Category: Luke Cleary
Romanian University Babes-Bolyai TV Studio
Posted Friday, May 29, 2009 by Luke Cleary
Dragos Nechita, a Romanian journalism student, offers an inside look at the student TV studio at Babes-Bolyai.
Cluj-Napoca—Illinois Connection
Posted Tuesday, May 26, 2009 by Luke Cleary
Did you know our latest stop in Romania has a sister city in Illinois?
Cluj-Napoca is a sister city to which Illinois city?
Write your comment below, then read more for the answer.
Rockford, Illinois. Cluj, Romania. Cities separated by thousands of miles, but connected by a special diplomatic bond. Sister Cities International is an American organization developed during the Eisenhower Administration. The objective, according to the Sister Cities International website, is to build municipal partnerships between cities in America and cities abroad. Rockford’s travel website outlines some of the qualities the two cities share. Among them, renowned botanical gardens.
Rockford and Cluj formed their bond in 2005.
Other notable sister city relationships in Romania include Bucharest and Atlanta, GA; and Brasov and Cleveland, OH.
Bucharest Gay Festival Aftermath
Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 by Luke Cleary
The conclusion to our coverage of the 2009 GayFest March in Bucharest. Within: video highlighting the extensive security detail and an image slideshow.
Security was tight for the GayFest March this weekend, and with good reason. Bucharest Police had concerns about the rally after a week of anti-gay demonstrations in various parts of the city. Many Romanians frown upon homosexuality, and the 2006 march was met with violence. The 200 to 300 hundred participants in this year’s GayFest were surrounded by hundreds of police, some dressed in riot gear. K-9 units and horse-mounted police dotted the perimeter, while motorcycle cops rode in and out of the crowd
Just a few snapshots of the GayFest Parade. While flags and signs were present during the speeches and march, at the end of the march the participants rushed to put away these items. People were also encouraged to leave in groups and get rid of gay pride symbols before leaving due to the threat of violence from protesters.
Signs of Trouble?
Posted Saturday, May 23, 2009 by Luke Cleary
Why are many of Bucharest’s oldest buildings fitted with circular red signs?
Tell us what you think by posting in the “comment” section below then read the rest of the story.
It’s not decoration. Not an advertisement. The red dot pictured here is a warning. In the event of an earthquake, don’t even think about using this “red dotted” building for shelter. Bucharest is a city that stands to lose a lot in the event of an earthquake. The high population density and slowly deteriorating infrastructure and buildings could mean significant injuries and deaths. Is Bucharest at risk of a seismic catastrophe? The short answer is yes. The city’s already been hit with a magnitude 5 earthquake just this year. Still, one gets a sense of public apathy or indifference to the impending risk of such an earthquake. It’s strange, they’ve seen the devastating effects of a major quake in the past. In 1977 an earthquake rocked Bucharest, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing over a thousand people. Earthquakes have hit other European countries like Italy, where a recent tremor claimed a few hundred lives this Spring. The circular warnings are there to let Romanians and traveling student journalists, like us, know which buildings are at risk of collapse in an earthquake. Like you, we can’t read the signs, but at least we all know what they mean.
Revealing Romania: The Journey
Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 by Luke Cleary
What was it like to travel the 5,200 miles from Champaign-Urbana to Bucharest? Click below to watch “The Journey.”
A nat-sound report (that is, without narration—only naturally captured audio and video) is, I think, an art form. Pictures and sounds are pure, sewn together without aid of a reporter’s velvety voice nudging the story along. Maybe you’ve been there before. Hours of downtime scrounging up food that’s over-priced and low-quality. A glowing fluorescent haze. Recycled air. Uncomfortable benches fitted with armrests that prevent you from laying down and stretching your legs, and smelly, irritated people just like you glaring at one another. Such is life for the international traveller. Crossing eight time zones in eight hours is dizzying. A mild, sleep-deprived delirium sets in. Questions like, "wait, when was yesterday?" don’t sound quite so absurd. Here, please find the oddity of international air-travel below.
Revealing Romania Journey:
Revealing Romania Journey
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