Current Events Conversation

My second-semester academic event of this year was Sam Stelneki’s current events conversation that took place on March 28th in the glass classroom of Smith-Steeb hall. Although the focus of this IA event was centered around several business-related current events, these events are considered international because of the corporation(s) large international presence and the scope of impact they have on multiple sectors of the globe. Although we discussed events relating to Uber, Huawei, Boeing, and Youtube, the current situations affecting Boeing and Youtube have interested me the most- especially since I am currently in a business law class.

New European Copyright Laws?

Copyright infringement is something that most college students have seen- whether surfing Youtube or Google for movies, songs, TV shows, etc. Evidently, copyright violations are very difficult to locate, manage, and impose punishments upon. However, recently there has been legislation discussed in Europe that, if passed, would force tech giants like Youtube to be responsible for the financial burden of managing copyright infringements. In the past, these major companies have subtly avoided claiming responsibility for this task for the obvious reason of avoiding the financial damage to the company. If companies were forced to be responsible, they would most likely have to develop costly filters and software to identify and block violations on their enormous sites. On the other side of the room, some believe that by allowing such massive providers of media to be in control of managing media “in violation” of privacy statutes and policy, they may start to lean towards the idea of censorship and media tailored to the beliefs of the corporation in charge.

Boeing 737 Malfunctioning

Recently, Boeing has been going under heavy investigation and a number of lawsuits. Not only has their recent scandal induced several criminal and technical investigations, but it also started to get people to question the ethics of Boeing, in general. The scandal involves Boeing’s new 737 MAX and its design, which seems to have been botched due to “cutting corners.” When dealing with an industry that is necessary to consumers in terms of transportation AND inherently dangerous, it is more than likely and not surprising that a faulty airplane model can turn easily into numerous negligence and strict-liability claims. Since the company was directly involved in designing and making the airplanes, the customers reasonably relied on the idea that the planes would not be faulty, injury/death occurred in relation to this defect, and the occurrence of a plane crashing due to a malfunctioning part is considered reasonably foreseeable, it can be interpreted as negligent on the part of the defendant (Boeing). Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft should never have been released the way that it was. It is clear Boeing cut corners to get the model out fast and with as little expense as possible. The US regulator, which works closely with Boeing, certified the design when they should not have. This is what paved the way for these foreseeable, avoidable accidents. This scandal/situation shows what the profit motive does to the safety standards of aviation around the world and at home.

 

Columbus Meals on Wheels

On Saturday, February 9th, 2019, I had the rewarding experience of visiting the Meals on Wheels division in Columbus as a delivery volunteer. Meals on Wheels America “is the leadership organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger.” The organization seeks to aid the elderly by supplying nutritional meals that allow them to live more independently and with greater dignity. Additionally, transportation and mobility may be difficult for many people within any community.

Although I had originally signed up for this service event through my business fraternity, I was genuinely excited and interested in seeing first-hand what a volunteer at Meals on Wheels specifically did and in handling various clients around Columbus neighborhoods.

Upon arrival at the Meals on Wheels facility with my group of three other friends, we were instructed to fill out multiple forms, provide our IDs, and wait until further instructions along with other participating groups. Once the supervisor arrived, she explained all of the details and necessary knowledge before we went on our separate ways. It was interesting to find out that each client could have different meals delivered, such as hot or cold, different kinds of milk, juice, or bread. In addition, a master sheet that was given to use told us useful information about each client. For example, some clients were hard of hearing, so there would most likely be a note next to their name that would tell us to try knocking harder on their door or waiting longer than normal for them to open the door. Additionally, after every delivery, we would immediately call the next person to make sure they knew we were on our way to them and so that they could be more prepared.

My ultimate favorite part of the experience was truly meeting the people along the way. Although we only had to delivery to roughly eight different residences, not one person was rude, unkind, or unappreciative in any sort of way. Many of the clients were clearly old, poor, and/or not in the healthiest conditions, but they were surprisingly positive.

Many people said “thank you” multiple times, invited us inside their homes, smiled at us, and even told us how “young and beautiful” we were. It was also extremely interesting and eye-opening to see how those who are less fortunate live in areas of Columbus that are shockingly diverse, underprivileged, and dangerous, yet not necessarily far from notably nicer places in Columbus at the same time.

I highly recommend this form of community service to other IAers and college students. Not only is the task fairly simple and straightforward, but, as previously stated, it was extremely rewarding and even heartwarming to understand a new range of personal experiences from people one might not usually see or interact with on campus or at home. Meals on Wheels is constantly looking for drivers and delivery volunteers, so do not be afraid to sign up if time permits!

 

KSA’s Korean Culture Show

On Saturday, February 2nd, I attended the Ohio State Korean Student Association’s “Korean Culture Show” in the Performance Hall at the Ohio Union.  KSA also partnered with KISO (Korean International Student Organization), which partners with them annually to host “the largest festival of Korean culture!”

The event consisted of ten scheduled performances that, in some shape or form, portrayed an aspect of Korean culture. I was absolutely blown away by the huge number of people who had shown up and were supporting their friends and just having a great time in general!

