International Affairs Society to host Embassy Ball

The International Affairs Society will host a dance at the French Embassy next month in the ballroom of La Maison Francaise.
Tickets are on sale for $30 a person and $50 per couple from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. all week in the fourth-floor Marvin Center lobby.
The black-tie event is open to all students and will take place from 8 p.m. until midnight April 13.
The event is co-sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs, Program Board and Student Association.

ESIA hosts first counselor of Italian Embassy

The Elliott School of International Affairs will host Giampaolo Cantini, first counselor of the Embassy of Italy, Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. in Stuart Hall 103.
Cantini will discuss some of the immigration problems facing the European Union.
Cantini oversees law enforcement cooperation between the United States and Italy and promotes the teaching of Italian in American schools.

HWC to host cook-off

The Health and Wellness Center will present a healthy cooking contest from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Judges will taste and rate entries and will award prizes, including gift certificates to local restaurants.
The two categories for entry are healthy entrees and healthy desserts. Observers will be able to finish off the healthy food when the contest is over.

Experts host student social activism roundtable

The Human Services Student Organization and the Program Board will host a Social Activism Roundtable Discussion Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Marvin Center 403.
The discussion will investigate the effects of community service, community organizations, labor organizations and media and international efforts in social action and policy.
Social activism experts will join GW students in a debate, including Dan Calamucci, AFL-CIO student organizer; Steve Culbertson, CEO of Youth Service of America; Kris Minor, National Director of Youth Service and Leadership for America’s Promise

Yale professor to discuss the latest in Cold War history
John Lewis Gaddis, GW visiting professor and Cold War expert, will discuss Cold War history in the Marvin Center third floor amphitheater March 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs. Gaddis is on the advisory board of the Cold War International History Project and has served on the CNN television documentary “Cold War.”

Newman center presents film forum
The Newman Catholic Center will discuss suffering and injustice in a feature presentation of “The Spitfire Grill” from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday.
After showing the film, School of Media and Public Affairs professors Marie Travis and Pat Phalen will lead an informal discussion about the portrayal of personal suffering, injustice and the triumph of human dignity in Hollywood.

GW panel to discuss U.S. peace-keeping missions
Foreign policy experts will join GW professor Amitai Etzioni for a dialogue on U.S. peace-keeping missions Friday March 15 at 11 a.m. in the Media and Public Affairs building B02.
The experts include Max Boot, Morton Halperin and Charles Kupchan. The panel will discuss whether the anti-terror coalition will last through the whole war and the U.S. relationship with other peace-keeping bodies, especially the UN.
Max Boot is the features editor of The Wall Street Journal; Morton H. Halperin is the senior fellow of U.S. foreign policy for the Council on Foreign Relations. Charles Kupchan is associate professor of international relations at Georgetown University.

Japan-American Society of D.C. presents Cherry Blossom Festival
The Japan-America Society of D.C. will host the Sakura Matsuri: Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival of arts and culture April 6 immediately following the National Cherry Blossom Parade from noon to 5 p.m. on 12th street N.W.
The festival has been held in the district for 41 years. It features martial arts demonstrations, arts & crafts and the “Taste of Japan,” which includes more than 30 sushi masters from around the world. There will also be calligraphy, origami, storytelling and shiatsu massages.
-Amanda Mantone