International education.

Cuban scholars charge that the U.S. government denied visas to more than 60 Cubans seeking to attend the Latin American Studies Association conference in Las Vegas in October, 2004 (Associated Press, September 29, 2004). At the same time, Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine in Havana offers and commits 500 slots to U. S. students who pledge to practice in poor U. S. communities. Currently 88 U.S. students are studying in Cuba, 85 percent of them members of minority groups and 73 percent of them women (New England Journal of Medicine, December 23, 2004).

Israel remains at the forefront of international educational controversy. Calls for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions have generated controversy, notably among Israeli academics and their supporters in Europe and the United States. For a full report, see ZNet, www.zmag.org, August 19, 2004.

Rachel Corrie, a 23-year old activist and senior in The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, was killed on March 16, 2003, in the Gaza Strip when an Israeli military bulldozer ran over her twice as she attempted to block the demolition of the house of a pharmacist and his family. To honor Ms. Corrie's memory and courage, CCCC has established the Rachel Corrie Award for Courage in the Teaching of Writing 2005. For full information on the award, go to www.progressiveteachers.org.

An 11 year old Palestinian girl was shot in the stomach and critically wounded by Israel Defense Forces gunfire inside a United Nations school in a south Gaza refugee camp (www. haaretz.com, October 12, 2004).

The decline in American Studies programs reveals the UK's increasing dislike of the United States. Until recently, American Studies programs sprang up everywhere, but now 28 universities, including many well-regarded institutions such as Essex, Keele, Kent, and Swansea, have unfilled places. Five universities have closed American Studies departments and others have cut staff (Guardian, www.guardian.co.uk, August 24, 2004).