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| Landon Lauder Class of 2017 |
While I could drone on and on about what specifically was
discussed or this surprising statistic or that, I decided to instead use this
experience as an important cornerstone on which my college experience—and thus
my worldview—is being built.
It is a shame most high schools tend to focus solely on domestic
issues. We all had classes on American History, American Literature, and so
on—but what about the rest of the approximately 6.7
billion people in the world? Have we somehow forgotten those people and the
global issues that surround us all? Yes, it is crucial to understand domestic
institutions and our own language in order to be an educated citizenry, but my
experience is that in the span of twelve years, there should be more
significant exposure to world issues since we all are impacted by them in some
form or fashion.
This exposure for me first came in the form of an academic
competition called Future Problem Solving, where each level of competition
consisted of conducting issues-based research on a wide array of topics and
then using the six-step problem solving method to alleviate a problem in a
futuristic scenario set somewhere in the world.
Future Problem Solving allowed me to research and gain
knowledge on world issues—everything from the natural sciences (i.e. water
quality, genetic testing) to the social sciences (i.e. human rights, trade
barriers). Once I got to college, lacking this outlet, I fell bask into the
institutionalized domestic tunnel vision we seemingly ram down students’
throats.
I was again exposed to my worldview in college after my
freshman year by taking a summer class, Law, Diplomacy, and Power, a class
about US foreign policy from before the founding to modern day. I continued
this semester by taking International Organizations, a class about the
structure, function, and history of the United Nations. Then, I participated in
the Model UN competition and did well. I then went to the World Affairs
Council’s national conference where I was again exposed to issue-based topics.
All of this international realignment for me is going to be furthered when I
travel to Sarajevo, Bosnia this summer to conduct political psychology
research.
It seems now I’m back on track to focus on international
issues, but it wasn’t easy finding these avenues and classes. I had to ask
quite a bit of people and take shots in the dark at various opportunities, only
after suffering an entire year of plain domestic-based classes. While I will
still take domestic issue-based classes, I’ve seemed to break free of its
paralyzing grip and tunnel vision.
Want to major in sports? Good, here are a few majors that
suit you—from conditioning and training to administration. Want to major in
biology? Good, here are classes that focus on everything you could ever want to
know about life processes. Want to major in international affairs? No.
That’s what the University of Louisville is currently
telling students by having a lack of such a major. Despite this, people have been
able to get around the institutionalized bias by majoring in cultural studies,
political science, or languages and building their own programs by studying
abroad and participating in city-based organizations with an international
focus. For such a large and international city and university, it’s quite a
shame there is no clear path for those students who wish to study the issues that
affect the 7 billion of us, not just the 320 million of us.
It seems from the beginning, there is a bias against
learning about the world. You almost have to find it yourself, whether in high
school or college. Some larger universities already have some type of
international affairs majors and more and more colleges are joining as they
realize the importance of learning about the rest of the 6.7 billion people in
the world. I am slowly, but surely, finding this path for myself. My recent
experiences have certainly helped me shape my worldview and what I want to
focus on throughout my college education and continue on into my life. I only
hope to continue, despite there not being a clear avenue—I always liked making
my own path anyways.