Clean Up Columbus

On the morning of April 7th, I participated in the Clean Up Columbus event supported by the undergraduate student government (USG) at OSU. I am an exec member of AWOW (Advocates for Women of the World), and we strive to raise awareness of and raise funds to address global women’s issues. So, a group of us from AWOW attended this clean up event both to serve our Columbus community and to earn some funds to support our organization’s global feminist mission. We were given gloves, trash bags, and other supplies, and then assigned a zone to clean up. It took a us the better part of the morning to collect the trash and litter from our assigned zone, ensuring that we were separating recyclables to dispose of them in a recycling bin rather than the dumpster.

This event provided an opportunity for us AWOW members to become more involved in our local environment, as well as to discuss the complexities of the Columbus system of waste disposal. One of our organization committees is titled “Women’s Economic and Environmental Empowerment”, so this topic was of great interest to us. We learned that there are several extremely popular and common plastics that OSU does not recycle, such as red Solo cups and iced drink cups, both of which we unfortunately had to remove from the recycling bag lest we contaminate the recycling. OSU only recycles bottle shaped plastics, which eliminates plastic cutlery, plastic bags, and plastic lids among others. These facts felt staggering, as even though there is so much environmental advocacy on this campus, it doesn’t wholly translate to the systems already in place. Our group felt it unfair that so much of the plastic we had would likely go to landfill, so some of our members offered to take some of them to recycling centers off campus that do take those items. As someone who does try to be sustainable on a daily basis, but is not extremely involved in environmental advocacy, this clean up event was very eye-opening to me.

After the event was over, we had collected two full bags of trash, one full bag for recycling, and several armfuls of recycling for off campus recycling centers. It was a very productive morning, and the zone we were assigned looked drastically different after we finished. It was satisfying work, even though we ran into a lot of smashed glass and juul pods, because just the knowledge that we were doing something that directly benefits the city outside of our campus was very gratifying. AWOW definitely plans to participate in future events similar to this one, as well as continue to put on events that encourage sustainability. We currently have an event planned for April 22nd titled “Sowing the Seeds for Change”, where we plan on setting up a table where people can plant their own flowers in up-cycled plastic yogurt and applesauce cups. This way we can raise funds for WEDO, and organization that supports Women’s Environment and Development organization, as well as find new and creative uses for single-use plastics that are so common in our everyday lives.

Current Events Conversation

On Monday March 4th, I was able to attend a Current Events Conversation event moderated by Sam Stelnecki, a member of the International Affairs Leadership Council. This evening event provided a space to inform about a variety of different current events, and subsequently discuss our opinions in a welcoming space. The first issue that was discussed was the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir that had recently come into the news again. Since 1947, India and Pakistan have been fighting over the territory, an issue that stems from when the two countries first separated. Kashmir initially sided with India, but more and more are aligning themselves with Pakistan. On February 14th, Pakistan sent a 40-person suicide mission into India, who made a counter attack in the form of an air raid. Pakistan began shooting down planes, and currently many global powers and worried that this could spark a major conflict or war between the two countries. When the discussion turned over to us, we spoke about our opinions on whether the U.S. should take a public stance on the issue or side with a particular country.

We next discussed the recent Nigerian elections, where the candidate that the U.S. was opposing, Muhammadu Buhari, had won. The elections themselves had extremely poor turnout; they were postponed, and many people who traveled far away to vote were forced to return to their homes and couldn’t afford to make a second trip. As a result, only one third of the population voted, and even then, only 56% of those votes contributed to Buhari’s win. This is a very complex and pressing issue, with voter fraud and tampering of ballots widespread and unchecked. The other leader who ran, Abubakar, was predicted to be able to cultivate Nigeria’s economic growth, and with Buhari in leadership, Nigeria’s stock market performed lowest in the world, losing almost half of its value. Still, the country has the largest economy in Africa, and the U.S. is closely tracking the functioning of their government with Buhari in power.

Other topics that were discussed during this event included Brexit, the current humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and the recent meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un. The UK has until March 29th to create an actionable plan to either postpone or cancel Brexit, but if they choose to do nothing, the UK will silently leave the EU on that date. Venezuela is currently in a major state of crisis, with severe scarcity of food and clean water, and medicine. There is presidential conflict between Maduro and Guaidó, the latter of is putting full priority and efforts towards easing the crisis that is racking the country.

This current events discussion was a good way to accommodate members of this scholar’s groups whose majors and paths of study are not international politics related.  I enjoyed that anyone with varying levels of knowledge about current events could a part of a space meant for learning and discussion. As a sociology major whose interests lie more in the multiculturalism aspect of international affairs, it can sometimes feel like many events on campus demand heavy knowledge of global politics, which can ostracize many students and bar learning. It is very important to me to be a global citizen regardless of what path one chooses to study, as it is valuable to keep a connection to the world, refuse ignorance, and utilize the power one has an an educated citizen to enact change on society and ultimately, the world.

