Category: BIC Meets World with Kassie Hsu

Compassion is defined by Dictionary.com as “A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”

For one organization, the definition of compassion is embodied in a holistic context and put into practice by saving thousands of children everyday, spiritually and physically.

Compassion International is a child-advocacy ministry that pairs compassionate people with those who are suffering from poverty. The ministry assists children suffering from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. The goal is for each child to thrive in adulthood and fulfill their potential as humans in this world.

On Monday, November 16, 2015, Richmond Wandera came to speak to the chapel services in Waco Hall and shared his story.

Wandera grew up in Kampala, Uganda – a small town in East Africa. At the age of 8, Wandera came home to see his father murdered at the front of their home and his mother in the hospital. Doctors were able to bring his mother back to full health, but Wandera recounts that things were never the same after that moment.

Wandera’s mother was prepared for marriage at 13 and married at 15. Without an education, trade, or skill, she was left helpless and unaware when it came to the care of her six children. As a single mother without a job and limited money, Wandera and his family were soon kicked out of their home.

In search of a new place to live, Wandera’s mother found a home for them in the slums of Naguru, Kampala, just three miles down from their previous home. Wandera remembered that three-mile walk as the longest walk of his life, as little was said between himself, his siblings, and his mother.

When the family reached their new home, it was a 10 by 10 foot shack with a tin roof that let rays of light in. It was the only home their mother could find and afford.

When things seemed like they could not get any worse, Wandera’s mother made an announcement to the family that they had run out of money for food. Wandera said that that single announcement changed everything. Starvation started to arise and so did a sense of hopelessness.

As Wandera told his story and recalled the tragic conditions of the slum, the story took a turn for the better. Wandera and his family received news that he had been given a sponsor from Compassion International. A 15-year-old girl named Heather had decided to sponsor a child halfway across the world that she would never meet. A 15-year-old girl who took up a babysitting job in order to sufficiently finance the needs of a little boy in Naguru, Kampala of East Africa.

Wandera was given a number, a special serial number that allowed him to receive healthcare from the community clinic whenever he felt ill. This number allowed him to receive food and clean water to drink. This number gave him hope for survival.

Today, Wandera stood before us in chapel, an accomplished man. With a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a masters of divinity, and a doctorate in leadership philosophy in the process, Wandera is determined to go back home and make a difference.

Wandera said, “We are all made to be significant. We are all blessed with gifts from God and given opportunities to be great.”

Richmond Wandera, once a child on the pamphlets of Compassion International, now stands before Baylor University’s chapel service to inspire thousands of students with his personal story.

Compassion International gives everyone, student or adult, teenager or parent, the ability to change a life across the world. Compassion is needed across the world, as can be seen in the recent attacks in Paris and tragedies on college campuses. The travesties in the world do not seem to be going anywhere, but where we place our compassion can end the tragedies sooner than later.

By joining Compassion International, we have the opportunity to start alleviating suffering across the world. Children are in need and we have the means to help them survive. We have the opportunity to be a beacon of light for these children and families and impact someone’s entire world with a single decision.

The minute sacrifice of minimizing restaurant meals or cutting back on Starbucks for a week can fund a child’s life. Our opportunities are ample and our time is now.

Make the decision to live simply, so someone can simply live.

Visit www.compassion.com for more information.

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

Post, like, tweet, share, comment, and repeat – these are words that have become all too familiar with our generation and the world of social media.

We are all accustomed to the apps on our smart phones that consume most of our attention on a daily basis – we use our thumbs to scroll up and down timelines and news feeds scanning endless pictures and posts.

Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Yik Yak, Vine, YouTube, and the list goes on. The Internet, and what seems to be the world, has become accessible to us at the touch of a screen.

Social media has grown to encompass our entire lives, from posting pictures of family gatherings to tweeting about the disappointment of a cancelled Baylor Homecoming bonfire.

Within these realms of social networking, there are popular profiles or pages that have attracted followers from around the world. These accounts are usually owned by young men or women who seem to be living the ultimate dream – young adults traveling the world, free of responsibility, and doing everything we wish we were doing instead of writing Essay 2 for Rhetoric.

We follow these people – celebrities, models, advocates, and athletes – in awe as we scroll through their profiles full of exciting escapades and beautiful sunsets. We refer to these icons as being “Instagram celebrities” or “YouTube famous.”

Recently, a string of uproar has occurred within the world of social media as one famous YouTuber and Instagram phenomenon decided to speak up about the reality behind her picture-perfect posts.

