How to varify information we are exposed to online.

In our society today we are able to have access to any news we desire right at our fingertips. Through the click of a button and a short period of time scrolling on the internet or social media we can be exposed to an overwhelming abundance of news reports. However social media, the internet, and hyperpartisanship today lead to a lot of inaccurate thoughts and reports masquerading as trustworthy news to the average citizen in our society. Therefor, though the easy access to news today is great, the information we receive is often misleading so we must find a way to make sure what we see online is trustworthy and verifiable and that we are not just blindly accepting what we read as facts.

The solution to this growing problem is to make sure all readers read like fact checkers by analyzing, questioning, and evaluating the news that they read. When we are exposed to an article online we must read it and comprehend it, but not blindly accept it as the truth. As a reader today we must break down the information we are given, starting with pointing out the main claim of the article that can be objectively verified. Once you see something that claims to be a fact, research it with as many primary facts on the topic you can find, and decide whether these sources uphold or refute the claim that is being made.

This may be the best way to fact check news on the internet, however it is not always the most convenient or efficient way. There are simpler steps we can take on a day to day basis to attempt to eliminate the amount of inaccurate claims we believe. First pay attention to the URL of the site you are on; established news organizations will have a standard URL due to the fact that they own them. Also, some endings tend to be more reliable than others such as .gov. Research the leaders within the organization you are reading from. Who wrote the article? Do they tend to write more opinionated or fact based pieces? These are questions you can easily ask yourself when breaking down news articles. Check comments on viral news. A lot of misleading news articles become widespread quickly because of their tendencies to have dramatized headings, however if millions of people are claiming that it is not accurate then you should pay attention to those comments and realize it is probably untrustworthy news. Overall the biggest way we can make sure what we are exposed to online is trustworthy is to be active readers, and listeners. We must question what we hear, evaluate the sources ourselves, and never blindly trust what you read without looking further into it for yourself.

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 guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

Global Awareness

Over the next four years I hope to expand my global awareness through studying abroad. I am hoping to be able to do this more than once, probably a shorter program or two, and then a program that extends over the course of a semester. I have a love for traveling, and have been able to see how surrounding yourself by new cultures truly does bring awareness of the world around you. I hope to be able to fully immerse myself in the lifestyle of others in a foreign country, and bring what I learn and experience back to OSU.

I also hope to expand my global awareness right here in columbus. Being on a campus with so many students from all over the world, there is a lot we can learn from each other. I am excited to hear others experiences, and perspectives that will be able to shape how I view the world.

 

Original Inquiry 

Although I do not currently have a specific topic in mind that I would like to conduct research on, I look forward to the day that an idea jumps into my head. I know that the opportunities for research are very abounded at OSU and it is a goal of mine to utilize these resources. I hope to conduct, or aid with a research project that somehow connects the field of business with the field of law.

 

Academic Enrichment

Many of my goals here at OSU are centered around the idea of Academic Enrichment. My goal is to maintain a high GPA, and strive to earn the best grades I am capable of in all of my classes. I will work hard, and dedicate much of my time and energy to my studies, for I now this is the foundation for why we are all here. Taking advantage of the high academic resources at Ohio State is very important, not everyone has the opportunity for higher education and this is an opportunity that I have been given and am very passionate about. I do plan on pursing another major or a minor along with my degree in finance, and am exploring options that would be a good combination to have.

 

Leadership Development

Leadership is a very necessary skill to have in todays society. To me being a leader means many things. I not only hope to hold leadership positions in multiple student organizations on campus, but I also strive to be a leader in day to day activities. Leading your peers in simple activities and setting examples for others, is as important to me as being able to lead an entire student organization. In high school I help various leadership positions in clubs and sports, but I was also a leader amongst my friends, family, and peers in class. I look forward to the aways that OSU will push me out of my comfort zone and allow my leadership skills to grow even stronger.

 

Service Engagement

After volunteering with many organizations and non-profits throughout my years in high school, I am very excited to engage in service work here at OSU. I volunteered at an elementary school, and animal shelter, a food pantry, and regularly at other organizations with my church group. These are experiences I hold close to my heart, and will be taking what I have learned from them to school with me here. Not being from Columbus, I look forward to learning about the city, learning to love the city, and engaging in service activities that will work to better the city we now all live in.

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

JULIA GRANT

Julia is currently a 3rd year here at Ohio state, majoring in Finance at the Fisher College of Business and minoring in pollitical science. Julia joined PSL as a freshman, moving from Westerville OH, and I had the opportunity to sit down with her and hear about her involvements including PSL and other activities at OSU.

Julia talked very highly about all of the opportunities she has been given thus far. However, a few that sparked my interest, that we were able to talk more in-depth about, were her involvement in Phi Chi Theta, and honors cohort. Phi Chi Theta is one of the five business fraternities on our campus, and Julia serves as recruitment chair for this organization. They focus on the professional development of their members, philanthropic work in the city of Columbus, and forming a strong brotherhood with one another. Julia said that she met most of her best friends in this organization, and that it truly transformed her college experience. After joining and completing the Politics, Society, and Law scholars program, she recently decided to continue her academic engagement in the honors cohort at Fisher. She is just now starting this program as a junior, and mentioned that she is very excited for all the program offers and how she thinks it will help her to advance professionally. I loved hearing this from Julia, as it is something I am very interested in eventually applying to myself.

Not only is Julia excelling in her student organization involvement, and socially here at Ohio State, but she has also achieved great professional success. Julia recently completed an internship at Worthington Industries, where she worked in corporate internal audit. She hopes to graduate in 2021 and find a job as a management consultant.

My coffee chat with Julia was fun, relaxing, and also inspiring for me. I share many goals and interests with Julia that I did not know going into our meeting, and talking to her introduced me to new ways to get involved at Ohio State. This meeting also gave me a contact to be able to go to with my questions during my time in college. Julia is an extraordinary girl, who has achieved great things thus far in college; if you ever get the opportunity to talk with her, it will be well worth your time.

About Me

Hi I’m Anastasia Miller. I’m a freshman at The Ohio State University, and I am from Destin, FL. I am majoring in Finance at Fisher College of Business, and I am also currently on a Pre-Law track. Although I am not 100% sure what I want to do in the future, I do have some goals that I hope to achieve. I hope to graduate OSU and move on to graduate school (either law school or going to get my MBA, depending on where my future leads me). From then I hope to end up in New York City, I have always wanted to live and work in a large city up north.

 

Some facts about me that make me who I am are that, I love to travel and I love doing volunteer work. My favorite place that I have been to is Chiang Mai, Thailand, and I can’t wait to travel to as many places as I can over the next for years. I love to volunteer in as many ways as possible, and give my time and energy to people and groups that strive to make the world we live in a better place. Growing up I volunteered at a local animal shelter, a local food pantry, and at many more organizations in my town.

 

I also have two strong passions, which are tennis and fashion. I played tennis since I was four years old, and although I no longer play I will always have a love and appreciation for the sport. Fashion, this is the thing in life that excites me the most. I would love to travel and study the culture, specifically fashion styles in various countries, and somehow find a way to incorporate this passion into what my job may be in the future. I can’t wait to see where my time at OSU leads me, and how it helps me develop and expand my knowledge and passions.