Scholastic Update articles from March 1990

Scholastic Update archives from March 1990

Speaking with a single voice. (call for freedom in Eastern Europe)
March 9, 1990... he stroke of midnight last November 9, the dividing line between democracy and Communism became increasingly unclear. At that moment, the Berlin Wall, the symbol of the ideological division between the democratic West and the Communist East, was...

Democracy's guiding principles.
March 9, 1990... Greek word demokratia, or democracy, means "rule by the people." When the people of Eastern Europe overthrew the Communist dictatorships that ruled their countries, they were carrying out one of the basic principles of democracy: the right of all...

The spread of democracy. (illustration)
March 9, 1990... orians will look back on 1989 as a pivotal year in the 20th century. Not since World War II have so many nations undergone such dramatic political change. Across whole regions, people began rejecting their repressive governments in favor of...

The ripples of revolution: from Beijing to Bucharest, student protesters are leading the effort to remake the Communist world.
March 9, 1990... ay 29, 1989, Chinese student protesters erected a 33foot-tall laster replica of the Statue of Liberty in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Dubbed the "Goddess of Democracy," the statue was a challenge to the Communist government of Deng Xiaoping, and a...

Struggling to define democracy. (teens from Chile, East Germany & the Soviet Union tell what democracy will mean for them & for their countries)
March 9, 1990... Manuel Zarate of Chile, Eve Droschler of East Germany, and Maya Gertsikova of the Soviet Union, the events of the past year have changed the way they view democracy. They all agree that democracy means the end of decades of oppression and the...

The roots of democracy.
March 9, 1990... ENT ATHENS (508- 338 B.C.) The ancient Greek city-state of Athens is the world's earliest recorded democracy. It was a dramatic departure from the regimes that preceded it. In earlier times, Athens had been ruled by monarchs or councils...

Inspiring America's next generation: are today's teens prepared to be the guardians of tomorrow's American democracy? (includes survey & survey results)
March 9, 1990... is America such a special place to live in? To people around the world, from East Berlin to Tiananmen Square, the answer is obvious: democracy. But when representatives of People For the American Way, a Washington, D.C.-based...

A crash course in democracy: from campaigns to constitutions, Eastern Europe looks for U.S. advice on the ways of the west.
March 9, 1990... ine that you're an exchange student in some far-off placessay the planet Mars-and the teacher asks you to tell the class about democracy. "We've never heard of this thing "democracy," the teacher says. "How does it work?,, Where do you...

Postcolonial Africa: after shaking off the shackles of foreign rule, Africa is still struggling for freedom.
March 23, 1990... On February 11, Nelson Mandela, the 71-year-old black leader who has come to symbolized the struggle against apartheid walked out of prison, free at last after nearly 28 years behind bars. In the few minutes it took Mandela to walk from the...

The three Africas. (North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Africa)
March 23, 1990... Africa is the world's second-largest continent, covering an area four times larger than th-. United States. Fifty-two countries year-old nation of Ethiopia to fledgling countries such as Angola 9-nd Zimbabwe. While many of these nations share...

No easy walk to equality. (South Africa)(includes related article)
March 23, 1990... Can the recently freed leader of the anti-apartheid movement and the recently elected president of a racist regime create a democratic South Africa? It was a sight the world had waited nearly three decades to see. On Sunday, February 11,...

Should the U.S. lessen sanctions? (economic sanctions against South Africa)
March 23, 1990... The release of Nelson Mandela by the South African government, and the steps leading to it, have raised a key question for U.S. policy makers: Should the United States ease economic sanctions against South Africa? Congress imposed...

Earning independence. (African history)
March 23, 1990... Africa today consists of 52 independent nations. But the legacy of the past hangs heavily over the African resent. For most of the past century, Africa suffered under European colonial domination. As a result, independent Africa is still...

A troubled continent. (Africa) (illustration)
March 23, 1990... Independence and nationhood have done little to stem the problems of overpopulation, hunger, and poverty in Africa. As the following charts and graphs show, these problems are grave-and likely to get worse before they get better. THE...

Africa's continuing struggle. (war and hunger in the Sudan; Nigeria's success story; building hope in Botswana)
March 23, 1990... Thirty years after the end of colonial rule, Africans are still struggling for the full fruits of freedom. The continent is suffering from an economic crisis of staggering proportions, while ethnic rivalries, territorial disputes, and war...

When civil war hits home. (Eritrean-American teenager works to help those she left behind)
March 23, 1990... It's never boring in New York," says 17-year-old Adiam Kiflom, sipping orange juice in an uptown restaurant. "There's so much to do, and so many things happening, and all these different people living together. I love living here. " But...

A source of pride and history. (Afro-centrism: Black Americans' appreciation for their African heritage)(includes glossary for understanding Africa)
March 23, 1990... One of the biggest trends in street fashion last year came out of Do the Right Thing, a popular little item worn by Lee's character, Mookie. Nothing fancy-in fact, vendors sold it on city streets for $3. But within days, the item was a hit: a...

A race against extinction. (African elephants)
March 23, 1990... In their natural habitat in the jungles and grasslands of Africa, a I herd of elephants behaves much like a close-knit human family. Pairs of elephants greet each other by linking trunks, clanging tusks, and flapping their ears. Baby elephants...