Communities known as bateyes, such as the one shown above, are among the poorest in the Dominican Republic. Uni students in the Global Studies Initiative will spend time at a batey this summer. (public domain photo by Ryan McKenzie)

By Andrew Lovdahl
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Thursday, March 1, 2007, The OG, news & in depth

EVERY SUMMER, A considerable number of Uni students embark on trips to far-off locations around the world. This year, the language classes are organizing excursions to Japan, Italy, France, Germany, and Spain to let students gain some firsthand knowledge of the cultures that were previously only alive in the students' textbooks.

However, in addition to these usual suspects, one group is heading off to the Dominican Republic for two weeks of public service, rigorous academic projects, and maybe a little soccer on the side.

Uni's Global Studies Initiative, sponsored by English teacher Adele Suslick, emerged from the ashes of the Illinois International Career Academy program, which helped prepare students for careers in foreign policy. After the program's funding was removed, GSI was formed in response to the students' desire to continue immersing themselves in global issues and concerns.

Students are set to leave on June 15 and return two weeks later, on June 29. Their main destination will be Batey Libertad, a worker community with a population of about 1,000.

Bateyes have traditionally been places where Haitian migrant workers lived while harvesting the sugar cane fields.

Over the years, workers have brought their families and remained in the towns, which often consisted of little more than barracks and ramshackle houses. Because of low wages and meager public services, bateyes rank among the Dominican Republic's poorest communities.

Upon arriving at Batey Libertad, the GSI group will be kept busy with a wide array of activities.

“We will build a house, plant trees, dig a well, install solar panels at the local school, create art, and play soccer,” Suslick said in an e-mail interview with the Gargoyle.

Soccer is more than an afterthought, according to Suslick. The Batey Libertad Coalition — an organization of Haitians, Dominicans, and Americans — uses soccer as a means of forging bonds between Haitians and Dominicans who might otherwise regard each other with suspicion or prejudice. The coalition uses its men's and women's soccer teams to organize health and education programs for the community.

“Students will learn what the Dominican Republic is doing to alleviate extreme poverty by 2015, and discover how they can promote sustainable economic development among the very poor,” Suslick said.

Participants will also be involved in a number of academic projects that, when fulfilled, will grant the student a diploma for international service from the Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois. These include daily journal entries, a PowerPoint presentation, and a creative work such as a video, song, or poem.

Karen Hewitt, from the Center for Global Studies, is also helping to organize the trip, working with organizations such as the Peace Corps and the Batey Relief Alliance. She is also coordinating most of the trip's logistics, including lodgings, insurance, and travel details.

This year's trip will feature approximately 10 Uni students joined by 10 other high school students from around the state. Only students involved in GSI can apply. However, if you missed your chance this year, you can still attend in years to come:

“We will probably return to the Dominican Republic next summer,” says Suslick, “and we are considering projects in South Africa and Poland after that.”

GSI TRIP AT A GLANCE

• When: June 15 to 29
• Where: Batey Libertad, Dominican Republic
• Who: Up to 10 members of Uni's Global Studies Initiative and 10 students from other Illinois high schools
• What: Students will learn first hand the challenges facing residents of bateyes, among the poorest communities in the Dominican Republic
• Background: About 30,000 people, mainly of Haitian descent, live in bateys. Forty percent of batey households earn less than $105 per month. Thirty percent are without electricity. The Dominican Republic is a developing country that occupies the eastern section of Hispaniola, a Caribbean island. It is bordered by Haiti to the west.

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