{"id":14425,"date":"2016-11-21T12:08:41","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T17:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=14425"},"modified":"2017-06-26T11:40:35","modified_gmt":"2017-06-26T16:40:35","slug":"international-series-st-john-virgin-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2016\/11\/21\/international-series-st-john-virgin-island\/","title":{"rendered":"International Series: St. John Virgin Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

The St. John U.S. Virgin Island is a beautiful, affordable location full of rich history for students to explore and appreciate according to Kathy Rowell, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology at Sinclair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rowell presented a Sinclair Talks event on the island as part of the International Series. <\/span><\/p>\n

The island was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, but was not settled until 1718 by the Danish.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Danish built massive sugar cane plantations and operated them mainly through slave labor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe plantations were so big, and so many slaves had to be brought in to maintain them that slaves outnumbered the Danish living there by a 5:1 ratio,\u201d Rowell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The island was also the site of one of the first major slave rebellions, which led to much bloodshed on both sides.<\/span><\/p>\n

During World War I, the United States bought the Virgin Islands from the Danish government for $25 million, and Denmark was given Greenland in the exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that we need to learn and understand the history of the island, because as tourists we sometimes take the beautiful beaches and locations for granted,\u201d Rowell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Brittany Fletcher | Designer\/Intern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The island has 19 square miles of land, and national parks make up 60 percent of it. There are only roughly 4,170 residents there.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are 22 trails on the island that show a wide variety of landmarks and unique sights, including petroglyphs made by the native people who lived there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A broad variety of animals live on the island, from donkeys brought there from Denmark to sea turtles, stingrays, sharks, octopi and many exotic birds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another unique feature of the island is the absence of big corporations and very minimal commercialization taking place there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou won\u2019t find a Starbucks, McDonalds or a Marriott hotel there,\u201d Rowell said. \u201cAll the shops there are owned indecently by the locals, and all of their goods are made locally and are artisan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tourists can only travel the island by Jeeps that are sold to them by independent dealers who were born there.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is because most of the people there practice and support eco-tourism, which is the practice of keeping the land in the same condition that it was in.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was pioneered by Stanley Selengut, who turned the national park Maho Bay into one of the most eco-friendly resorts in the world. It was bought and became a private estate in 2013.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These ideals are not lost however, as many of the eco-tents and other areas available to stay in have environmentally friendly features like compost toilets, run on solar power and use rainwater for showers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to make tourism not so elitist, while being fair to the people who live there year round,\u201d Rowell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are still problems that face inhabitants of the island. A rising sea level and higher temperatures from climate change, along with water shortages and droughts in the hot months are just a few.<\/span><\/p>\n

Island natives also can struggle financially, and although they are U.S. citizens who pay taxes, they do not have statehood and so they cannot vote in presidential elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rowell encourages students to go to the island, but to be respectful of its history and citizens, as well as the animal life and vegetation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great location for college students because you don\u2019t need a passport, it\u2019s affordable and there is so much history there and so many beautiful places to explore,\u201d Rowell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Henry Wolski<\/strong>
\nReporter<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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