Essena O’Neill, an 18-year-old from Australia, amassed half a million followers on Instagram with selfies, outfit posts, and fitness inspiration. A couple of weeks ago, O’Neill deleted over 2000 photos and changed the captions on existing photos with truthful reflections about how many tries it took to get the shot, posts she was paid for, and the pressuring “suffocation” she felt to look perfect. Renaming her profile to “Social Media Is Not Real Life,” O’Neill stirred up discussion amongst followers and fellow social media celebrities.

In a picture of O’Neill posing on a beach in a swimsuit, she edited the caption to: “NOT REAL LIFE – took over 100 in similar poses trying to make my stomach look good. Would have hardly eaten that day. Would have yelled at my little sister to keep taking them until I was somewhat proud of this. Yep so totally #goals.”

On other pictures, O’Neill accompanied her edited captions with capitalized phrases such as, “there is nothing real about this,” or “social media is not real is my point.”

In her last post on October 27, O’Neill wrote: “[Social media] is contrived imaged and edited clips ranked against each other. It’s a system based on social approval, likes, validation in views, and success in followers. It’s perfectly orchestrated self-absorbed judgment.”

O’Neill created a platform to speak out about the imperfect reality behind her seemingly perfect accounts on YouTube and Instagram. She made her voice heard and liberated herself of the restraints she had placed on herself as a public figure on social media.

In light of O’Neill’s recent account change, the idea of social media’s purpose has come into question.

Yes, the Internet can result in social stigmas and pressures that can have a negative impact – whether it is the pressure to be perfect for thousands of followers or feeling invisible and finding comfort from strangers on the Internet.

The only thing is, the Internet can be a beautiful thing. I am not only talking about the beauty of Google or SparkNotes. I am talking about the beauty of widespread knowledge that can be dispersed through the use of social media.

The Internet allows every single individual, whether they have half a million followers or ten, an opportunity to create a platform for themselves or for something bigger than themselves.

Through the use of the Internet and social media, issues such as police brutality and the refugee crisis have become prevalent knowledge to young adults that would not have learned about it otherwise. Some people find their safe haven in inspiring bloggers on YouTube or a weekly blog from an unknown writer. It is all about how you use the Internet.

It can spread negativity or positivity, but the possibilities are endless with a positive platform in mind.

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

College students are often associated with the stigma of extensive caffeine intake, mastering the art of memorization instead of learning, and a significant lack of sleep. Well let me set the record straight on behalf of all my fellow college kids: the stigmas are true. Although course load varies from major to major, almost any student can relate to the constant desire for naps. Sleep deprivation is either the result of long nights of cramming or Netflix binging – regardless, it is more than prevalent on campus.

What is the harm in a couple sleepless nights? Students, especially in the BIC, often believe an A on the World Cultures test or Rhetoric Speech to Actuate is worth a little exhaustion the next day. We have the mindset that studying and succeeding in the classroom can substitute for the mindless act of sleeping.

Well, science proves otherwise.

According to David Dinges, a professor of psychology and the director of the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, sleep is pretty darn important.

“When people get sleep-deprived, they don’t show positive emotion in their faces,” Dinges said. A sleep-deprived person may be happy, but their facial expression will stay neutral and unchanged.  Positive emotions are difficult for sleep-deprived people to recognize in others and display themselves. The tolerance of disappointment is very low for people who do not achieve sufficient sleep.

Moreover, have you ever caught yourself staring into space after a long night of studying? Those are called “microsleeps.” Microsleeps are mini-snooze sessions that can last up 30 seconds – your eyes are open but they are essentially blind and your brain goes into a sleep state rapidly and uncontrollably. This is can be detrimental during lecture, but lethal if behind the wheel.

The amount of sleep we achieve every night does not only affect us academically, but also impacts our social interactions, our health, and our safety.

Now I think we can all relate to this next side effect of sleep deprivation: delirium. Delirium is the state where we become “loopy” after a minimal amount of sleep – more familiarly known as the stage that comes after grogginess, extended yawns, and teary eyes. It is the surge of energy we feel when overtly exhausted that causes disorientation and confusion. It is a false sense of hyperactivity that eventually results in the final collapse of our physical being.

Okay, so yes, students do not sleep enough, especially BICers, but so what?

Sleep will always be more beneficial to us than we will ever understand. According to Harvard Medical School, “the quantity and quality of sleep have a profound impact on learning and memory.” Research suggests that a sleep-deprived person cannot focus adequately and therefore cannot retain any new knowledge. Additionally, sleep itself has a role in the unification of memory – a valued attribute for learning new information.