 

 

 

 

Sara Koopman Lecture: What Does A Feminist Peace Look Like? Columbia’s Struggles Over the World’s Most Inclusive Peace Accord

On February 4th, I attended a public lecture held by Sara Koopman, a feminist political geographer from Kent University in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies. She does research on international protective accompaniment, a strategy utilized in conflict zones for civilian peacekeeping. Professor Koopman has been doing research with accompaniers in Colombia, a country that is going through extreme political turmoil.

Colombia has recently established some of the most intersectional peace accords in the world. The country was being torn by guerilla groups involved in the drug trade that were fighting for territory. In some regions, violence against social leaders and the displacement of civilians increased. Professor Koopman explained that it is extremely difficult to accurately put a number on how many people have been displaced and/or disappeared, but it is estimated that as of 1985, over 800,000 civilians have been disappeared or displaced. There is intensified gender violence, and many established organizations in the area are for support services. The war is fueled by an ongoing agrarian crisis, and as a result, displaced citizens are being pushed into remote, rural areas where there are little resources and there is little to no state presence. The peace accords that were established face a major challenge in attempting to bring more state presence into these remote areas, to expand the reach of social services.

The inclusivity and intersectional approach that the peace accords take was a cumulative result of many factors. In the initial meetings, there were no women involved whatsoever, and even once two women were included, neither had any experience working with gender issues. Eventually in 2014, a gender submission was added, and some main negotiators as well. as supplemental staff were women. The accords take a differential approach and were the first in the world to explicitly say that their work will be gender sensitive. Their work is to be carried out with the understanding that there were citizens who suffered from the war in differently because of their identities, such as gender and sexuality. There is still opposition to this ideology; the newly elected President is attempting to dramatically reduce the budget and resources that the accords rely upon, and prominent social leaders and activists are being targeted and assassinated. Professor Koopman’s activist work and research attempts to provide support and resolve conflict in Columbia while advocating for and maintaining the incredible inclusivity of the accords.

Before attending this event, I had very little exposure to any of the conflict in Columbia, or even the news about the accords. Sitting in this lecture was so informative and eye-opening, and even though I don’t aspire to a career in international government, as someone in feminist studies it was really important for me to understand the scope of gendered issues in Colombia. Having intersectionality in actual legislation is incredible, and I was awed that it is still affecting important change despite the opposition that is attempting to bar it. Professor Koopman’s important work is so inspirational, and I hope to take everything I’ve learned with me as I begin to enter the sociological research world.

Gigs for Guatemala

On November 29th, I was able to attend an event titled Gigs for Guatemala that was put on by an OSU student organization AWOW (Advocates for Women of the World). I was a part of AWOW my first year at OSU and will rejoin next semester. This organization is amazing, intersectional feminist group that focuses on action-based work that can reach international communities. Gigs for Guatemala was put on by the Sexual Assault awareness committee of AWOW in conjunction with an organization called Champions in Action, who works in Brazil to keep young girls healthy and safe in their communities by providing a space to play soccer with mentors. These girls are from violent and impoverished communities. Throughout the event, the emcee would take the stage to give the audience more information about these girls’ stories to highlight just how important Champions in Action was to their lives. Many of them recounted extreme gun violence and high gang violence inherited communities. They cannot leave their homes at night and are fearful on their streets regardless of the time of day. AWOW wanted to provide support for these girls, and so the funds that were raised from the Gigs for Guatemala event will be donated to Champions in Action to sponsor two teams of girls so that they can continue to stay in a safe and encouraging space. Gigs for Guatemala was composed of many different performances related to intersectional feminism put on by OSU student groups and guests.

 

The event began with an a capella performance by the Women’s Glee Club, who sang a hauntingly beautiful song titles “The Truth”. It was representative of the toxic socialization that can surround girlhood, of how a young woman can be surrounded by gender roles and danger from those even in her own community. Later in the program, another a capella group composed of science majors performed as well. It was amazing to see singers from so many different backgrounds, whether STEM majors or humanities major, of all ethnic backgrounds. It was a tribute to how art forms such as music can be incredibly unifying. A spoken word poet named Sabsie Ali performed two poems, one about rape culture and the destruction of womanhood, and one about the hateful violence against those in the LGBTQIA community. Her performances were guttural, heart wrenching and anguished. Her incredible words and tone really struck a chord with the entire audience, and it was a painfully real amalgamation of how these identities are treated in society. There were a number of comedy groups who performed, Fishbowl Improv, Backburner Sketch Comedy, and 8th Floor Improv. Each group performed a hilarious sketch that also taught important information about women’s health. One such sketch highlighted the importance of pap smears, while another educated on Toxic Shock Syndrome. The final event was a beautiful Indian dance performance that combined the culture of storytelling with amazing feminist stories. All put together, it was an amazing coordination of events from all different mediums and identities, and the fact that this celebration was able to help a population of girls so far away from us is absolutely incredible.

