IA Online Event

April 22nd, Zoom Videoconference

I attended the International Perspectives on the Coronavirus Pandemic Videoconference organized and hosted by members of the International Affairs Leadership Council. The event consisted of students in countries such as France, Germany, Morocco, and China sharing their experiences since the onset of the virus as well as their opinions on the reaction of their individual revolved around the comparison of these reactions and the underlying reasoning supporting these reactions across state, federal, and international levels. For example, a university student from Germany discussed how each individual state within the federal boundaries possesses enough power to dictate to a large degree the response they take to the virus. In contrast, university students from France shared how their government quickly flipped stances, requiring all parts of the country to adhere to their restrictions and social distancing policies, demonstrating how the degree of centralization in a government can determine it’s reaction to a public health crisis such as the Coronavirus pandemic. After hearing the responses and perspectives of multiple students, I contributed my individual perspective as an out-of-state student from Texas. I shared my disappointment and confusion with the fact that Texas is one of the first states to announce “reopening” activities while simultaneously placing last out of all states in testing. I compared the stance my state government has taken with the responses by states such as Ohio, who have approached the emergency with more conservative estimates focusing on data collection, testing allocation, and infection rate trends. Overall, the conversation helped me to remain engaged in the conversation surrounding international entities and the effectiveness their actions, as well as those that they support, can have.