Anti-Asian Racism After Atlanta: Assessing the Moment (Campus)

On Thursday, April 15, I attended the Anti-Asian Racism After Atlanta seminar over zoom. Put on by Asian American Studies, this event was called in response to the homicides which occurred on March 16, 2021 in Atlanta. The man attacked three different spas killing six Asian-American women in the process. However, when in custody, the suspect denied any racial biases and stated he committed the murders to eliminate his sexual temptations. At the event, there were four speakers including Dr. Joey Kim, Arun Venugopal, Dr. Joe Ponce, and OSU student Molly Jasina. Each speaker had a different perspective, and explained the impact of these shootings both on society, as well as on them personally. One view point which I found particularly interesting was Molly’s. This is because she is a fellow Ohio State student, and she was understandably tremendously hurt by the events that transpired. She also shared how the lingering Asian-American woman stereotypes affected her in her everyday life, which helped me get a better understanding of her perspective. Another topic discussed in the seminar was the history of Asian-American racism in the US. In any context, it is always important to look at history to understand how we got to the current moment, as it can give information on how to move forward. Overall, the seminar was extremely heartfelt, and at times difficult to hear. It was therefore a good experience and I’m very glad I got to hear each speaker’s thoughts.

Portugal, Race, and Memory: A Conversation, A Reckoning (Academic)

On March 24th, I attended the “Portugal, Race, and Memory: A Conversation, A Reckoning” seminar hosted by the English Department. The seminar as a whole discussed topics such as the aspect of race in Portugal, the impact of Portugal’s history of colonial slavery, and how those two factors affect the lives of people, especially minorities today. The moderator of the discussion was Lisa Voigt, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Ohio State, who has written several books on the topics of Portuguese history. Speaking as guests, there were numerous panelists that were highly educated on the topic. These included Mira Kafantaris, a senior lecturer in the English department at Ohio State, Patrícia Marcos, a Ph.D candidate in History at UC San Diego, Pedro Pereira, who has a Doctorate in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies from Brown University, and Kathryn Santos, an Assistant Professor of English at Trinity University. Something I found to be particularly interesting during the seminar was the discussion from Patrícia Marcos, where she gave multiple instances of racial injustice being neglected not only in the history of Portugal, but also in modern times. One shocking example to me occurred on July 25, 2020, where 39-year-old black actor Bruno Candé was shot in broad daylight while the murderer shouted racist remarks. According to Marcos, the fact that the crime was rooted in the colonial history of Portugal was attempted to be overlooked by the government and police officials. Additionally, the media attempted to discredit Candé after the murder to make it seem less inhumane. From this seminar, especially from examples like this, I learned about the extent of racial problems in contemporary times, and about the push to confront these issues for a better future.

GeoGuessr (Social)

On January 31, 2021, I attended the GeoGuessr social event over zoom. As a social event, it was a great way to interact with other second-years that were also looking to reconnect in the Covid era. Luckily, the GeoGuessr game structure was the perfect activity over zoom, especially because it would already be online. The game itself is played by being placed on the virtual ground in google maps, and you have to guess where in the world you were put. It is very important to use clues such as flags, languages on signs, the clothing styles worn (if you see people), the architecture of buildings, and the environment/ landscape of the area. Therefore, the individuals with the most knowledge of world cultures will usually come out on top. Using all of these clues, a good guess can usually be deduced of where you are. In some cases, however, it can get more difficult. Mainly, you can guess what continent you are on, but it is much more difficult to guess the country or city. To make things a little easier, we started with a game mode where you would only be placed in places/ cities that would be recognizable. Also, for friendly competition, we would have one on one games where the person to guess most accurately would win the round (or the person who answered first). Since my biggest passion in international affairs is language, some of the most rewarding rounds for me personally were when I could recognize the language of a country. Overall, it was a fun experience and I learned new, interesting things about locations around the world as well.

The Pandemic is “A Portal” (Academic)

On Monday, November 23, I attended the webinar “The Pandemic is ‘A Portal'” about topics concerning the future of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically from the humanitarian point of view. The event had two panelists: Frank Snowden, Professor Emeritus of History and History of Medicine at Yale University, and Marc Bamuthi Joseph, a spoken-word artist, modern-day Griot (African Storyteller), and Sozo artist. Many of the talking points had to do with the pandemic. However, there were multiple that were discussed as a result of the pandemic caused issues. For instance, Snowden shared his thoughts on agism, and how he believes the virus has increased the expendability of elders in the community. This is especially true since the virus has a higher mortality rate for the elderly. Therefore instead of letting agism increase and continuing to marginalize this population, we should be doing more to protect them. To accomplish this, Snowden added that we need international cooperation towards one plan. Drawing on his experience when he was in Italy, he said that the country had one strong, clear communication about the virus. As a result, he hopes that America will have this as well so that we too can act uniformly across the country. Throughout the webinar, Joseph also talked a lot about coming together as all people to defeat the pandemic. This includes understanding that we are all in it together and eliminating existing prejudices in order to do that.

Current State of Immigration Policy (JEDI, Academic)

On Friday, October 23, I attended the webinar on the current state of immigration policies in the United States. Some of the panelists of the webinar included Houleye Thiam, president of the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the US, and staff attorneys for the Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. Both brought their own unique perspectives on the problem as well as solutions on how to make the situation better. For instance, when Thiam was talking about her views on the immigration system, she explained how the language barrier is very difficult for people who do not speak English well, and especially difficult for people who do not speak a major language like Spanish or French. To combat this, she proposed the idea of having less written documentation and more audio/ oral communication. That way, the system would be far more comprehensible to potential immigrants. Another interesting thing I learned during the webinar is that, unlike in criminal court cases, you are not appointed a lawyer in the immigration process. Therefore, if you are not lucky enough to get a lawyer (such as one from The Advacates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc.) then you would have to get one privately. Since this costs a lot of money, it is out of reach for many immigrants, and therefore they have to try to complete the process by themselves.

