This is my collection of work from my time interning at the Yellow Springs News. I will always value and treasure my time spent with some of the most thoughtful journalists I've had the pleasure of working with. 

This piece was my capstone project at Ohio University. 

This is a media ethics class blog I contributed to over the course of this semester. I covered topics ranging from Islamophobia in today's media, mainstream coverage of the 2016 election and how to incorporate long-standing ethical practices into our new age media platforms. 

This is a research paper I wrote for my Fundamentals of Online Law class this past semester. We got to choose any facet of Internet law and then had to dissect the legalities behind it. I chose catfishing. I looked into whether or not it would be possible to sue someone for using your photos to catfish someone. As it turns out, you can, but it may not be the right ethical path (which I also discuss in the paper). 

This is another piece I wrote for FANGLE on Conrad Weiner, a Holocaust survivor who took the time to speak to Ohio University students and Athens community members. 

A collection of short work I did for FANGLE's Mind Your Body Column.

*Map link if it didn't load correctly*

“Before I become friends with someone, I must see openness to my culture,” said Ousainou Sarr, an African Studies major from Gambia. 

That is exactly what events like Ohio University’s International Week are meant to do; they provide an environment for international and American students alike to showcase their cultures and learn about other countries.

There are 115 countries that have students attending Ohio University. This provides for a rich campus full of diversity and opportunities to learn about the world.

Christiana Ampadu, a Ghanaian student studying journalism, said OU’s campus is very diverse and they make it a point to bring international students here. She said she doesn’t know of a continent that isn’t represented at OU. 

“There are people from everywhere, and it helps,” said Ampadu, “You get to know people and get to meet people from different places.”

This past International Week which ran from Monday, April 14 to Saturday, April 19 kicked off with opening ceremonies held in Baker Theater and ended the festivities with the International Street Fair.  The fair featured various international student unions and allowed for the students to share their cultures with both Athens residents and OU students.

“It’s a big world party on Court Street,” said Krista McCallum Beatty, director of International Student and Faculty Services, “The international students love it; they get to showcase their cultures and talk about cultural differences.” 

Sarr thinks the street fair provides an accessible place for students to ask questions and build relationships with each other.

“The street fair was great; it was one of those occasions where there was direct interaction between the students,” said Sarr.

Sarah Alharrasi, an Omani Student studying journalism, also thinks the street fair was a great place for building relationships between the international and American students on campus.

“Personally, I met a lot of Americans at this event,” said Alharrasi, “They were interested in the Omani culture, and I think these events are great.”

With a viewpoint that conflicts with Alharrasi’s and Sarr’s, Ampadu doesn’t think the street fair strengthens the bond between students.

“The purpose of the street fair is to strengthen the relationship between American and international students, but I don’t think that is enough,” said Ampadu, “I don’t even see that because you are selling stuff in the street and the American students are just coming around asking how much stuff is and then passing by your table to the next table.” 

Megan Molnar, an American student studying French, English and earning a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate, thinks the street fair raises awareness of all the different countries and cultures represented at OU rather than strengthening relationships among students.

“I went to a few of the events, but I went with my other American friends with whom I already have strong relationships,” said Molnar, “I think more of the activities would need to be interaction-based for American and international student connections to be made.”

Ampadu said one of the things OU can do is encourage more programs on campus that could bring students together. She said apart from there being a separate International Week, there should be programs that both sides are engaged in. Those are the types of programs where you get to make friends, according to Ampadu.

Beatty recognizes that it can be scary to build friendships with people outside of your normal group, but she says that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask about other peoples’ culture.

“What people everywhere are doing is searching for that area of common interest,” said Beatty, “What I see with students who build friendships with people outside of their home country is that the common interest is learning about each other’s countries.”

Language and cultural barriers are problems that cause divides between the international and American students. Beatty and Ampadu both said that international and American students are nervous about cultural faux-pas or that they’re not going to be understood because they’re not speaking a language that’s native to them.

“It’s English you’re speaking, but sometimes the person will not understand. Just because you aren’t speaking in the same way the person is speaking, they will make you feel odd,” says Ampadu, “It’s very embarrassing for some international students; you put them back into themselves and they don’t talk at all.”

Ampadu said that international students feel intimidated because they want to be able to speak to Americans and not feel as if they have an accent. She thinks that people should try and make a little more of an effort to understand what international students are saying.

Sarr and Molnar think people stick to their own cultural groups because that is where they are most comfortable. Molnar said that it’s human nature to hesitate around people who are different from you.

“I think it’s okay as long as your hesitation comes from an introverted place, not a prejudiced place,” said Molnar, “You have to be willing to get over it every now and then to meet someone new.”

Beatty, Alharrasi and Ampadu all think both sides need to make an effort to speak with each other in order to get out of our comfort zones.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” said Beatty, “I think it’s a two way street; our students from other countries need to be a little more open as well.”

“Yes, we come from different countries and have different cultures, but we’re not too different,” said Alharrasi, “We’re all the same age. We’re all studying similar stuff. In the end, everyone just wants to have fun.”