Event 1:
For my first scholars event, I went to the COMPAS Panel: Who gets sick/healthcare inequalities in health and health care. This program did not relate specifically to any of my academic interests, more than it was about my general interest about how the pandemic is affecting life around the globe. From this event, I was able to learn how the pandemic is having a disproportionate affect on the African-American communities around the world because they are uneducated about the issue, and ill equipped to deal with the bulk of this pathogen. In addition, the true definition of health was discussed, considering and not considering the pandemic. Health is determined by our surroundings and external environment, as well as our mental health and the stress we deal with on a daily basis, a few things that were discussed by the panel. Overall, I really enjoyed this event because of the prevalence it has in our daily lives, certainly now when we have to deal with the pandemic’s effects every single day. I learned a lot about how the proper infrastructure was not in place to counteract the pandemic, in general, and that us individuals were responsible for the perpetuating issues with coronavirus.
Event 2:
For my second International Affairs Scholars event of the month, I attended the “State of Democracy in the United Kingdom” webinar to learn more about something I was completely oblivious to, affairs in other countries. One of the main topics I thought that was interesting was whether democracy should be top down or bottom up, when talking about the flow of power through a united nation like the United Kingdom. Obviously one of the big conversations in this webinar was about Brexit, and how this was perceived with in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the rest of the world. Another main concept that was discussed within the webinar was that Britain lacks a constitution, and that is something that is unique to a parliamentary democracy like the United Kingdom. Overall, I thought that this event was a unique one to take part in, but I appreciated the man, although I do not remember his name, who ran the webinar because he was very engaging and used great visuals to enhance his delivery. As a citizen of the United States, I am often too focused on the stuff that directly occurs within our borders, but looking at how the coronavirus based issues have been dealt with in the United Kingdom was interesting to learn about.