The first act I watched upon arrival was called “Taekwondo.” The performers on stage were a part of OSU’s oldest martial arts club, founded in 1973.  I thought it was very interesting how the group of members seemed to be very diverse.  This aspect of Korean culture was already familiar to me beforehand because I had taken classes for about two years. However, it was so cool to bring back memories of the time I spent with Taekwondo and see the performers really enjoy what they were doing.

The second act I watched was titled “Jam.” The duo consisting of Jina Jeong and Myung-Ho Chung accompanied/sang to Narsha’s “I’m in Love,” which combined English phrases with Korean lyrics. The singer had a lovely voice and the song really emphasized the various sounds of the Korean language, which was very interesting to me.

Before the intermission, I saw a breakdance act titled “Hay” perform. “Hay” stands for Hungry Asian Youngtaz, a group of young people who “overcome background differences with a common love for breakdance.” Every single dancer had unbelievable skills, making them one of my favorite performances of the night.

During intermission, I got to talk to my friend Angela, who was actually managing large portions of the event. She was the person who convinced me to come out to the event and it was so great to see all of her hard work and a portion of her life that I did not know too much about.

After intermission, I had the pleasure the hear my friend Alex play the violin to the rhythm of some of K-pop’s biggest hits along with an amazing pianist, Tess Kim. The performance was so well executed and the staging/lighting was incredibly dramatic and professional.

I absolutely love any type of event where I can have the opportunity to learn about new cultures that excite me. The animated crowd and diverse audience made the experience even more enjoyable and wholesome. In addition, filmed video segments would play between almost every performance. Although they were all comedic and not always understandable from my side of things, it was so interesting to see Korean pop culture references and self-acknowledged stereotypes parodied in hilarious ways. For example, one segment portrayed a guy making a face mask out of milk, tofu, icing, and yogurt in order to achieve more pale skin. In another segment, noodle and rice bowls from Bibibop were prepared and judged by a panel.

I am so happy I attended this event and I definitely wish to attend similar events in the future!

IA Service Event: Reflection #3

Instead of attending an IA-sponsored service event, I took part in an amazing service project with my professional business fraternity, Phi Chi Theta.  As an entire group, we all woke up bright and early at 4:30 am on November 18th.  We then carpooled into downtown Columbus and arrived at our designated volunteer station for Columbus’s Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k/5k aka “America’s Sweetest Race.”  As an aid volunteer, we helped pass out water and Nuun sports drinks from our station to passing participants.  In addition to beverages, we also offered small containers of chocolate chips and various other snacks for runners to boost energy.

Even though the majority of our service consisted of handing out food and drinks, we were also required to arrive extra early to set up and stay for a bit afterward to clean up, which was more work than I had thought.  Hundreds of crushed cups and plastic containers were scattered everywhere along the street and a good amount of supplies remained.  We also had to carry dozens of folding tables, coolers, hoses, and other supplies.

The profits of the Hot Chocolate Run 15k/5k go towards the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.  They are “on a quest to bring every eligible child’s wish to life because a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey.”

Although the early wake-up time was not ideal and standing out on the streets of Columbus in cold, windy conditions did not seem very enjoyable to me beforehand, I actually had an amazing time donating our earnings towards a good cause and having fun while doing so.  It made my heart smile to also see the gratitude and kindness of the runners from just us handing out water.  I remember them always saying “thank you”, but it is us who should have been thanking them for their perseverance, dedication, and hard work towards Make-A-Wish!

Although this service event does not relate too much to international affairs, Allstate (a large national company) has been working to expand these runs across the country to gain support and awareness for the charity and purpose.  In addition, although this particular event was in Columbus, it is clear that this event works toward bettering the surrounding communities, which often spreads to others.

After attending this event, I was so invested that I reflected on how I would consider running myself in the future and potentially getting more involved.  I thought about: how could this event possibly grow and expand in the long run?  Could the number of charities involved increase if we gained enough participants and sponsors?  If I do end up getting involved, I would love to get into contact with the decision-makers of the event to discuss where it is going!

Next year’s Hot Chocolate Run 15k/5k is already scheduled for November 17th, 2019, so I highly recommend that everyone sign up who can!  It is truly a heartwarming event that radiates happiness and human kindness.  Not only that, but it is an incredible opportunity to support children going through extremely difficult and unimaginable situations.

International Affairs Scholars Mini Involvement Fair: Reflection #2

On October 25th, I had the opportunity to attend International Affairs Scholars’ Mini Involvement Fair outside of Smith-Steeb.  It was a great way to gain exposure to extracurriculars and cool trips/ organizations that revolve around the area of international affairs at Ohio State, which was something that I had never had the chance to do.

