**Congressman Ron Paul revives ‘American Exceptionalism’**
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY — Congressman and GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul demonstrated how the perennial concept of liberty would be applied to modern America under his presidency socially, economically or internationally Friday at the Union Theater.
“We have to take the concept of liberty and put it back into one piece,” Paul said, as he addressed the crowd of university students.
While the concepts of freedom and liberty have always been staples of American culture, Paul explained how it has recently grown after years of being undermined.
He described how “amazing” it was that the message has spread, especially among college students and young Americans.
Paul seeks to end what he referred to as the “interventionist plan” of economics and entitlements.
On the topic of welfare programs and bailouts for banks and bankrupt nations, Paul said, “eventually the burden comes back to the American taxpayer.”
-The Daily Isureveille
By Clayton Crockett
**Students hold vigil to protest Troy Davis execution**
COLUMBIA – On Thursday evening many students were Troy Davis.
In 1991, Davis was convicted of murdering a Savannah, Ga., police officer, Mark MacPhail, in the parking lot of a Burger King. On Wednesday he was put to death by lethal injection, a disappointing end to a long battle for opponents of capital punishment, who have said that the evidence against Davis was never enough to convict him. Many also alleged that racism played a role in Davis’ sentencing; Davis was black and MacPhail white.
“Anything that can be racialized I think deeply affects Columbia’s students, as the critical people that we are,” Felicia Bishop, BSO’s community liaison and Columbia College student, said. “There’s been an interesting discourse around the relevance of race when it comes to crime,the relevance of race when it comes to capital punishment, so that discourse has been disturbing to me, but interesting as well.”
After lighting candles and covering their mouths with duct tape, the group marched silently around campus, some carrying home-made posters that said “I am Troy Davis, and I am free.”
The procession returned to the Van Am Quad to continue the vigil with prayers, thoughts, and shouts. Vigil leaders shouted “We are…” and participants responded “Troy Davis!”
Columbia Spectator
By Megan Kallstrom
**Syrian regime protested at Arab culture festival**
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY – Protesters against the Syria regime assembled outside the 16th annual Arab American Day Festival in Garden Grove on Saturday evening.
About 150 protesters chanted against the Syria regime, while seven raised their voices in support of it.
The protests not only attracted Syrians, but the Arab community as well.
“Not only are people that are suffering in Syria Muslims, there’s Christians also,” said Mohammed Al-smadi, who is of Jordanian descent and one of the organizers of the protest. “It’s not a matter of religion, it’s a matter of a whole nation suffering under one regime.”
Protesters chanted in Arabic and English, “Free, free Syria, down, down with Assad,” while raising megaphones, flags and shoes. Protesters against the regime took off their shoes toward the Syria regime and Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria.
“In our culture, when you give someone their shoe, when you say they’re the son of the shoe, that’s like the bottom of the bottom,” said Omar Ayloush, who is of Lebanese, Syrian and Mexican decent and also one of the organizers of the protest.
The pre-Assad regime flags, the current Syrian flag, the Palestinian flag and the American flag waved in the air. The current Syrian flag was waved to show pride of being Syrian and to show no fear of showing their identity, and the American flag was waved to show their pride as American citizens, Ayloush said.
The Daily Titan
By Susana Cobo