I can continue to list every Google search answer for the benefits of sleep and hindrances for a lack of it, but that is the Internet’s job. Instead, I am going to explore why sleep has become a compromising factor rather than a priority.

Do we sacrifice sleep because we believe it is a waste of time compared to finishing a New York Times assignment? Or do we do it because why sleep when you can learn everything you ever need to know about anything for World Cultures?

We do it because we want to achieve. Yes, we would rather lose sleep over Netflix binges, but the fact of the matter is that we do it because we want to excel. We pride ourselves on being the best, which is why we are BICers. We want to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be because, in the long run, we are the only determinants of our futures.

Plot twist: We can only be the best versions of ourselves if we sleep. Sleep, ladies and gentlemen, and watch the world become a much happier, memory-worthy, wide-eyed place for all of us.

Think about it the way Albert Camus did, “Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep.”

Let us all be the former in this situation.

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

References:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/the-spooky-effects-of-sleep-deprivation/ar-BBmDJq0?li=AAa0dzB

 

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory

Life – a four-letter word that holds a magnitude greater than any compilation of words in the English language. Every individual has a life full of trials and tribulations, triumphs and victories, as well as valleys and peaks. There are 7 billion people on this giant sphere we call Earth, and every life has a story. What signifies one from another?

The answer is attitude. Life does not regard our feelings or our circumstances, because at the end of the day, there are 7 billion people on this planet and each and every one of us will be tested. Whether it is financially, emotionally, spiritually, academically or physically, life will test us.

With that being said, we cannot dodge life forever, but we can alter the way we perceive this whirlwind of trials we all experience.

Last Monday, five days before her daughter’s fairy tale wedding, Kari Duane received a call from her 27-year-old bride-to-be daughter saying that the ceremony was off. Her fiancé had been having doubts about the wedding and the couple ultimately decided to call it quits before saying “I Do.”

To top it all off, this matrimonial ceremony cost the couple’s parents close to $35,000. The majority of this grand price had already been paid off when the couple decided to cancel the big day.

Mondays are rough, but this Monday was especially rough for this almost newlywed family.

Most of us regard Mondays with starting another week of classes, lectures, and quizzes. The thought of a nonrefundable $35,000 payment and a cancelled engagement never crosses our minds. For this Californian mom, this ordeal that looks like a catastrophe on the surface became an opportunity to service those with concerns that far surpassed her own.

Instead of cancelling the reception, Duane and her daughter decided to invite Sacramento’s homeless for a meal of a lifetime. On Saturday, October 17, Sacramento’s homeless community gathered at the Citizen Hotel, one of the city’s most elegant venues.

The paid reception was catered to serve 120 guests, but on Saturday night, it served 90 homeless single people, grandparents, and whole families with newborns. The meal consisted of courses ranging from appetizers and salads to gnocchi, salmon, and tri-tip.

As the doors to the Citizen Hotel opened for Sacramento’s less fortunate, Duane said, “Even though my husband and I were feeling very sad for our daughter, it was heartwarming to see so many people be there and enjoy a meal.”

Among the many who received a portion of Duane’s generosity was Erika Craycraft – a wife and mother of five. Craycaft said, “To lose out on something so important to yourself and then give it to someone else is really giving, really kind.”

Here at Baylor, and especially the BIC, we constantly feel bogged down by the course load and the responsibilities that we take on as BICers. We all face tribulations as college students, whether it is doing our own laundry for the first time or cramming to save our GPAs before finals season.

Rather than thinking about college as a stressor or a burden, we should perceive college as an opportunity to attain an education and shape a future that can potentially change a life. The opportunities we have as students today are not only blessings, but also an open door for us to explore the world and find our callings. There is no instruction manual to help us maneuver through college or life in general. The only thing we can do is change the way we perceive our circumstances.

Duane and her daughter could have easily sat in the reception hall of Citizen Hotel and pondered on the nonrefundable $35,000. Instead, they took their unfortunate circumstance to make a memorable impact on those who are struggling with feats of a completely different magnitude.

Attitude and perception is everything – whether it is a cancelled wedding or a final exam. We cannot avoid the trials of life, but we can trust in our own ability to change our outlook. We should take on our heavily-filled planners and deadlines as motivations to find ourselves and forge a path of pursuit towards the future.

The world is not going to change for us, we have to change the way we see the world for ourselves.

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

References:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/canceled-california-wedding-leads-to-feast-for-homeless/ar-AAfBshB

 

College in a nutshell: study, eat, try to sleep, study, call your mom, football, study, shower, Netflix, study, attempt to workout, study, have a social life, and just keep on studying.