Alex E. Chavez – Verses and Flows: Migrant Lives and the Sounds of Crossing (Academic)

On September 28, 2020, I attended Alex E. Chavez’s lecture on the culture and lives of Mexican migrants. Throughout the lecture, he educated us about the various aspects of Mexican culture and the current problems at the border using the Spanish language, storytelling, videos, and music. Chavez is an author of the book, Sounds of Crossing: Music, Migration, and the Aural Poetics of Huapango Arribeño, which covers many of the same topics discussed in the lecture. I mention the book because it is very obvious, especially in the way that Chavez speaks, that he would be a great writer. He spoke with an incredible passion when he read quotes and poetry; both in English and in Spanish. One of the most interesting things I learned from the lecture was a custom of the huapango arribeño music from Northern Mexico. For the new year, a wedding, or other special occasions, they play music throughout the entire night in order to fully celebrate. It is common for the public to be dancing for ten hours straight during that time. In addition to culture, Chavez touched on the contemporary politics of  border security. It was powerful to hear him talk about the killing and violence that occurs and what it is like for the Mexican migrant population.

What’s in a Name? The Dispute over Renaming US Army Bases (Academic)

On September 3, 2020, I attended the zoom seminar on the topic of renaming US Army bases. Specifically, those which are named after generals from the Confederate Army during the civil war. I learned at the event that many of the bases were named at a time in America’s history when there was a resurgence of racist culture; roughly 50 years after the end of the Civil War. As a result, many base names represent a regrettable time in our history and still have not been changed to date. Another problem, according to speaker Hasan Jeffries, is that while the bases were being named, there was not enough research done about these individuals or their accomplishments. It was enough to simply have a high rank, rather than having lived an honorable life. For many years, activists have been trying to change the base names to be in honor of those who are more worthy. Another speaker at the event, Peter Mansoor, informed us that this is a very powerful subject and means a great deal to those who are currently serving at these bases. The base name should signify what the base is fighting for, but currently, there is a disconnect between those two ideals. Finally, the speakers also discussed some of the difficulties with changing a military base’s name. These include resistance from state residence, complications with choosing the new name, and getting authoritative permission to make the changes. However, they are optimistic that these changes will come quickly and that our military base names will soon reflect our current ideals.

Late Night Breakfast (Social)

On December 4th, 2019, I attended the late-night breakfast in Smith-Steeb hall. It was at the end of the semester with finals looming, and a nice little social event was a good way to ease all of the tension that goes along with the last week of school. Since this event was after an International Affairs community meeting, everyone knew about this event and most of the people on smith 8 were hanging before we went down. There were so many of us, in fact, that we could not all fit in one elevator. Even as we were waiting for the elevator, we could smell the bacon that was 8 floors below. Once we got downstairs, it was surprising to see how many people were already in line. With both the IA program and the PSL scholars, the area outside the smith glass classroom was packed. It took a while to wait in the line, but it went fast talking with everyone around me. Once we got to the buffet table, I stacked my plate up with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. We stayed downstairs a while longer talking to our friends in PSL about how the semester has gone. However, in anticipation to eat, we all went back up to the common room on the 8th floor. Everything was delicious and being with all of my friends in IA made it even better. It was a nice night to eat together and relax and took the edge off of the stress I was feeling with my final coming up later that week. 

Huckleberry House (Volunteering)

On February 8th, 2020, I volunteered at the Huckleberry House in Colombus, OH. In short, this house is a safe place for local kids to go if they are experiencing a crisis. It does not matter what degree of crisis, ranging from feeling unsafe at home to being subject to human trafficking, the Huckleberry House will take them in and provide a safe environment. After a stay of normally a couple of weeks, the workers there will try to reunite the child with a parent or guardian if it is safe. For this event specifically, about 7 of us met in the Smith Steeb lobby in the morning. After a short bus ride and walk, we were at the house getting a tour. The woman giving the tour was very genuine and it was obvious that she cared greatly for everyone in the house. The kids have dorm rooms on the upper floor and common rooms and game areas on the lower floor. Our job was to do a general cleaning of the downstairs while most of the kids were still upstairs sleeping. We took time to organize the games in the game room, wipe down the windows, chairs, and tables with Clorox wipes, and sweep up the ground. After we got done cleaning each room, I felt as though we made it look better. Once the kids came downstairs to eat, we got to converse with them for a small amount of time. It was fulfilling to see the kids who we were working for, and you could tell that they and their supervisors appreciated it. 

Global Water Crisis (Academic)

On October 24th, I attended a lecture about the world water crisis with an emphasis on Subsaharan Africa. I went with some other friends in the IA program, and it was very convenient for us because it was held in Hagerty Hall. Once we got there, we took our seats and the lecturer started by asking us what we already knew about the global water crisis. For me, I knew that it was a huge problem in the world and that people were dying of thirst, however I did not know the actual statistics about the crisis. It turns out that out of the seven and a half billion people in the world, over two billion people don’t have access to drinking water. That alone shocked me, and peaked my interest for the rest of the presentation. I also learned that many times, the problem is not a lack of water, but rather a lack of the means to get the water. For instance, water could be underground, yet the people there do not have the infrastructure to extract it. As a result, volunteers go to places like Tanzania, Africa to help them get access to drinking water. Where these programs are not in place, people have to walk for hours to get to the nearest water source. And in addition to that, the water is most likely dirty, which leads to disease and unhealthy lives. Overall, the lecture was very interesting and I am glad I went. It is very important to be aware of these global problems, and this lecture helped me do exactly that.