“OPCSN: First use of nuclear weapons: Key issues for educators in understanding the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6 and 9, 1945

On Thursday April 23, 2020 from 11 AM to 12 PM, I attended the webinar series lecture titled “OPCSN: First use of nuclear weapons: Key issues for educators in understanding the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6 and 9, 1945.” I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Tanya Maus discuss the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, including what went into the United States’s decision to drop the bombs and the events that occured with nuclear warfare following the bombings. 

 

In the discussion, I learned more about what went into the decision to the United States developing nuclear weapons in the Manhattan Project. During the discussion, I learned that the original goal of the Manhattan Project was to attack Germany instead of Japan. The United States was concerned that Germany would develop their own nuclear weapon, but then decided to turn their focus to Japan as the war continued on and the German Reich was falling apart. Once the United States decided to focus their attention to Japan, the next phase in the plan was choosing targets to drop the nuclear weapons on. The people in charge of deciding on which Japanese cities would be the targets were looking for cities with dense urban populations, industry, and a large military capacity. At first, Kyoto was the number one target because of its large urban population. Bombing Kyoto would hit the heart of Japanese cultural and historical developments, likely leading to a quick end to the war. However, they ultimately decided upon Hiroshima and Nagosaki due to the industry there and their large military capacity, not for their dense urban population.

 

Another interesting fact that I learned from the discussion was throughout the night before the bombing on Hiroshima took place, the United States was conducting aerial bombings on other Japanese cities. Many people argue that the United States could have continued with these bombings and the Japanese would have eventually surrendered, leaving no need to use the nuclear weapons. However, why the United States decided to drop the weapons involves multiple factors. Firstly, because of the large momentum and budget for the Manhattan project, there was a large push for the use of them. Secondly, the American public was growing wary of the war and the administration wanted it to end and many worried that the war would continue raging on if they were not used. Lastly, if the United States decided not to use the weapons and the American public found out, the Truman administration would face harsh backlash and they did not want that.


I am glad that I had the opportunity to and attended this discussion. I learned a great deal about what went into the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagosaki. Learning about the use of nuclear weapons can be applied to today’s times as countries around the world are trying to denuclearize North Korea and limit Iran’s nuclear weapon capability. 

Huck House

On Saturday February 8th, 2020, I participated in the Huck House Service Day, where I volunteered at the Huckleberry House. Participating in this event fulfilled the service requirement of the International Affairs Scholars Program. Although this fulfilled the service requirement, I am very glad that I participated in this event as I learned a great deal about the good services that the Huck House provides and I was able to help out the individuals staying in the house.

At the Huck House, we were taken on a tour of the house and given a brief history of the Huck House. Although I cannot remember the exact date of when the Huck House was founded, I believe that it has been operational since the 1970’s and has been able to provide a vital resource for children and their families involved in difficult situations. The Huck House looks to provide support and a safe space for children who may find themselves in a difficult or unsafe situation.

The main goal of the Huck House is to resolve conflicts between children and their families that way the children are able to return home. The Huck House provides counselors that attempt to resolve crises that children and/or their parents may find themselves in. If the conflicts are not able to be resolved, the Huck House helps out these children in any way they can. The provide children with developing skills that they can take back to their homes, if their conflicts are resolved. If their conflicts are not resolved, the Huck House will guide these children and give them skills. The skills provide these children with they ability to be able to survive and be successful on their own.

As part of my volunteering at the Huck House, I learned about the history and services of the Huck House. At the house, I saw first hand how the house operates and what the house is like. In addition to this, me, along with the volunteers, we were proud to help out in any way that we could. To help them out, we were responsible for cleaning up the house. This included wiping down any spills, cleaning the windows, cleaning up the game room in the house, etc. Although it was not much, I still felt that it was great to be able to do this for the house.

Volunteering at the Huck House gave me a new perspective on this great city. I think that it is wonderful that the city of Columbus provides this opportunity for children and their families who are in difficult situations. This house provides these families the opportunity to start anew with new skills to be successful in the future.

