Spring Break
Students Crossing Boundaries to support summer internships in conflict areas
by Mubarik Ali Dogar
News | 10/21/08
Posted online at 3:20 AM EST on 10/21/08
Two groups of five students can intern in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and on the border between Mexico and the United States next summer with the support of Students Crossing Boundaries, a student-run organization founded in 2007 after former United States President Jimmy Carter visited Brandeis and encouraged students to observe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict firsthand.
Last February, SCB met Carter's challenge and organized a trip for 11 students to Israel and the West Bank. Carter largely funded the trip with money he received for his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts and advancing democracy and human rights.
The group now combines internships in areas of conflict with classroom work and group dialog before and after the trips.
"Students Crossing Boundaries will provide students an exposure to conflict zones of global importance and encourages students to observe the social, cultural, economic and political conditions of the conflict and document and disseminate their experiences to their peers and the public," SCB Co-Director Justin Kang '09 said.
Kang and SCB Co-Director Feya Hillel '10 said students who are selected to intern in Israel and the Palestinian Territories will receive a guaranteed $4,000 stipend provided by Carter to cover travel, living and other expenses.
The Justice was unable to contact the Carter Center, which is led by the Carters and seeks to advance human rights, for details about funding by the time the issue went to production.
Hillel said students interning on the Mexico-United States border will experience culture on both sides of one of the world's most traveled borders between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. SCB cannot fund this trip so Hillel said students must apply for an outside scholarship.
The goal of the organization is to have students bear witness to the global issues that define both our generation and the future, Kang said.
Last February, SCB met Carter's challenge and organized a trip for 11 students to Israel and the West Bank. Carter largely funded the trip with money he received for his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts and advancing democracy and human rights.
The group now combines internships in areas of conflict with classroom work and group dialog before and after the trips.
"Students Crossing Boundaries will provide students an exposure to conflict zones of global importance and encourages students to observe the social, cultural, economic and political conditions of the conflict and document and disseminate their experiences to their peers and the public," SCB Co-Director Justin Kang '09 said.
Kang and SCB Co-Director Feya Hillel '10 said students who are selected to intern in Israel and the Palestinian Territories will receive a guaranteed $4,000 stipend provided by Carter to cover travel, living and other expenses.
The Justice was unable to contact the Carter Center, which is led by the Carters and seeks to advance human rights, for details about funding by the time the issue went to production.
Hillel said students interning on the Mexico-United States border will experience culture on both sides of one of the world's most traveled borders between El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. SCB cannot fund this trip so Hillel said students must apply for an outside scholarship.
The goal of the organization is to have students bear witness to the global issues that define both our generation and the future, Kang said.
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