The first table that I approached was for the club Global Health Initiative. At first, I thought that there would probably be a low possibility of me actually joining since I assumed the organization was solely meant for pre-med or students getting a BS.  However, the nice girls running the table quickly assured me that it was, in fact, open to anyone in any major.  Global Health Initiative is “driven to increase awareness and provide students with educational opportunities related to global health issues.” As someone who is not super aware of the pertinent issues surrounding health in our world, this definitely caught my attention.  What was even more attractive was that they actually went on service trips to places I would absolutely love to visit such as Haiti, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Malawi, and India.  I signed up for their email list after chatting with them- so I am definitely considering going to some of their meetings and events in the future!

The next table was very similar to the first; it was called Doctors Without Borders.  This was one organization that I have prior knowledge of since DWB is famous for its medical services in war-torn countries affected by endemic diseases or natural disaster.  Although it does not pertain entirely to my major, the different cultures of these troubled countries/peoples intrigue me beyond description and I would love to attend various, interesting lectures that will be put on by the nonprofit.  I admire the work they do and the dedication they have towards helping those who are suffering.

The third club I visited was the Alexander Hamilton Society.  This was another organization that I was familiar with beforehand.  Last year in IA Scholars I had attended a couple of debates pertaining to nuclear weapons, North Korea, and the Trump administration.  However, I definitely plan on attempting to go to at least one of their debates or expert talks later this year or next semester.  My favorite aspect of this organization is that it is the perfect environment to dive into the minds and ideas of others (students, professors, government officials, historians, experts, politicians, etc.) and attempt to understand certain ideologies that I may not agree with or may not entirely (or at all) understand.  Especially on college campuses, I believe it is incredibly important to broaden one’s horizons on current issues instead of staying intolerant or ignorant of others’ views.

The last table I visited was AWOW: Advocates for Women Of the World.  Personally, the topic of gender inequality worldwide is very important.  Even though gender inequality exists in the United States, I often forget about how millions and millions of other women in foreign countries experience much, much worse than I do- things like rape, torture, confinement, and forced dependency on males.

It’s definitely going to be hard to decide to which organizations I should allocate my time!

Reflection Post #1: Education Abroad Expo

For my academic event requirement, I decided to attend the Education Abroad Expo at the Ohio Union on September 4th.  Although my first major is German and my minor is International Studies, being new to Fisher with International Business as my newly adopted second major, I realized I wanted to find an effective way to incorporate my love for traveling and learning/utilizing global languages into a more professional setting.  However, before attending the expo, I was pretty clueless in terms of what programs existed and which of those had the possibility to cater to my specific majors, minors, availability, and interests.

The Education Abroad Expo can definitely seem a bit chaotic and overwhelming at times.  However, the Fisher Abroad table did a good job of educating me about my options.  After talking to a representative for a while and gaining a good understanding and overview of what Fisher offers, I was also given a helpful pamphlet recapping the information to take home.

Although all of the programs definitely seemed tremendously beneficial and fun to experience, one program stood out to me.

This one program was the Strasbourg Summer Exchange program for the summer of 2019.  Not only is it stationed in France (I took French in high school and am currently attempting to regain my proficiency in it), but Strasbourg is located very near to the German border, as well.  I feel like this position would be ideal for my studies because I could have the opportunity to travel between both France and Germany, as well as other European countries.  In addition, Strasbourg is home to the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament, which bring in a political, global aspect to the city.  If accepted, I would attend the Ecole de Managment Strasbourg for roughly four weeks at the beginning of summer.  I would also be expected to take the following courses while abroad: European Integration (HIST 3254), BUSADM 5797 as IB elective, and French Course (BA 5797).

Having already studied abroad in Germany in high school, I think I could really take advantage of this opportunity abroad.  Since I would already understand the drastic changes and sacrifices often necessary to make while going abroad, this transition would maybe be much smoother for me than others.  However, I definitely would still get homesick being away from home for a month.  However, the independence that is granted as an exchange student is so important to personal growth and linguistic improvement.  Although my the majority of classes would be in English, I would like to definitely attempt to see as much of the area as I could without relying on French speakers to translate for me.  Therefore, one goal of mine would be to get by speaking solely French while outside of the university and in situations that occur to me.  I am so excited to see if I end up doing this program or one similar!

I am so happy that I had the opportunity to attend the Education Abroad Expo, which has opened me up to new programs.

Belief and Dedication

Two core ideals that I try to uphold in my everyday life are belief and dedication.  Although some may view it as “easy” to simply say, “okay, I believe in myself,” it is a very different experience when the rewards of this dedication can be seen and appreciated.

One item in which I take pride is this letter from my teacher at my school in Germany where I studied for an entire year.  It serves to prove that things that may seem impossible, really do not have to be with enough genuine commitment.

Before traveling abroad for the year, I had almost no experience with the German language.  I was nowhere near fluent or even proficient in dealing with many of the cultural and linguistic norms that awaited me.  However, I spent my year constantly working to improve every aspect of my transition in Germany.  I spoke only German, watched only German shows, and attempted to participate in as many school and local organizations and groups as I could.  I felt proud and accomplished nearing the end of my stay abroad and this letter I received reinforced my hard work.  I was so glad that others, such as my teachers and fellow peers, could also see my improvement and drive to becoming someone who I wanted to be while in Germany.

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]