Strategic Culture: Staging Afghanistan to Simulate War

On Tuesday, October 8, 2019, I attended the event titled “Strategic Culture: Staging Afghanistan to Simulate War,” held in 168 Dulles Hall to fulfill the Campus engagement event for the International Affairs Scholars program. I went to this event, not knowing what to expect or even knowing what would happen at the event but going because it was one of the only events that fit my schedule, but I am very glad I decided to and was able to attend this event. This event, as I learned, is part of a larger project to bring more Afghan women’s voices and perceptions of war in their nation to the limelight through different forms of storytelling and theatrical elements, such as plays.

During the lecture, Natalie Alvarez discussed her research into simulating wars in Afghanistan for soldiers prior to their departure. Natalie’s research took place at multiple military training areas in the United Kingdom, in the United States, and in Canada. During her research, replica Afghan villages were built to provide an environment very similar to that in Afghanistan so soldiers, prior to their deployment, would become more accustomed to their surroundings and would better understand the Afghan culture, especially their architecture. What was the purpose of building replica Afghan villages in order to better teach soldiers about their upcoming surroundings? Natalie Alvarez thought that building these replica villages would better increase the soldiers cultural intelligence of Afghanistan if they knew what it felt like to be in something similar rather than just being briefed and told about what to expect in their new surroundings. These replica villages gave the soldiers a better look at what to expect and gave them first hand knowledge instead of just having information fed to them from their officers.

Throughout the lecture, Natalie Alvarez discussed how because of the building and training of soldiers within the replica Afghan villages, the soldiers were significantly less stressed upon arriving to their new post in Afghanistan as they were accustomed back to the surroundings during their training in the replica Afghan villages. Not only did the soldier’s stress levels from being in a new, foreign surrounding decline, but their cultural intelligence significantly increased as well due to being accustomed to their surroundings and encounter with Afghan people in the replica villages.

During the lecture, Natalie Alvarez also discussed, more in depth, how the depiction of the Afghan scenery not only informs soldiers of encounters their likely to have in their time in Afghanistan, but also the possible consequences of military’s using strategic culture to tell their soldiers what to expect instead of, what Natalie Alvarez and her team did, and actually simulating what the soldier should prepare for in their new Afghan environment. Strategic culture is often molded and shaped by past historical experiences and, because of ongoing war in Afghanistan, militaries often think that they need to be there, which may not be necessarily true. Militaries often have a certain set of beliefs and attitudes prior to departing for war, which may not be the best. But what Natalie Alvarez and her team did shows that some of these beliefs can be changed through the use of these replica towns.

Graduate School Fair

On Wednesday September 10th from 12:30-2, I attended the graduate school fair in the Grand Ballroom at the Ohio Union. For me, I have always wanted to continue my studies by attending graduate school. As an accounting major, I thought that I would want to go to graduate school and get my MBA, but I was not sure about which school in which to do so at or if there were other options for business students than an MBA. Hence, when I heard about the graduate school fair going on, I knew that I should go and find more about possible graduate school options for me instead of just reading about them online. While at the graduate school fair, I learned a great deal about possible graduate school options. When I arrived, I received a list of the schools that had a booth and looked for the schools that were there with a business program. I went around and talked with a few schools, including Notre Dame, the University of Kentucky, University of Chicago, Penn State University, and obviously Ohio State. I was able to learn a great deal about other schools and their MBA programs. While I knew some about OSU’s MBA program, it was great to learn more about it in greater detail. I was very glad that I was able to go to this event as I also learned about another graduate degree Fisher offers known as a MAcc, or the Master of Accounting degree. Being an accounting major, this program really piqued my interest and made me want to learn more about it. From the representative I talked with, I learned about the general overview of the MAcc program, including the number of people in the program, average undergrad GPA, average GMAT score, and much more. The representative also discussed with me the next possible steps for me in regards for the Master of Accounting degree. He explained to me that since I’m only a sophomore, there is not a lot for me to do right now. However, he said that the summer going into my junior year, I should take the GMAT test as it is required for the MAcc programs. He also explained that I have to apply to the program during my Junior year as I can take some classes for it while I’m getting my undergraduate degree. The program will only require me to take one more year to complete the program, which also piqued my interest as I would only have to pay for one additional year of school. All in all, while i first only went to this event to satisfy the professional development requirement for IA, I am very glad that I went as I learned a lot of useful information that will impact my future decisions.

