On March 2nd, 2020, I attended the International Trivia Night Event in the sky lounge on the 10th floor of Smith-Steeb. There were 10 total International Affairs students, not including the member of the social chair. The trivia took place in the form of a Kahoot and covered a wide range of international topics.
I was familiar with the questions regarding the spread of the coronavirus as well as those focusing on the US election and Democratic Primary. However, I was embarrassingly unaware of Turkish and Syrian conflict, the Canadian rail blockade, and several travel bans implemented by the US government.
Personally, I have found interest in the coronavirus because of its increasing prevalence throughout the world and arrival in the United States. Also, I’m interested in a future in medicine so I have read about the virus and how it compares to other diseases such as SARS which have been international public health issues in the past. I was shocked to hear that the coronavirus scare has forced the closure of the Lourve which was one of my favorite places when I visited Paris. I have seen a lot of rioting and unrest already occurring in France and I’m sure the new fear of the coronavirus is making life difficult for French citizens. Also, coronavirus is a major concern for OSU as many students come from countries affected by the virus or are studying abroad in countries that are impacted.
I have briefly read some information regarding the democratic primary since it is my responsibility to inform myself to make the best decision possible during the election season. I am not as interested in US politics as most of the other international topics we saw questions on though. The violence in Syria is very sad because Syria has been a place of significant loss suffering many burdens for the past several years. In seems to be the case that many of the news topics were very depressing which is, unfortunately, representative of the state of the world.