Talk:Peace Corps

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[edit] Citation needed

I put a citation tag on the rape and theft claim, not because I doubt it's validity, but because any such serious accusations can't be made with a "it's not uncommon" claim with no citation. Note: The author must also prove not one theft or rape claim, but that it is not uncommon across the spectrum.

--Chris

Actually, the statement is extremely POV and must have a solid citation. I've removed it until the citation can be provided. --Alabamaboy 23:33, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] CIA connections?

The article refers to Max Millikan as a respected academic. Other articles available on the Internet, including one from Counterpunch, describe him as a highly-placed CIA officer in the department of "National Estimates," which sounds like classic analyst work. I don't know enough about this subject to comment, so I'm throwing the issue out for someone else to write about.

here is one source which gives an idea of CIA connections-[1]Bharatveer 17:10, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

The inaugural address seems very vague on the topic of the Corps - shall I take the "To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe..." and "To our sister republics south of our border..." paragraphs for it? Also, doesn't Shriver's entry in the table just pointlessly repeat what's been said in the main text?

[edit] Volunteer image

I have images of volunteers in action, as well as a picture of trainees swearing in to become volunteers. I haven't added them to the article since they're all of people I worked with and trianed with in Cameroon while serving as a volunteer; my fear is that they would be viewed as vanity additions. What do y'all think? Is a big picture of my training group swearing in a relevant addition to the article? What about an image of a volunteer helping a bunch of kids with a project? For what it's worth, I'm not even visible in the swearing-in pic, though the "helping kids" picture is most definitely me. And these would be legitimate good-faith additions; vanity is not a motivation. BrianSmithson 01:42, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

I think the pictures would be great! (as long as everyone in the pictures know their going to be very public)Banana04131 22:32, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
As a former PCV [who has managed to sneak two photos in the article already,] I say, "Go for it." You might consider adding some little detail to the text to tie them into, and don't worry about the Vanity Thing. If someone objects, you'll know. Carptrash 04:05, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
My swearing-in photo isn't very good, after all; I can't find a good scanner that will scan it with enough detail. Oh well. It'd be nice to have some sort of image of a volunteer doing his or her thing, though. The Peace Corps website offers some good images (PD, since it's the US Government), but I'd prefer something that wasn't from the organization itself. — BrianSmithson 15:41, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
I will see what I have - no swearing in shot, but some some swearing AT pictures and maybe even a being sworn at one. Carptrash 16:34, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Removed paragraph

I removed this paragraph:

Impoverished nations who's economic structures can not be improved by internal measures, due to severe lack of knowledge, manpower or capital often turns to the Peace Corps for help. Peace Corps build the essential foundations for survival for communities, by providing the tools, teachers and necessities to help communities survive and thrive.

It just sounds like government propaganda to me, plus it is not sourced. If it remains, it needs to be seriously tempered for NPOV, and we should probably add a paragraph about Peace Corps really being about winning hearts and minds more than about development work. — BrianSmithson 15:25, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

It's what the peace corps does. They build shelters, run schools, and provide means to cook in the middle of nowhere. They work with country that obviously cannot do it by themselves. Otherwise they wouldn't bother to be there. Some of the work they do. http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/103425 http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1011755.html It's not about hearts and minds then it's about education, health, and economic development toward creating trade partnerships, and government stability in 3rd world countries. Something like books over bullets. Otherwise Aids, and other things probably will wipe these people out. How do you define essential? --Masssiveego 01:58, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

Actually, you are mostly wrong about what Peace Corps does. Yes, PCVs build school and run them and so on but all of that is done with an eye toward teaching host country nationals how to do these things themselves. Hearts and minds is at the core of Peace Corps and everything else revolves around that. I agree that your edits to the article were extremely POV. Best, --Alabamaboy 02:45, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Practical Information

This article needs alot more practical information regarding what exactly the experience of applying/volunteering is like, and how the organization functions today; in its current form all it really tells us is the organization's history. Also, does anyone know of other, similar non-government organizations that could be put in a "see also" section? I know there are religious ones, but I don't know what they're called. Snowboardpunk

You're right; I've thought that myself. A good place to start would be So You Want to Join the Peace Corps, a good book on the day-to-day of volunteer application and life. It is important to stick with published sources; I could write volumes about volunteer life based on my own observations, but that is , of course, original research. — BrianSmithson 18:31, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
"So You Want to Join the Peace Corps" is an interesting book, but even though it was only published in 2000, it's already outdated in many ways. However, I think it's possible to include a couple of sections on the application process and a basic summary of what 27 months as a volunteer are like, in purely factual terms, which you could source from the official website. By purely factual terms I mean giving general information about training, what sort of work a volunteer might do, etc., rather than talking about individual experiences or impressions. It might also be a good idea to include a section on the different programs PC currently runs, and a list of current PC countries. I'd be happy to write them myself, but since I haven't contributed many edits to Wikipedia I thought it would be better to run it by people here first. Calante 05:10, 16 March 2007 (UTC)Calante

[edit] Maurice (“Maury”) Albertson

I'm not sure of his role in founding the Peace Corps. From http://www.etown.org/awards.past.shtml:

Aired the week of 3/8/06
Maurice (“Maury”) Albertson, Ph.D, Village Earth: Maury is a civil engineer, and has traveled internationally as part of his work for nearly 60 years. He also is a co-founder of the Peace Corp, and networked extensively with the volunteers.

