derives from the gens, or tribe, the "Caecilii." Naturally, when I began to write this blog, I Google searched "Caecilius" and "Jewish." To my surprise, I found something somewhat relevant: a first-century C.E. Greek rhetorician named Caecilius of Calacte, a Jew.
I could only imagine how rare it was in the Augustan Age for a prominent scholar to be born Jewish. A native of Sicily, Caecilius wrote numerous treatises on such varied topics on great Athenian orators and Sicilian slave wars. Still, how could such a man be Jewish in a world that probably looked down on the country of Judaea? And why?
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Egypt II
March 10, 2010 | Mario Enrique Uriarte
The next morning we walked passed the synagogue on our way to the main boulevard. It was an impressive cement building with a giant Magain David centered above the entrance which had two Greek columns on either side. The temple was sealed behind a chain link fence with a state policeman standing guard behind a bulletproof shield.
Walking down the main boulevard felt like any other big city. More interesting than the shops or the architecture were the people. Men walked with interlocked arms. Male couples were holding hands while wearing designer jeans and skin tight shirts. We thought we had found the Islamic gay paradise. Even in San Francisco you don't see so many gay couples being openly affectionate outside of the Castro. Nearly all of the women were dressed in traditional hijabs and several were wearing the complete burqa.
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International Women's Day
March 09, 2010 | Kelly Seeger
Yesterday marked the 99th International Women's Day, a holiday that celebrates the achievements across the globe by ambitious, successful women in a variety of fields. Since gender disparities are a hot topic amongst international cultures, I really support this holiday and believe it is important to recognize.
Since forming early in the 20th century, International Women's Day has gained more and more recognition. Though women have obviously gained more equality in some countries compared to others, I think the achievements of women worldwide are worth recognizing. Doing this encourages other women to have hope and to have encouragement to succeed socially, economically and politically.
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