Mayor of the Berwyn Heights community in Maryland, Cheye Calvo, found himself Tuesday evening on the floor of his house with his hands behind his back, wearing nothing but boxers and socks, with his two beloved dogs’ bloody carcasses lying lifeless next to him for hours. The first question that pops into my mind after hearing a description like this is what kind of an evil criminally minded lunatic would go to such disgustingly brutal lengths to torture someone? And what could have Mayor Calvo possibly done that inspired such an attack?

The answer, surprisingly enough, is that it was no criminal at all, at least not according to the government. In fact, it was the Prince George's County Police Department who broke into Mayor Calvo’s house during a no-knock drug raid, shot his two Labrador Retrievers, and interrogated Mayor Calvo and his mother-in-law for hours about a package that had been intercepted in Arizona addressed to the mayor’s wife containing 32 pounds of marijuana. After raiding the house with a SWAT team, and finding absolutely nothing, police released the Calvos, coming out with no arrests. The Calvo family did nothing wrong, and denies knowing anything about the drugs.

The “War on Drugs” has killed yet another two innocent victims. Every day, people’s lives are wrongfully lost to this unnecessary and counterproductive battle.

University of Maryland’s Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter will be holding a memorial service for the dogs, Chase and Payton, on Saturday at 5pm at Lake Artemesia. We will be inviting the community and surrounding areas to bring their dogs to the event, where we will be giving out ribbons to the dogs and owners to show our solidarity with the Calvos, have a moment of silence for the dogs, and take some time to speak about other incidents in which innocent dogs’ lives have been lost to the “War on Drugs”. More information about the event can be found here.

UMD-SSDP sends our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Calvo family for their loss, and pledges to do their part in preventing such violent police tactics in the future. 

For my first post, several thoughts went through my mind. Do I rant on something? Do I talk about some lesson I learned recently? Do I comment on a current news event? Or, do I just make a joke and hope people laugh? I chose none of those, primarily because I'm pretty sure no one would laugh (you have to warm up to me first); instead, I decided to highlight the beginnings of the most drastic change that I have witnessed in my 21 years as a Wahingtonian: the onset of a transformation of Southeast Washington after the construction of Nationals Ballpark.

For years, those of us in Washington associated Southeast with gangs, guns, and violence; nowadays, though, thanks to the Washington Nationals and their new ballpark, the area is finding a new meaning to the rest of the District.  During the first months that it was open, I had heard from my friends in the area that you would not even recognize the area now that the stadium had opened.  I totally underestimated them, only realizing the magnificence of the ballpark once I emerged from the Navy Yard Metro stop.  The entrance avenue, or "Half Street” as they refer to it, still lies barren from retail, but the street is lined with construction fences and diagrams showing the plans for the area.  Building structures are slowly popping up, and names of restaurants are appearing outside their future locations.

All of the plans for the area pale in comparison to the actual characteristics of the new Nationals Ballpark (which has yet to have its naming rights sold, but isn't the name good as is? I don't understand why anyone would ever second-guess coming to Nats Park - it just rolls off the tongue, but I digress).  The stadium is enormous, casting the past shadow of RFK Stadium aside as the ugly stepsister of DC.  As for what people can do in the place, well let’s just say that what RFK Stadium didn’t have, the Nationals Ballpark does have.  The Red Porch in centerfield is a bar that, once the team again, thanks to mediocre pitching and ridiculously bad offense, falls behind by six or seven runs, fans can go for a nice drink to calm the nerves.  The prices are still the same exorbitance from the rest of the ballpark, but at least you can actually see from where you couldn’t at RFK Stadium.  Even though that is an area for the 21+ crowd, most of the people who are at the game are for the social atmosphere of the stadium.  Thankfully, the ushers and vendors (like me) are still as good as they used to be, ensuring those of us who aren’t 21 will still have a good time at the brand new ballpark.  And how about the view in centerfield?  Washington Monument and Capitol shine brightly at night, and spectacularly demonstrate the hidden beauty of the District (trust me, it’s hidden at some times).

Mr. Ted Lerner and the rest of the Nationals management destroyed the concerns that had come from the city council that delayed the commencement of construction.  It’s the first beacon of hope that urban Washington has had since the former MCI Center opened in Chinatown; hopefully, Southeast will follow the same pattern, and instead of gangs and violence, the area will be another social magnet (like Bethesda, Georgetown, and Adams Morgan) for the Washington area.

I think it’s fair to say that the Interfaith Youth Work Conference was a great opportunity to work on foundation building for the interfaith movement.  And it is a movement, in case you missed the memo.  Over 500 people gathered over 3 days in Chicago to discuss the interfaith movement and its role in our lives.  The conference was led by the Interfaith Youth Core and topics ranged from faith narratives, to youth organizing, to activities on college campuses, to including marginalized communities in interfaith action.

The conference was pluralism in action.  Pluralism is defined by Merriam Webster as, “a state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain an autonomous participation in and development of their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization.”  Why do we care about pluralism?  Because we are living in a world where if people do not intentionally come together, we are poised to collapse.  So we came together to listen and to share and to support each other in interfaith work.  A wide range of people, from the intensely faithful to the questioning to the self-proclaimed atheists, found common ground in a common vision that was focused on the common good.  Commonality- it’s what keeps the conversation going.

Meet, greet, and mingle with other interns and young progressives at the Campus Progress Summer Kick-Off Party! The fun starts at 6:30 at Science Club. Hope to see you there!

Last night, Tuesday February 27, Campus Progress and HBO hosted an advanced screening of "Life Support," a new HBO film about the daily struggle of a woman who has the HIV/AIDS virus. The film stars Queen Latifah and Gloria Reuben, and the screening drew an engaged crowd of over 225 to Washington's E Street Cinema.

The audience was treated to introductory remarks by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), and a compelling panel discussion featuring Ms. Waters, Nelson George, the director of the film, actress Gloria Reuben (also of "ER" fame), and William Brawner, an AIDS activist and educator.

The panel praised the film for its humanistic treatment of people who live with the virus as one of many problems they deal with everyday. It was truly refreshing to see a film that presented an African-American woman who was a human being first, one with strengths and flaws like anyone else, whose victimhood was almost besides the point. Unlike dry, fact-based documentaries and overambitious non-fiction films that unintentionally give the virus a more detached treatment in their attempt to give a comprehensive education about it, "Life Support" is a warm-hearted testament to how one woman gets by.

The audience reflected these sentiments in the Q&A session afterwards, and each panelist offered his or her own insight into the AIDS crisis. Nelson George filled out the picture of the woman in the film with anecdotes about his own sister, who was the basis for Latifah's character. Maxine Waters articulated what legislative battles must be waged to get AIDS support centers more funding, and contemplated the potentially helpful role of the church in educating people about the virus. William Brawley discussed how AIDS issues intersect and relate to other issues in the African-American community.

The night was a resounding success, and Campus Progress was lucky to work with HBO in showing their  inspiring film to an enthusiastic audience. Thanks to everyone who made this evening happen!