I will try not to stray into THFGT territory, but I will say that there are a number of fronts on which this trip can be criticized, the most obvious one being the cost of flying him to Indonesia. Something tells me ol' Bernie isn't flying Economy class.
And Bernie wants a lot more students from Indonesia to attend UF. For our sake, I hope they are not of the jihadi variety. Let's just make sure they don't want to take flying lessons (no need to learn how to land). Go Gators!!!! Ken B. (NYC Gator) _____ From: Gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatort...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of ke...@baldwinnc.com Sent: 07/15/2009 6:30 AM To: gatortalk googlegroups Subject: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI -- [UF News]: Machen plans trip to Indonesia Machen plans trip to Indonesia Why? Did he hear that Indoneisa college kids were drinking and wanted to give them a hard time? -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: FYI -- [UF News]: Machen plans trip to Indonesia Machen plans trip to Indonesia From: "Shane Ford" <goufgat...@bellsouth.net> Date: Tue, July 14, 2009 8:55 am To: gatorn...@googlegroups.com (GatorNEWS) Machen plans trip to Indonesia Machen plans trip to Indonesia Goal is to strengthen student exchanges and partnerships. By Nathan Crabbe <mailto:nathan.cra...@gvillesun.com> Gainesville SUN Staff writer Published: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Monday, July 13, 2009 at 8:32 p.m. University of Florida President Bernie Machen is heading to Indonesia for a weeklong trip at the end of the month. The East-West Center, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening U.S. relations with Asian and Pacific nations, is one of three groups coordinating the trip. The trip is meant to increase student exchanges and research partnerships with Indonesia, said Terry Bigalke, the center's director of education. "By having these kinds of exchanges ... you hope to build a stronger relationship and a much better understanding between the countries," he said. Educational leaders will be participating from about 20 colleges and universities, Bigalke said, including UF, Cornell University, Miami Dade College and Ohio State University. Bigalke said UF is responsible for paying Machen's airfare and the Indonesian government is picking up the costs of local travel, room and board. In an e-mail, Machen said he hopes the trip will increase the number of Indonesian students at UF and faculty interactions there. The university now has five Indonesian students, according to the UF International Center. Machen took a similar trip to Iran last year. He said the trip will be the third of this type that he's taken and the fifth country visited. "All are based on the presumption that the U.S. benefits with educational exchanges and interactions," he said. "I have not been to Indonesia and am very much looking forward to seeing and learning more about it." Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and the fourth-largest overall population. Bigalke said Indonesia is also an example of a country that has successfully made the transition from an authoritarian government to a democracy. The trip, which will take place from July 26 to Aug. 1, is also being coordinated by the United States-Indonesia Society and Institute for International Education. Participants will be visiting higher education institutions in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung and Yogyakarta. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
