Modern View Newspaper

For the past 26 years the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has conducted “The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts,” and in its most recent study in 2008 the NEA has observed the most significant decline in arts participation. Among benchmark activities such as attendance at jazz, classical ad opera events, and attendance at plays and museum or art galleries, partici-pation rates have declined almost 3 percent below data reported in

1982, with only 39.4 percent of adults participating. In 1992, the group recorded a record high of 41 percent participation in the arts. Sunil Iyengar, Director

of Research and Analysis at NEA, says one of the main reasons for the study is to understand how to promote arts to the public.

>ARTS, B1

Year1982 1992 2002 2008

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Percentage of U.S. Adults Attending Music & Theater Performances

A woman pokes and prods at her face won-dering if a smaller nose and thinner lips will boost her confidence. A patient stands bare-bodied before her doctor as he uses a marker to draw lines on her stomach and thighs be-fore operation, and a man blushes, teary-eyed as his family sees him for the first time after his face-lift.

These scenes from reality TV shows like ABC’s “Extreme Makeover” and E! chan-nel’s “Dr. 90210” gave rise to an influx of cos-metic surgery depictions in the media. Some would even say they are, in part, responsible for the current increase of cosmetic patients, especially within minority communities. More than 900,000 African-Ameri-cans underwent plastic surgery in 2008, a 145 percent increase since 2000, according to the

American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “These makeover shows have made cosmetic surgery more acceptable,” said Dr. Michelle Hardaway, a plastic surgeon in Farmington Hills, Mich. Attitudes are definitely changing towards plastic surgery, Hardaway said, procedures she feels many people once regarded as only for the rich and

famous. >SURGERY, B1

The Modern View

Going GreenFashion’s new shade is

eco-friendly

Let’s CelebrateEid-al-Adha brings crowds to Cairo

>D2

INSIDE TODAY

For daily updates visit: www.modernview.com

THE DOWNWARD TREND INarts participation

In 2008 the percentage of U.S. adults attending music and arts events saw participation rates significanlty lower than those reported in 1982BY ALEESA MANNStaff Writer

NATIONEDUCATIONAmerican high schools are outperformed by most advanced countries >B2

LIFE & STYLEA LITTLE LIFTMore African-Americans are going under the knife for cosmetic surgery >B1

SHADES OF GREENEnvironmental concerns come across in runway trends >B1

PAYLESSDiscount store teams up with high-end designers for upcoming campaign >B2

ARTUNDERCOVER OPFBI recovers stolen Juan Gris painting after a six-year operation >C1

BODY ARTVarious cultures combine beauty and meaning in body art rituals >C1

WORLDA FESTIVE GATHERINGPhoto spread of the Muslim Eid-al-Adha celebration in Cairo’s city Center >D2

RELIGION RULESLife in Indonesia, a country where religious resitrictions and hostilities are among the higest across the globe >D3

American education ranks far from best

BY ALEESA MANNStaff Writer

The degradation of the American school system has been confirmed by one of the world’s most researched experts in edu-cation. Only New Zealand, Tur-key, Spain and Mexio have lower high school completion rates, that the U.S., said Andreas Sche-licher, a senior education official at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an organization of 30 democratic countries, in Paris. Currently, only 7 in 10 Americans graduate high school. While the U.S. may have a poor rate of high school gradu-ations, it has a substantial lead in the enrollment of students of all ages and educational levels. In 2007, over 74 million students enrolled in schools full or part-time. Mexico placed second with over 33 million students. The educational system

>SCHOOLS, A2

Family restaurant offers religion, food for the hungry soulBY ALEESA MANNStaff Writer

Hallue Wright is a religious woman. She is also a determined upstart restaurateur. Retired from her job in the Civil Rights division of the Justice Depart-ment, she can now be found behind the desk or in the kitchen of her carryout restaurant in Temple Hills, Md., Mana From Heaven. Recalling the Israelites journey through the desert and the hunger pains they endured, which were sated when God sent down manna from heaven;

Wright’s memories flash back to the trouble she faced in her past, experiencing depression and alcoholism. Like the Israelites, her miseries were relieved when she started to follow the Lord. “I had a pretty sad childhood; but at least now I can smile and even though we are going through this tough time,” says Wright, associate pastor at Victory Church International on Allentown Road in Fort Washing-ton and co-owner of Mana from Heaven carryout. “I’m still hold-ing on that it is all going them in