It seems like college is a never-ending cycle of stress and exhaustion, but it is also supposed to be the best time of your life, right?

College is hard. Anyone who tells you differently is probably just trying to make you feel better. We are expected to “find ourselves” and maintain a more than decent GPA while staying plugged in to campus social life. Oh and for my fellow freshmen out there, we are trying to defy the “Freshman 15.”

Now stay with me here, there will be days of doubt and days of discouragement. There will be nights where our brains feel like exploding and weekends filled with reading. At the end of the day though, we think to ourselves,

Why am I putting myself through this?

There are responsibilities piled on top of responsibilities, and sometimes we question what our purpose is here. Are we sacrificing various nights of sleep because we want an A on our World Culture exams? Are we going through the rigor of the BIC to improve our applications for future opportunities? Are we doing everything we need to be doing for our futures?

The answer to all of those questions is probably yes. There is also nothing wrong with the answer being “yes.” We are all here to succeed and we are all here for our futures.

The only issue here is that we are so busy chasing the future that we often forget about the now. Yes, college requires us to endure coursework for specific majors plus the BIC requirements, and that is inevitable. What is not inevitable is the way we perceive our lives as college students.

Instead of thinking about college as this trek through Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, we should embrace the opportunity to thrive in a community that encourages us to grow academically, emotionally, and spiritually. This community is the BIC.

We are students, and we are all on our individual journeys. Some of us are pre-med students while others are pursuing an English major or even a business degree. We all have goals and we all have priorities, but sometimes our priorities get lost in the jumble that is college.

We are here for each other. We are here to achieve our own goals and our own dreams. Now although there are parameters that surround every goal, whether it is a certain GPA or an extensive list of credentials, we are all capable of overcoming the obstacles lying before us.

We must not lose motivation, because we are pursuing the future. Those futures will change the world. As we strive to be doctors, lawyers, businessmen, professional writers, and a million other professions, we are all working toward our futures to make an impact in this world. At the end of the day, the hardships we are going through now will serve as a blessing and a benefit down the road.

The next time you sit in a BIC large group, or any class at Baylor for that matter, look around you. Every thought coursing through your head is probably running through your neighbor’s as well. Whether it is the next New York Times assignment or the next biology test, everyone on campus is riding the same wave.

This wave that I’m talking about is not a wave of frustration or stress, although that is a part of the ride, it is a wave of world changers. It is a wave that will bring a global impact, from doctors working in impoverished countries to businessmen heading the next big empire. There is potential everywhere around us, and we cannot let our stress cloud the pathways to our future.

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

The Apple Watch is Apple’s most personal product to date. It can track daily activity, pay for groceries, and essentially serve the purpose of an iPhone on your wrist – all of these features on top of telling you the time of day. Now imagine a watch that is as aesthetically pleasing as the Apple Watch, but serves a purpose beyond your wrist.

1Face is a for-purpose organization that has a cause beyond telling time. 1Face brings about global change by unifying those who are capable of providing help with the people that desperately need assistance.

1Face is a watch brand that started with the belief that one person can literally change the world.  Through 1Face, one person has the power to feed a child, provide an education, and find a cure.

With every purchase of a watch, a charity cause is supported. 1Face supports nine causes: cancer, hunger, breast cancer, clean water, disaster relief, environment, AIDS, education, and animal rights. The for-purpose organization has partnered with different charities to bring global change.

Every time a watch is purchased, there is a specific cause listed below that explains exactly how much of an impact your purchase will make. For example, some watches are color specific. The purchase of a red 1Face watch provides AIDS treatment for four patients.

1Face globally impacts the United States’ animal rights, cancer, and breast cancer research, Haiti’s environment, Guatemala’s education system, Syria’s hunger problem, the Philippines’s Red Cross disaster relief, and Bihar, India’s water supply.

Through the simple purchase of a $40 watch, lives can be changed across the globe. One watch can provide educational opportunities for a child in need or help find an animal a loving home. The purchase of four watches can provide a lifetime supply of water for one person. The impact is available; it is our turn to take the initiative.

We might not all have the immediate opportunity to start a for-purpose organization from our dorm room or travel the world and work with missionary doctors, but we do have the opportunity to change a life with a single purchase. 1Face is just one of hundreds of for-purpose organizations that can help us become the platform for change.

Every student at Baylor and in the BIC is trying to build a résumé for future opportunities such as internships or volunteer opportunities. We constantly surround ourselves with the overwhelming qualifications that come with pursuing medical school or graduate school.

