On Tuesday, October 15th, I attended the Global Engagement Night on the topic of Indigenous Peoples in fulfillment of my Campus event requirement. 

I thought that the event was perfectly scheduled, as it occurred the day after Indigenous People’s Day on October 14th. The juxtaposition of Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s day formed the basis of our discussions. I liked how the event was not just a lecture, but we held small group discussions where we talked about our perceptions and previous educational experiences on Christopher Columbus and Indigenous People. This set a scope for us to analyze what we had learned, and how that differed from reality. From there we talked about the obstacles and oppression that Indigenous people face, here in America and around the world. I was particularly intrigued by this portion as we learned about the similarities and differences between indigenous populations all over the world. Normally in America, most discourse related to native peoples is focused on those within our borders. However, broadening our scope helped us to connect topics and experiences to populations all over the Earth. 

In many of my public affairs classes, we discuss social injustices and how we can work to solve those issues in the future. One of the most prevalent topics that we learn about in this realm is how we can tangibly increase material and non-material equity in our country, and one of the most commonly mentioned solutions is that of reparations. Reparations for native people was something we had mentioned in my small group at the Global Engagement Night, so it was nice to be able to bring in the perspectives and information that I had learned in my classes. 

This event was particularly eye-opening when we discussed how these issues affect students at Ohio State. Despite its status as a predominately white institution, Ohio State likes to brag about its diversity of students, especially as it relates to race. However, the presenters from this event told us that out of the 61,000 students here at Ohio State, only 60 identify as Native American. That means that roughly 1 out of every 1,000 students at our school is indigenous, which is something I was totally unaware of. This became concerning when the presenters also told us that around 2% of the United States population is indigenous. That means that we have a severe underrepresentation of minority students, and the problem is much larger than I had previously thought. This disparity sparked my interest in diversity in enrollment and motivated me to look into opportunities that would allow me to work on this issue. After doing some research, I am beginning to consider applying to sit on the Council on Enrollment and Student Progress (CESP), which is a committee in the University Senate. It is here where I believe that I would be able to push for diversity in a way that can positively impact the student demographics here at Ohio State.