As global citizens, everyone deserves a chance to succeed

I will always be a proud citizen of Iowa and of the United States, but through recent experiences, I've come to realize that I'm also a global citizen.
In May I spent two weeks on a study abroad trip to Namibia in southern Africa. It was a global health course studying the AIDS epidemic that has ravaged the country.
I spent time with people who live in one room houses and earn less than $20 per year.
On the surface we seem to be such different people, but I connected with many on a personal level.
I got to spend time with high school students who I realized are not that much different than me.
The students, or learners as they call them, shared many of my same goals. They want to go to college and become nurses and pilots, even super models.
They listen to the same kind of music. They sang us songs by Rhianna and Alicia Keys. One boy couldn't stop beaming when my friend told him he looked like Chris Brown.
The more I thought about it, the more upset I became. It is so unfair that these kids, who have such potential, may not get an opportunity to go to college.
The odds of them obtaining the career they desire are slim. They'll probably never own a CD by one of their favorite artists. Why? Because they were born in an impoverished, desolate country halfway around the world.
Meanwhile, I grew up in the United States. I always knew I would go to college. It was just a matter of choosing which one.
All I have to do to get the latest music is drive to the store, or better yet, log onto my computer and download it from iTunes.
I know that there are thousands of people living in poverty throughout the United States. The people working in Namibia to improve their country made me want to come home and do my part here.
But my time there made me realize something else. The children there shouldn't be written off simply because of their geographical location. They need and deserve just as much help as the people in the United States. They may live 10,000 miles away, but the people of Namibia are just as much my neighbors as those who live across the street.

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To read more about my trip: "Desperation in Africa opens Breda Native's Eyes"
Map taken from "Kevin in Namibia"

Back Home in Omaha

I'll never forget my first College World Series. I went with my older brother and my dad. We had perfect seats. They were in the Grandstand, almost directly behind home plate, two or three rows from the top.

It was an afternoon game that ended up lasting well into the night.
Miami was going head-to-head with Tennessee, two powerhouse programs. The game proved to be wild. It set three new records, including most hits (41) and most wild pitches (7).
The guys in front of us were from Omaha, and they were craking jokes about Iowa left and right.

"Napkins on a roll? Those look more like toilet paper, must be from Iowa!"

"This game is taking so long we won't even get to the bars before they close. Wait, not if we go to Iowa. Their bars are open a whole hour longer!"

I couldn't help but laugh. There is just something about that atmosphere that puts me in a great mood.

Of course, they didn't make it to the bar that night. In fact, no one dared to leave early. It was 11 pm and hardly anyone from the nearly 24,000 fan crowd had moved.

No one in their right mind would want to miss the end of this game. When it was all said and done, Miami beat Tennessee 21 to 13 in four hours and 21 minutes. The length was another record-setter at the time.

Ever since that night, I have been hooked on the College World Series. I love everything about it, from the fans to the field. Even the challenge of finding a parking spot is more of an adventure than a hassle.

Lucky for me, one of my best friend's family has season tickets for those seats I sat in at my very first game. I've been back every year since, except for this year.

My friend is overseas for the summer, so I have no ticket and no one to go with. It made me sad, but I've been fortunate enough to watch some great baseball on television.

There's something about the College World Series. It has a purity that no other sporting event can rival. It has been held in Rosenblatt Stadium for more than half a century.
The CWS has become as much a part of life in Omaha as concerts at Memorial Park and going to the Henry Doorly Zoo.

I had a game on television at work the other day when a coworker walked in.

"The College World Series?" He asked excitedly."What game is it?"

"You like college baseball?" I asked him.

"Yeah! I'm from Nebraska."

I should have known.

This year is the fifty-eighth time that the College World Series is being played at Rosenblatt Stadium, and it's one of the last.

Why, with such a rich tradition and a great fan-friendly atmosphere would anyone want to move the Series?

Yet for years, other cities have been trying to entice the NCAA to let them hold the tournament.
No longer is it for the love of the game. Now it's for the love of money. The city had to build a newer, fancier stadium in downtown Omaha to keep the tournament around.

No more cheap bleacher seats in the outfield where shouts of "Left field sucks!" by the opponents' fans were as common as a blistering sunburn.

They're going to be replaced by fancy sky boxes and luxury suites, great for those able to drop a few grand for a ticket. Not so great for the rest of us.

No more days of the $1.00 pizza at the Freschetta truck right outside the stadium. It was so popular people were buying them by the pie, not just the slice.

Now I won't even need an excuse to buy that $12.00 blooming onion.

It used to be about the players and the fans. Athletes dreamed of making it to Omaha. That was the goal. There was even a song written about it. Fans have been loyal to this series. They return year after year. The waiting list for season tickets is as long as Santa's shopping list. The family I go with wouldn't ever dream of giving their tickets up. And that's been fun too. They have the same seats every year, and so do the people sitting around them. They've practically grown up together.

The family whose seats are in front of theirs?

The father never misses a game. He takes the entire series off from work and attends every game. Guaranteed, he's sitting in the same seat taking stats in his play by play book.
He has twin daughters who were maybe five years old the first time I met them. One had poison ivy. Now they're in middle school. They have a younger brother and sister, and they all come to the tournament every year.

The College World Series has become the highlight of my summer, as I'm sure it is for many people. But after this year, it won't be the same. When did America's favorite past time become more about money and less about baseball?

Oprah Brings Star Power to Campaign

In class we discussed how stars portray social and ideological values. Oprah Winfrey is a prime example of this. She has several philanthropy projects, including a new girls' school she opened in South Africa, the Leadership Academy for Girls. Oprah is looked up to by regular citizens and celebrities alike.