DEALL LangFest

On Friday, April 19,2019 from 3:00 PM to 5 PM, I attended the DEALL LangFest event held in Jennings Hall 0001. I was not planning on going to this event as credit for a Non-IA event until I learned that the service event, I had signed up for got cancelled. However, once I learned that the service event got cancelled, I immediately knew that I wanted to attend this event and immerse myself and observe the cultures of Japan, Korea, and China. I had a few reasons that I wanted to attend the LangFest Event, and each reason relates to each country involved with the event. Firstly, my good friend Lauren spent a year studying abroad in China and told me all about China and its unique culture, so I wanted to learn more about the Chinese culture. Secondly, one of my good friends Grace was born and lived in Korea for a few years and, while she has a vague memory of the Korean culture, she does remember it and told me about it, but I wanted to learn more about it the Korean culture. Finally, I admire Naomi Osaka, the first Japanese man or woman to win a Grand Slam for tennis, but I realized I knew very little of Japan besides that and I wanted to learn more about that. From attending this event, I learned all about the cultures of each of these three great nations, something I was very glad to learn about. During the event, I observed all sorts of performances, whether it be skits, plays, short movies, or songs. While I did not understand what was going on during the performances all of the time, partly because of the language barrier as many of the performances were in either Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, I still appreciated the performances and admired the beauty of the performances. At this event, I also learned about the different advantages of studying either Japanese, Chinese, or Korean and how it could be applied to today’s world. During this event, I was able to talk with leaders of the event and learn even more about the cultures of these three great nations. I was blessed with the opportunity to be able to attend this event and immerse myself into even more cultures than I already have. This event relates to International Affairs because, quite clearly, it involves other nations. During this event, I learned about the cultures of three other nations. I believe it is important to learn about other nations and their cultures to be a more complete person and so you are able to interact with and be courteous of other people from other nations should you ever meet them any time in your life.

Why Turkey and Central Asia Matter

On Monday February 23rd, 2019 from 3:00-5:00 PM, I had the pleasure of attending the event “Why Turkey and Central Asia Matter,” located in Crane Café in Hagerty Hall to fulfill the Non-IA requirement for the Spring semester of the International Affairs Scholars Program. Although I was unable to attend the event for the entire time due to a midterm, I was very pleased that I was able to go for an hour and immerse myself in the unbelievable cultures of Turkey and Central Asian countries. Being an IA Scholar, I am always open to and wanting to learn about and immerse myself with different cultures around the world, so I figured this event would be a great opportunity to do so.

To start off the event, we listened to an Ottoman Turkish Music Demonstration. It was amazing being able to listen to and appreciate another culture’s music. Usually, I do not listen to any music besides different genres of American music or Spanish pop/rap, so this was a nice and refreshing change. While listening to the music, I enjoyed a few samples of Turkish and Central Asian food. Although I cannot remember the exact names of the foods I tried, they were delicious, and I would like to know what the names of the foods were so I can eat them in the future. The food was a nice mixture of sweet yet sour at the same time, making it even better than I thought I could. After eating food and listening to the music demonstration, the presentation about opportunities for undergraduates to learn more about Turkish and Central Asia began.

Firstly, we learned about the history of Turkey and Central Asian empires. We discussed empires such as the Ottoman, Mesopotamia, among many others. Not learning or having talked about any of this information since high school, so it was nice being able to do this. During the discussion, I found it very interesting about some of the things we talked about. Some of the problems facing these areas of the world today mirror events that occurred in the past.

Following the brief history lesson, we moved onto more current issues, such as the Syrian refuge crisis stretching across some of Central Asian and Turkey. However, I was unable to listen to much of this current events discussion as I had to leave for my midterm, which I was disappointed in having to do but was necessary to. I was also disappointed that I was not able to hear more about the Turkish and Central Asia Undergraduate minor. I have been looking to add some sort of minor, so I would have liked to have been able to listen about a prospective minor. While I could not stay at the event for its entire duration, I am very glad I went and experienced what yet another culture is like.