[edit] Early stumble

The entire episode is written as an american sees it.Therefore this paragraph needs to be rewritten to be made NPOV.Bharatveer 16:49, 8 April 2006 (UTC)Bharatveer 16:50, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Okay, go for it. — BrianSmithson 17:01, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

OKAY;; Modified the paragraph now. Bharatveer 18:29, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

I edited it a bit more. Your version was good, but it eliminated some information. It's important to never remove information from a Wikipedia article without a very good reason. I've gone ahead and left out the two Nigerian-American organizations that helped the Peace Corps in the "early stumble" situation, since you're probably right that mentioning them does slant things too much. — BrianSmithson 19:33, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

OK.But still the quotes you have used in the sentence makes it a POV ( In it, she described Nigeria as "squalor and absolutely primitive living conditions".) Do you have any source to show that those were the "EXACT" words used by her?? And again reference to the "hunger strike" started by americans is without sources.. Bharatveer 06:09, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

The whole aritlce is unfortunately without sources right now, so I don't see how these two bits being unsourced is POV. You'd be perfectly within your rights to slap an {{unsourced}} tag on it, though. — BrianSmithson 17:03, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
Wel l here is an internet "source" for the infamous postcard that quotes it in its entirety. When I read the whole thing [opinion] it was not as bad as I expected it to be. Perhaps the whole text belongs here? Carptrash 05:57, 10 April 2006 (UTC) http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2000/0001/001pchist.html

/* Early stumble */unsourced, not verified tags added Bharatveer 17:34, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

I fixed the templates for you. When you want a specific fact to be sourced or verified, you use {{citation needed}} as opposed to {{unsourced}} or {{unverified}}. Also, be careful about spacing or tabbing before comments on talk pages; it makes your comments appear in weird, hard-to-read boxes
 like this.

— BrianSmithson 21:34, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Crossroads Africa

I removed:

The Peace Corps was modelled after Crossroads Africa, founded by Rev. James Robinson, a graduate of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

It may be true, but I'd like to see a source citation before we include it. — BrianSmithson 02:41, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] More than a history lesson

This article needs more than just a retelling of the Peace Corps' inception and history. There must be many visitors, like me who are interested in the possibility of serving in the Peace Corps and want more information about what it's like, etc. There's a lot of info on the official website but I look to wikipedia for (somewhat) more unbiased, varied responses. Topics such as if you don't agree with the US' foreign policy, is the Peace Corps still for you, what is the application process like (how long, what steps), even very basic info like two years is the typical term are unanswered or hidden in the caption of the picture w/ the postage stamp. As much as we're all interested in who all the past directors of the Peace Corps are, I think the other basic questions can be answered too (preferrably by past volunteers who are in the know)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 171.64.89.92 (talk • contribs) .

You're right. The problem is finding sources that mention this stuff. I served for two years, but my personal recollections cannot be added to Wikipedia per our policy against "original research". However, books such as So You Want to Join the Peace Corps? would be good sources for expansion. By the way, feel free to email me if you would like to ask questions about doing PC. My email is accessible from my user page. -- BrianSmithson 16:22, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

I notice that there is no mention of the biggest scandal to rock the Peace Corps, i.e. Deborah Gardner's murder in Tonga. Would someone be interested in writing this? Chris 16:04, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

It would be worth mentioning, yes. I'm not sure how much of a scandal it was at the time, though, since they covered it up, didn't they? — BrianSmithson 22:25, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Not that it proves anything, but i was in the Peace Corps when that event happend [half a world away] and i don't remember hearing anthing about it. Anyone attempting to write it up probably should read American Taboo, a recent book about the murder. Carptrash 22:47, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Carptrash: I haven't gotten to read American Taboo yet, though I have heard of it. There was a documentary produced on it relatively recently, I have to say it was pro-Peace Corps but quite anti-Peace Corps administration at the time (the Country Director, in particular, received a lot of criticism). Chris 20:32, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

BrianSmithson: All evidence seems to point to them doing so, yes. :( Whilst I support the Peace Corps (I am an Australian, married to an RPCV) wherever I can, I do think this is a subject worthy of an entry. Chris 20:32, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Purpose and Function Paragraph

This section, especially towards the end seems to be way too opinionated! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 129.25.135.213 (talk) 23:55, 11 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Equivalent in Europe

Might not be the best place to ask, but does anyone know if there's an equivalent agency operating in Europe, for european citizens? Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.132.163.105 (talk) 14:44, 3 February 2007 (UTC).

There's the VSO (Volunteer Service Organization), which is based in the UK but I believe employs volunteers from all nationalities. Calante 04:42, 16 March 2007 (UTC)Calante

[edit] Procedure

Do peace corps volunteers choose where they go or are they assigned to a location? I checked the PC website, but I couldn't tell...

They get to express a regional preference (Africa, South America, Pacific, etc.), but ultimately, the decision is out of their hands, based instead on where their skills and background can most easily fit. — Brian (talk) 22:36, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
The application lets you list any regional preferences you may have, as well as any countries/regions you would not want to go to and why. The most recent version of the application (from Sept 06 I believe) also lets you choose one of 4 options: 1) no regional preference or job preference, 2) a strong regional preference but no job preference, 3) a strong job preference but no regional preference, or 4) a strong regional preference and a strong job preference. However, as Brian says, there's still no guarantee. Calante 05:14, 16 March 2007 (UTC)Calante
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