The Carmen Collections Conversations event was put on by the Office of International Affairs, and it was in honor of this year being the sesquicentennial for Ohio State to honor past buckeyes and their stories. During the event, we learned and discussed about the first story to be a part of the Carmen Collections, which was about the “OSU 34.” The “OSU 34” were a group of 34 African Americans OSU student who participated in a sit-in protest at the police station for unfair treatment based on race. We watched a video that had been put together about the students who were involved and heard their take on what they did and why, and it was very interesting because what began as a sit-in with only 34 black students became a sit-in with hundreds of students of all races fighting for civil rights. It was very inspirational and a part of OSU’s past I was never aware of until that day. During our discussion we all said that we felt this was an important part of OSU’s history along with many other stories in the Carmen Collections that should be more publicly recognized and brought to attention. The other story we learned about was in regards to the International Wives Club and how Ohio State had this organization for wives of students, faculty, staff, and visiting professors to give them a sense of community and a place of comfort since they shared an international background.
Both stories that we learned about were very interesting, and I would very much like to learn more about some of the other stories in the Carmen Collections. This event relates to international affairs because it allowed us to learn more about Ohio State’s past with people from different cultures.