Dinner + All Things Deutschland

On Thursday January 31, 2019, I attended the dinner and all things Deutschland event held in the German House, hosted by fellow IA member Kate Greer. I attended this event to fulfill the Academic event for Spring semester for the International Affairs Scholars Program and not only was I enlightened by the history of Germany, but I also was able to discuss this with fellow history lovers. Not only did I attend this event as I knew that history would be discussed, but I also wanted to hear others talk about the wonderful country of Germany. For as long as I can remember, I have loved Germany, minus certain points in its history. I have loved their food in pretzels, bratwursts, sauerkraut; I have loved their cities and how industrious of a nation they were; but most importantly, I have always loved Bayern Munich and the German national football team, or as we know it, soccer team. I do not know whether I love them because my ancestors are from Germany, but I have always had this attraction towards the nation and I was happy to attend this event to learn more about it.

The event started out great with some great conversations while enjoying some fine pretzels, mustard, and delicious hot chocolate. While I enjoyed talking with others and eating food, I really enjoyed Kate’s presentation about the history of Germany and the vast number of opportunities that a student can study abroad there. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am very interested in studying abroad at some point in my college life. While it would be practical for me to study abroad in Spain or another Spanish-speaking nation to receive Spanish credit toward my degree, I would not be opposed from the idea of studying abroad in Germany. I have always wanted to travel to Germany, and studying abroad there would be a perfect way for me to receive credits while seeing the country I have longed to see. Of the multiple ways to go abroad to Germany, I felt that the program named DAAD would be the best fit for me as they are open to undergraduate students and to non-German speaking individuals like myself.

Discussing the history of Germany was probably the highlight of my night. I have always been fascinated with history, whether it be the first civilization of Mesopotamia or warfare throughout time, and this event allowed me to reconnect to those roots. Having not heard much of this information in a few years, it was refreshing to hear about the extravagant history of Germany. I especially enjoyed learning about how Germany was never a fully unified nation until very late in time(forget the exact year) but was instead made up of 300 or so small kingdoms. I had never learned about that in school before, so it was really enjoyable to learn something new.

Education Abroad Getting Started Session

On Tuesday, November 13thfrom 2:30-3:30 PM, I attended the Education Abroad Getting Started Session, sponsored by the International Education Week, held in the Enarson Classroom Building, room 160. While attending this event fulfilled the academic requirement for the International Affairs Scholars Program, it gave me great insight on how to go about studying abroad. Coming to Ohio State, I knew that I wanted to study abroad at some point during my stay at college, but I was not too sure on how to find the right program for me. Being a Spanish and Finance major, I wanted to find a program that could satisfy both of my majors. Going into this event, I was dead set on travelling abroad through the Office of Global Business as I could study abroad in a Spanish speaking country and receive credit for both Spanish and Business courses. However, after hearing the presenters discuss their study abroad experiences, it opened my eyes to the idea that I did not necessarily have to go abroad through the Office of Global Business. Instead, I learned I could do so through the Office of International Affairs.

During the presentation, I learned that the Office of Global Business only has two programs in Spanish speaking nations, Chile and Spain, both of which are fairly competitive for admittance. Hearing this really made me rethink my mindset that I should study abroad through the business school. As the presenters talked about other ways to study abroad, the Office of International Affairs caught my attention due to the fact that they have numerous programs in Spanish speaking nations throughout Central and South America as well as multiple locations in Spain. Although I would not get credit for business courses through the Office of International Affairs, I could receive up to twelve credit hours for Spanish courses, putting me well on track to completing my Spanish major.

At the session, I also learned other valuable information regarding study abroad, such as how to finance for this experience, how to apply for study abroad programs, and how to find the best program for me. In regard to financing for studying abroad, there are a number of different ways to make the program more affordable. The Office of International Affairs, as well as the university itself, provide multiple scholarship and grants to students studying abroad. In addition, particular programs also provide scholarships to those applying to that particular program. Applying for and receiving a few scholarships would make studying abroad more of a reality for myself. Applications for the majority of the programs are due at least six months prior to the program beginning, giving students that are accepted adequate time to prepare for their departure. As a result of attending these sessions, I now have a good idea on what study abroad program I want to do, how I apply for this particular program, how to receive finances for my trip, and what classes I should take while abroad to receive credit at OSU.

