Opinion Piece by John-Clark Levin '12
Gets Byline in Wall Street Journal

John-Clark Levin '12 now has more than an internship at the Wall Street Journal this summer. He also has his first byline for the daily, international newspaperone of the largest in circulation.
The Wednesday, July 14 issue of the WSJ's Opinion page features a piece written by Levin, who is currently interning at the newspaper, called, The Failure of the Live Aid Model: Better Government is the Key to Preventing Famine.
Turning to the 25-year-old mega rock crusade Live Aid to make his point, Levin outlines where the massive undertaking to relieve famine in Ethiopia went wrongalthough not for lack of effort or passion. Despite that Live Aid raised an astounding $283 million in 1985 with simultaneous concerts held in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, and raised famine awareness across the globe, Live Aid, writes Clark, "must be considered a failure." Why? Partly, he notes, because new documents suggest that much of that money ultimately went to arms instead of foodan example of how structural, governmental issues in developing countries can muck up relief.
"The quarter-century since Live Aid has borne out irrefutably that famine and poverty cannot be solved with charity alone," writes Levin, who is majoring in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and linguistics at CMC. "We can only stop them by putting an end to corruption and instability."
Levin, perhaps better known among CMCers for breaking a Guinness World Record last year with classmate George Posner for the longest handshake (read story), has already gotten compliments for the WSJ piece on his Facebook site. "Great joband in one week a byline," one fan noted on Wednesday.
A rising junior, Levin is the winner of the 2010 Eric Breindel Collegiate Journalism Award. (Read more about his selection.) After joining the staff of the Claremont Independentthe journal of conservative and libertarian political thought at The Claremont Collegeshe rose to managing editor in his freshman year and was named editor-in-chief at the start of his sophomore year. In addition, he also conducts research for CMC's Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World.
The Breindel award honors the work of a columnist, editorial writer, or other scribe whose work best reflects Eric Breindel's own patriotic spirit and democratic ideas.