She has not only made a career for herself, but also jumpstarted the success of several others, including Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil. It's looks as though it's only a matter of time until Dr. Oz has his own show as well.

She has turned little known books into bestsellers through her Oprah Winfrey Book Club. Oprah has her own Midas touch right now.

Oprah embodies success and feminine power. Now she's using her star power to endorse presidential candidate Barack Obama. Tomorrow she will be in Des Moines at a rally with Obama. She's visiting New Hampshire and South Carolina on Sunday. In South Carolina, an Obama rally had to be moved from an 18,000 person venue to an 80,000 seat arean after tickets were snatched up in less then two days.

Even if Oprah's appearance may not result in direct votes for Obama, but her sheer star power has provided loads of media coverage and people coming to see Oprah will hear Obama as well. How her endorsement effects the election has yet to be seen.

In the Spirit of Christmas...

Our discussion of ethnicity in Disney movies really got me thinking. Children are bombarded with all these images. With sincere effort, we could use these images to educate children about diversity.

In addition to Disney movies, Santa Claus has traditionally been white. Parents everywhere are bringing their children to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. For minority children, they could feel left out, because Santa is almost always portraid as a caucasian man.

Not only are most men who play Santa at malls and Christmas parties white, but so are the Santas in books and movies about Christmas. This is a classic example of a structuring absence.

I did a Google Search of Santa Claus images,and the first 86 images, both drawings and photos were of white Santas.

In a search for Santa Claus books at BarnesandNoble.com, of the first 100 results, there wasn't a single image of a minority Santa Claus.

For children, Christmas should be a time of excitement and happiness. While the holiday should not revolve around receiving presents, Santa Claus is a classic traditional part of the Holiday season. There's no reason that children should feel left out of that simply because they are not fairly represented in the media.

Blogging opened opportunities for career journalism

When James Kurisunkal began his blog Park Avenue Peerage 10 months ago, he never could have imagined where it would lead him. Kurinsunkal had always been interested in royalty and the socially elite. So, from his dorm room at the University of Illinois, he began a blog about the young socialites of New York City.

His subjects took notice. They began sending him photos and news to post. In May, Kurisunkal said that his site receives on average, 8,000 hits per day. Over the summer, he was offered an internship at New York magazine. Kurisunkal was only 18, a freshman in college.

There are several things that could be learned from Kurisunkal's experience. We discussed in class how public records can provide valuable info for stories. Although he was living in Illinois, Kurisunkal was able to access wedding and death announcements and certificates to begin his site and map together the lives of his subjects. His thorough research gained him credibility. He made a point to avoid salacious gossip and rumors which gained him the respect of his readers and his subjects.

One thing I questioned was his decision to not use his real name on the blog. When Andrew Keen gave the McBride Lecture earlier this month, he said that one major problem with the Internet is that people can hide. They can create fake pseudonyms to disguise who they really are. It's a huge problem because there's little credibilty and people don't take responsibility for what they post.

Obviously, in Kurisunkal's case, the pseudonym worked. I still feel it's something that should be avoided.

Black Friday

Yesterday, we had our tv on most of the afternoon. It served mostly as background noise while we caught up on homework and chores around the house. However, as I watched CNN, I got more and more annoyed. A majority of the coverage focused on the day after Thanksgiving shoppers. The day, referred to as Black Friday, is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

I understand if CNN reports one time that people are out by the thousands, probably millions, shopping. I understand if they want to tie in this year's slow economy. What I don't understand is how they think that whole segments on this can be considered newsworthy. My educated guess is that the same clip of shoppers running into the mall was shown five or six times over the course of the afternoon. Is this really the only thing that went on yesterday? Do I really care that Molly from New Hampshire had already gone home once to unload her car? No!

Maybe people would be more interested in the news if they focused more on issues like how many people won't have a meal this Christmas, (or how many will, thanks to food banks, etc.) than what stores are the most popular.

Bee Movie Portrays Men as Rulers of the Hive

In class we discussed Disney movies and how they portray traditional roles of males and females. The men are typically strong and take care of the women.

Nowhere is this image more prevelant than Dreamwork's new film, Bee Movie. In the film the main character, Barry, decides he doesn't want to work on the assembly line making honey like the rest of the bees.

Of course, as a recent article in the New York Times points out, this wouldn't even be a problem for Barry because, in the real world, male honey bees actually serve very few purposes.

Almost all the jobs within the hive are completed by female honey bees. The sole job of male honey bees is to fertilize the queen bee. As the article points out, they have large eyes to see the queen, and large antennae to smell her, but little other means of survival. Once a male bee has mated with a queen, it dies.

There is little use for the male honeybee in the hive. This explains why, in a hive population of 40,000 bees, approximately 200 are male. So, why then, does a male get the leading role in this film?

It all goes back to the roles of femininity and masculinity. The movie producers still believe that men are the ones who go out on new adventures. Women are supposed to stay behind and maintain the house, or the hive. Ultimately, the man is supposed to be the hero and rescue the colony.

This film is reinforcing the idea that women need men to defend them. It tells boys and girls to adapt to the stereotypical roles of breadwinner and houswife respectively. It seems surprising that in a movie such as this, where it it would be easy to make the main character female, the studio does not.

I'm disappointed that producers would go out of their ways to produce this inaccurate portrait of a bee colony. It would have been an excellent film to help empower girls and women. Instead, it's no different than any other children's film.