>MANA, A2

Photo by Aleesa MannThe Wright Family gathers at the counter of their family run restaraunt, Mana From Heaven in Temple Hills, Md.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009New York, New York $1.50

Cosmetic surgery grows among minoritiesBY ALEESA MANNStaff Writer

Only 7 in 10 U.S. students earn ahigh school diploma

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Tuesday, December 1, 2009THE MODERN VIEW

> SURGERY FROM A1 Dr. Stephen Baker, plas-tic surgeon and associ-ate professor at Georgetown Uni-versity Hospital, says the number of people with disposable in-comes has helped contribute to the popularity of plastic surgery. TV programming, Baker said, is also a factor. “I think TV has some-what demystified it,” Baker said. “ Baker feels that plastic surgery has become more socially accept-able among minority communi-ties. Over the years, he said, the number of African Americans he has treated has grown to almost a sixth of his patient base. While plastic surgery patients are predominantly Caucasian, the number of cos-metic patients among Hispanic, African-American and Asian communities increased by 33 percent between 2007 and 2008. African Americans

made up 8 percent of the pa-tients in the cosmetic surgery industry in 2008, an industry

that totaled over $10 billion in expenditures, the

ASPS reported. “I think it speaks to our culture being more main-stream,” Dr. Shane

Perrault, a psycholo-gist in Silver Springs,

Md., said. “There was a time when we didn’t do

things because it felt like we were selling out. That mentality is gone.” For Perrault, the grow-ing number of African Ameri-cans undergoing plastic surgery indicates a trickling down effect of values - those that start in pop culture, like rap videos, and over-time become accepted by society. The stigma towards plastic surgery may be going in the same direction as the stigma that used to be reserved for hair extensions, Perrault suggested. “Those are so main-stream you don’t even think about it anymore,” he said.

The number of African Americans undergoing plastic

surgery has increased 145 percent since 2000

More minority patients are going under the knife

Climate crisis, fashion hit the runwayBY ALEESA MANNStaff Writer

A vintage green dress paired with a black

organic shawl.

Photos by Isoke Stallworth

Life & Style

Ken Rance wasn’t always the Hollywood type. But, 16 years after graduating from the School of Communications, Rance has made it to the silver screen with his first major motion picture, “New In Town.” The film, which hit theaters nation wide Jan 30., tells the story of an ambitious businesswoman who moves from the big city to a rural town where she unexpectedly finds love and acceptance. “New In Town” was inspired by Rance’s chance encounter with Letisha Straw-bridge, an African-American Kraft Foods executive. In a bid to become CEO of the company, Strawbridge chose to move from Miami, Fla. to work at a plant in New Ulm, Minn. where she was the only black woman in town. “I showed [the film] to

my agent in about 2000,” said Rance. “He said he really liked the screenplay but he didn’t feel he could sell it because it had an African-American female lead.” “New In Town” was originally written to star actress Gabrielle Union, but once the script was pick up by Gold Circle Film Pictures, the lead and her ethnicity was quickly changed for what was pegged as “sal-ability,” more moviegoers would pay to see a film starring a white woman than a black one. During its opening weekend the movie debuted at the eighth spot for the top movies of the weekend and

has since grossed $22,934,283 worldwide. For Rance, the change was bittersweet. “I think it’s a testament to the quality of writing in that this story was universal,” said Rance. “[Race] wasn’t a real integral factor in the success of telling the story.” “But I do have to admit as a black man, as a black husband, and as a black father I always envisioned having that face on the DVD cover one in which my daughter could identify with,” he said.

Photo by Ken RanceKen Rance wrote the Renee Zellweger film “New in Town.”

B

Writer Finds Success, Race Stigma in Hollywood

Eco-friendly looks at the Verde Fashion show, which was organized by a Howard University student to encourage environmental sustainability.

BY ALEESA MANNStaff Writer

ONLINE: www.WorldView.com features more eco-friendly styles from the Verde fashion show, plus more Life & Style news.