 

Students For Educational Equity – #IStandWithImmigrants

On October 22nd, I attended an event hosted by the Students for Educational Equity in collaboration with Edx Immigration. This event was in conjunction with the I Stand with Immigrants organization and hosted a panel of diversity advocates. The purpose of this event was to spur discussion on immigration and refugee issues in America and more locally in Columbus, to analyze the social diversity and attitudes that children in these groups face every day. On the panel were members from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the OSU Multicultural center, and a social justice advocate who immigrated to the US as a child and is currently an OSU student.  The first portion of this event was run by some officer students, who had a prepared list of questions for the panelists, and then questions opened up to the audience. These questions included delving into what their line of work was, on how schools treat marginalized populations, and how college students could become involved.

It was extremely eye opening to listen to the panelists; though I am aware of the current refugee and immigration issues in Columbus and am a mentor for CRIS, hearing real, professional work from those who live it every day turned over a new perspective. One man is a sociologist who works with the Nepali population, and he described the struggle with ESL (English as a second language) classes being fitted into or replacing some regular curriculum, how there could be such contention between their native language and English. The advocate student described the childhoods of many students, how they sometimes refuse to speak their native language for fear of being ostracized and end up losing invaluable skills. Above all, the panelists urged us to join organizations to become involved with these populations, volunteer at schools, help tutor, mentor them, and help to integrate intersectional education into schools that largely teach only one type of curriculum. Diversifying student populations and changing approaches to learning ultimately improves every social group and normalizing this sort of education is vital to unifying different communities.

In the final portion of the event, we were put into groups to have a discussion about the panelists and relate our own diverse experiences. It was amazing to be a part of a group who shared some of my identity as a child of immigrants, but who also brought their experience of being from a different country and socialization. Much of our conversation revolved around understanding the barriers we faced in childhood, and how those were emphasized and heightened for refugee and immigrant children. We were able to discuss potential solutions and behaviors that we should employ in our everyday lives to normalize living among many different cultures, even small ones such as ensuring someone is pronouncing your name correctly. Standing up for even the littlest of things shows that there is no tolerance for any antagonistic behavior, shows true protection of those who have practices much different from those in the West. This event has reinforced my drive to become involved in the life of those who need it, to learn more about and meet people who grew up much differently from me. It cemented my understanding of just how much diversity improves this country and the world, and how to advocate for it in every student organization I interact with.

CRIS Tree of Hope

On Tuesday September 25th I attended the service event CRIS Tree of Hope Project. CRIS (community refugee and immigration services) is a nonprofit organization that serves and supports the refugee and immigration population in Columbus. I have been a mentor for CRIS since my first year, so I am well affiliated with their work and their mission. CRIS offers many forms of service and support to the international population here, resettling new families every month, mentoring for students and children, and career counseling among many others. This particular event was for a new mural that will be put up in Columbus Global Academy, a school that provides special ESL (English as a second language) support and curriculum. It will be a tree, with different messages on its branches. At the event, we all crafted these messages, in many different languages and with funny, cheerful, and inspirational quotes.

Having been a mentor for CRIS since my freshman year, there is much that has affected me and my perspective on the refugee crisis and those who live here in Columbus. In doing a project like the Tree of Hope, it served as a reminder of how easily society separates people into categories that can ostracize and isolate. Last year I mentored a girl whose family had immigrated from Burma three years ago, and this year I mentor her sister. The media and politicians speak of refugees and immigrants with such “otherness”, emphasizing their differences and pain, yet spending time with these girls has been anything but “other”. They are simply living their lives like everyone else, their personalities not dominated by their past but similar to every other aspiring high school student. My first mentee is attending her first year of Columbus State Community College, and her sister is in the process of studying for her ACT. I have been trying my best to provide resources, but it has become clear how inaccessible the ACT is for those who do not natively speak English. An understanding of grammar comes not only from classroom learning, but from being socialized in a language throughout childhood. Having to learn such an immense amount of material in so little time is a major source of stress in a country where it is expected and demanded that English is spoken. It serves as yet another barrier that separates.

This is why a project like Tree of Hope can make such a difference. Leaving these messages of hope and power and strength are one of many ways to reach other students in similar or even worse situations to provide a sense of belonging and inspiration. Messages written in different languages emphasize how important their diversity is, that even though English in this country is everywhere, these students’ own native language is just as important to their identity. It also allows for indirect connection with us college students who are in the position that many ESL students are aspiring to be in, and even though these messages are small, hopefully they will have an impact on the students who read them.

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.]

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 information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]