Press Releases

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- More underserved high school students in eastern and southern Los Angeles will have opportunities to participate in formal debate – which provides a wide range of academic benefits -- thanks to efforts of the Los Angeles Metro Debate League, and a $25,000 Verizon grant.

The grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, will enable the Debate League to expand activities to five additional schools in the city and train teachers to teach debate.  Studies conducted over many years show that student participation in debate activities reduces dropout rates, improves grade-point averages and increases the chances of success in college.

"Debate changes what is possible for students in low-resource schools," said Brett Flater, executive director of the Los Angeles Metro Debate League. "For many of our students, this is the first time they are recognized for speaking up and arguing, something that normally gets them in trouble. I commend Verizon for their commitment and vision for making this initiative possible for more students."  

Debate students engage in research and learn to articulate complex ideas and form analytical arguments. This increases their skills in critical thinking, problem solving, and written and oral communication.  The students in the Debate League's program use Verizon's signature online educational tool -- Thinkfinity.org -- to facilitate their research.

"Verizon's partnership with the Los Angeles Metro Debate League will provide students with the writing, reading, persuasive-speaking and critical-thinking skills needed to thrive in college and succeed in life," said Elva Lima, Verizon vice president of strategic programs.  "We are proud to partner with an organization that has made an impact in the lives of our youth."

The Verizon Foundation supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $67.5 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad.  It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits.  Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

About the Los Angeles Metro Debate League

The Los Angeles Metro Debate League is a public-private partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate Commission and the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues.  Together, we work to transform the educational experience for urban students in Los Angeles by facilitating participation in organized debate activities for as many students as possible.  Studies show that debate significantly improves academic performance and prepares students to succeed in four year universities.  For more information about the League, please visit http://www.losangelesmetrodebate.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 91 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rhonda Roby, PhD, MPH, associate professor and project coordinator for the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification at UNT Health Science Center, was instrumental in recently identifying three murder victims of the Chilean Pinochet coup, buried in the Patio 29 cemetery.

The Chilean government contacted Roby in 2006 to be the lead geneticist for a process audit team of the victims' identification program for Patio 29. After joining the team also consisting of an anthropologist, odontologist, and medical examiner, Roby recommended the Health Science Center lab to perform the DNA analysis for the Chilean government. The UNT Center for Human Identification was able to report family associations for Pablo Aranda Schmied, Waldemar Monsalve Toledo, and Nelson Munoz Torres with 99.99 posterior probability. All three were killed during General Augusto Pinochet's ascension to power, which began Sept. 11, 1973.

To insure accurate identification testing, Roby followed a strict protocol for cutting the bones of exhumed bodies. The UNT Center for Human Identification used the process modeled after that of the existing successful Missing Persons Program.

The Health Science Center has many key players in the genetic analysis process. Dixie Peters, technical leader for the Missing Persons Program, and her team compile databases of bone samples from unidentified remains and family references from relatives of victims, comparing them to one another. Melody Josserand, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) administrator, uses a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) software program to search for matches in DNA. Roby then independently reviews the results from the lab, writes a summary report to the Human Rights Program of the Chilean government explaining what the results mean, and if results allow, writes a subsequent report to the Chilean government recommending identification.

"This has been an exciting path that will continue to produce results," Roby said. "We continually discover more to help us identify victims and I feel confident that more identifications will be made in the near future."

In addition to her work in Chile, Roby has played a large role in identifying Czar Nicholas II and the Romanov family, Vietnam War soldiers, and 9-11 World Trade Center victims.

"I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a member of my family and it is incredibly fulfilling to help others find the truth. Everyone deserves to have their story, however tragic, told," Roby said.

University of North Texas Health Science Center

The University of North Texas Health Science Center comprises the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the School of Public Health, and the School of Health Professions. Key research areas include aging and Alzheimer's disease, cancer and physical medicine.  This year, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine was named a top 50 medical school in primary care by U.S. News & World Report for the eighth consecutive year. "Fort Worth's medical school and more" contributes more than $400 million to the Tarrant County and Texas economies annually.  For more information, go to http://www.hsc.unt.edu/

SOURCE University of North Texas Health Science Center