Organic and vintage will be the key trends walking down the runway at the first-ever VERDE Eco-Fashion show Fri-day Feb. 27, where green is the new black. According to the Organic Trade Association, “Organic agriculture pro-tects the health of people and the planet by reducing the overall exposure to toxic chemicals from synthetic pesticides … that are associated with health consequences, from asthma to cancer.” The USDA reported that in 2003 55 million pounds of pesticides were used on the 12.8 million acres of cotton. Organic products are developed without these toxic chemicals. But the debate over sustainable fashions is a small one compared to the larger implications of becoming envi-ronmentally friendly, something Amal Bennett-Judge, president of Howard University College Democrats, knows very well. “I’ve always been interested in the environment, “ said Benett-Judge, who will be lobbying Congress about issues of climate change March 2. “We’re trying to change our cam-pus and communities, but also Congress,”

she said. “Trends start not only from the bottom up, they also start from the top in order for us to make renovations and have progression.” Yet, Benett-Judge has noticed something troublesome about her peers; they are slow catching on the eco-friendly movement. She wants to change that and make Howard’s campus more environmentally sustainable. To ac-complish that feat, Bennett-Judge is coupling environmental issues with something she feels is popular with Howard students — fashion. This year the College Democrats are partnering with other organizations, including

Engineers Without Borders and Howard University Environmental Society to

host VERDE Eco-Fashion Show, an eco-friendly fashion show being

held as part of this year’s Power Shift conference.

Power Shift is a four-day conference (Feb. 27 - Mar.

2) put on by the Energy Action Coalition that will

bring together young people from across the nation who seek to address elected of-ficials on issues of the economy, climate and

clean energy policies. The fashion show will be

held Feb. 27 at 10:30 p.m. the Washington Convention

Center. Alexandria McBride, president of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), joined in to sponsor the event, which she feels aligns with her organizations goals. “Since our inception two years ago we’ve tried to be the leaders on campus in educating students on how to be environmentally friendly,” said McBride, senior civil

engineering major. “We heard about

Amal and what she’s trying to do, and she is bringing the message that we’re trying to spread to Howard students.” The VERDE fashion show puts a new spin on an old issue. “We can’t use 20th century solutions to solve 21st century problems,” said Bennett-Judge. “The environmental crisis is something that’s going to affect our generation the most. I feel like African Americans, we tend to be on the back burner instead of the forefront and I feel it’s important that students understand the importance of having sustainable en-vironmental policies nationally, as well as globally.” Her concerns aren’t unjustified. In “A Climate of Change: Afri-can Americans, Global Warming, and a Just Climate Policy of the U.S.,” a study conducted by the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC) in July 2008, the EJCC studied the impact of climate change on African Americans. The study found that African Americans, who compose 13 percent of the U.S. population, emit nearly 20 percent less greenhouse gases than non-Hispanic whites per capita. Accorrding to the study, African Americans are significantly more vulner-able to the effects of global warming than non-Hispanic whites.

Eid al-AdhaMuslim holiday brings nightlife to CairoThousands gather in downtown Cairo for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice. The holiday is one of thanksgiving, honoring Ibrahim, a man willing to sacrifice his son to God.

During the festival, Muslims sacrifice domestic animals, which they share among family and friends. Afterwards observers crowd into the streets con-tinuing the celebration. - Aleesa Mann

A crowd gathers by the theater on one of Cairo’s busiest streets, Talaab Harb (left). Custom-ers wait in a line that extends outside of El Abd sweets shop. (above)

The Modern View D2December 1, 2009

Peddlers line up along the Nile and offer short boat rides on motorized boats decorated in neon lights and playing local pop hits on a radio.

A man reaches out his hand as riders walk onto the boat.Teens dance giving riders a few minutes of entertainment during the ride.

Photos by Aleesa Mann

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1. Number of Artists and Art Crowds Dwindle Fewer Americans are making and patronizing art2. Religion Rules Indonesians live under strict religious rule3. Eid al-Adha Photos of the celebration of the Muslim holiday in Cairo, Egypt

RACE & HOLLYWOOD

“New In Town” screen-writer encounters racial bias in the film industry

STATE OF EDUACTION

American high schools lag behind most systems in developed countries

PAYLESS

The discount chain store offers designer collabo-rations for spring shoes

1. Cosmetic Surgery a Growing Trend Among Minority Communities African Americans udnergoing plastic surgery in larger numbers 2. Religion Rules Indonesians live under strict religious rule3. Number of Artists and Art Crowds Dwindle Fewer Americans are making and patronizing art

THE DOWNWARD TREND IN THE ARTSFewer American adults are creating arts and attend-ing arts shows than in 1982, according to the Na-tional Endowment for the Arts

Shades of Green Art You Eat

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