Mini Involvement Fair

On Thursday October 25, 2018 from 5:30-7:00 PM, I attended the mini involvement fair held outside of Smith-Steeb Hall. Attending this event fulfilled my IA Service requirement. Due to the sheer size of the involvement fair held earlier in the year, I did not get to talk to as many organizations as I wish I could have done. After hearing that IA would be hosting this mini involvement fair, I knew that I wanted to attend in order to talk with some organizations that I was unable to talk with prior. Getting to the fair a tad late, I had to move quick and scout which clubs I thought best fit my interests. Walking around the fair, I found one club that would be perfect for me: Student Leadership Advocates.

Being in a variety of leadership positions in high school, I have been looking for an organization where I can use and, hopefully, advance my leadership skills, so this organization sounded perfect. After talking with the members at their stand, I learned that their organization does so much more than just enhancing your leadership. In addition to developing leadership skills, SLA does many other events around campus, including Team Building exercises with other organizations, Ice Breakers for other events, working on Communication and Public Speaking skills, and the list goes on and on. This cohort program not only develops its own members leadership and communication skills, but also does so to other students through a number of different workshops and events.

While the cohort program I talked with the most does not directly relate to international affairs, the knowledge and skills gained from the program can come in handy with international affairs. The communication and leadership skills would be useful in a future job that requires you to either travel to other nations and discuss business or hosting potential international employers and you must lead a conference or just talk business with them.

The SLA cohort program reminded me a lot of this event I participated in during the Fisher College of Business’ Early Arrival Program called True Colors. During this event, I took a personality test and figured out what type of leader I am. Not surprisingly, my score revealed I was a quiet, diligent leader. Upon learning our leadership style, we settled into groups of people with the same leadership style as ourselves and learned from the leaders of the event on how we can best use our leadership style to work with people that have different leadership styles.

The mini involvement fair not only gave me the opportunity to learn more about the SLA cohort program, but also an opportunity to talk with fellow students. In the Smith side kitchen sat several boxes of pizza. Students congregated around the pizza, grabbed a few slices, and then stayed around in the kitchen, talking with one another. Not only did this event fulfill my IA service requirement, but it also gave me the opportunity to be social with other people, an extra bonus.

Colloquium on Race and Public Policy

On Monday, September 10th from 4:30-6:00 PM, I attended the Colloquium on Race and Public Policy, hosted in the Suzanne M. Scharer Room in the Ohio Union. Mostly going to this event to fulfill the Non-IA/Community requirement, I did not think I would learn so much and change my thinking and perspective on race and public policy as much as I did. From this event, I was able to broaden my thinking on different races and the reasoning behind many racial issues around the world. To give us some background information, the speaker guided us through the five fields of anthropology, which are linguistic, biological, archeological, cultural, and applied. Linguistic anthropology is the study of language and the way that people speak impacts their social lives. The speaker explained that people of different races often have problems communicating with one another in a friendly manner due to differences in the way they speak or because there is a language barrier. Biological anthropology focuses on how humans have developed and how our behavioral patterns. Archeological anthropology looks at humans behavioral and social patterns based off of excavation. Cultural anthropology examines the development of human societies and their culture. Applied anthropology uses all of the other fields of anthropology and applies the data and theories collected to try and solve social problems. The final thing the speaker said stuck with me and really made me think. He said that we, as people, “need to break down our understanding of our notion of race” and start anew. This quote really made me stop and think about how I could better myself and those I associate by forgetting what I have been told about race. This talk will allow me to grow as an individual in many different ways. Firstly, I gained many valuable skills that will help me in my future professional life. After hearing about social problems that exist between people of different races, I will be able to avoid those problems with future coworkers. Not only will I be able to avoid these problems, but I will know how to identify them and fix them if they do happen to arise. In addition to helping me in my professional life, the knowledge I gained will also allow me to grow personally. Seeing that the main interracial problems exist due to misunderstandings in communication, I will now know how I should communicate in an effective manner with people of another race, so misunderstandings arise. If I notice that there is a misunderstanding at some point, whether it be between my coworkers or acquaintances, I could act like a mediator, identifying the problem and giving suggestions about how the problem should be resolved. If I were able to talk to the speaker, I would love to ask him a few questions. Firstly, I would like to ask how we, as a society, should work on breaking down our understanding of notions of race and starting anew. Lastly, I would like to ask what would  be the most effective way of applying these viewpoints to our society.