Every once in a while, it will benefit us more than we think to pause and look around us. We often stress ourselves out so much over our next chemistry exam or rhetoric speech that we forget about the children across the globe who do not have the same privileged opportunity to attain an education as we do.

Similarly, there are people with families who are battling cancer or AIDS. There are communities searching near and far for clean drinking water while we refill our reusable plastic bottles with water from drinking fountains at every corner.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with embracing our lives, but as students, we have the power to create a platform – a global one.

Just picture this – if every student in the freshman BIC class bought a 1Face watch, we could provide food for 1,900 people, help support 1,520 cancer patients, provide treatment for 760 AIDS patients, assist in educational opportunities for 190 children in need, supply a lifetime of clean water for 47 people, and the list goes on.

The social impact a student can make is never limited; the world is constantly changing and the need for change is not going anywhere.

For more information on 1Face, go to http://1face.com/

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

Miss America – the annual pageant that showcases the talents and beauty of women from across the country. Every contestant struts across the stage and shows off their qualities in the hopes of being crowned Miss America. The only difference between contestant Miss Colorado, Kelley Johnson, and the rest of the competition, however, is how she represented her beauty.

22-year-old Kelley Johnson decided to step out of the norm of pageantry talents at the Miss America 2016 Pageant on September 13, 2015. Instead of twirling a baton on fire or singing a love ballad, Johnson delivered a monologue.

Johnson delivered a compelling, 90-second piece that told the story of a patient suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s, Joe. In the monologue, Johnson discussed her relationship with Joe: late nights and long talks about miscellaneous things of life, and Joe’s many requests that she could not fulfill because she was “just a nurse.”

One night, Johnson found Joe crying and cradling his head in his hands. She went up to Joe and told him, “Joe, I know that this is really hard, but you are not defined by this disease. You are not just Alzheimer’s. You are still Joe.”

Johnson recalled how Joe looked at her in the eyes and said, “Nurse Kelley, then the same goes for you. Although you say it all the time, you are not just a nurse. You are my nurse, and you have changed my life because you have cared about me.”

That was the moment the Miss America contestant realized that she was not “just a nurse”. She is a lifesaver.

“Patients are real people with family and friends. You are not just a room number and a diagnosis when you are in the hospital, you are a person, very first.”

How does any of this relate to Baylor, and more specifically BIC, students? Allow me to make the parallel.

Johnson defied the norm of pageantry and made her voice prevalent among the 50 other contestants. She was not “just” a Miss America contestant. She was a lifesaver.

Similarly, in college, we are challenged to think outside of the box and “find ourselves” amongst the 13,000 plus students here at Baylor. We are asked to determine our futures and declare a major. We believe our GPAs and honors programs define us. We are all looking for a future.

With thousands of students passing us by everyday, everyone seems to be on the same journey to find the future. There are advisors guiding us in one direction. There are parents who push us onto the pre-law tract and do not support a degree in philosophy because it is not “practical”. Everyone seems to have a plan for us and our future when at the end of the day, we just want our voices to be heard.

It is easy for a college student to get lost in the void, but we must remember that we are not just students. We are leaders, athletes, advocates, and the list goes on. Most importantly, we are people, very first. The future is ours to pursue and we all have a voice, it just needs to be heard.

Additionally, just as Joe is not defined by his condition, our valleys do not define us. We may receive less than satisfactory exam grades or a few bad quizzes, but those do not define us as students. We are still people. Although our GPAs seem like the entire world right now, in actuality we are so much more.

Although I am a freshman, I have already questioned my capabilities as a student. I then remember that I am not just a student, but a person. Just like Joe, I have my own Nurse Kelley – that is my BIC community. My professors and peers care about me, and that has transformed my experiences here at Baylor.

While college has its challenges, we are never defined by anything but ourselves. Every student has an individual story and an even more unique calling. Just as Kelley Johnson found her calling as a nurse, we will find ours.

For more information on Miss Colorado’s monologue, go to:

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/09/watch_miss_colorado_delivers_monologue_at_miss_ame.html

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

Across the world, there are people of all backgrounds and stories who are struggling in one way or another. There are refugees fleeing from the Middle East, finding safe havens in Europe and neighboring countries. There are young, orphaned children fighting to survive in Africa, yearning for an education and a home. There are impoverished people on the streets across America, looking for shelter and sustenance – even in our own backyard of Waco. There are struggles everywhere that we look. Those who are struggling are in constant need of hope.

On the contrary, within Baylor and within the BIC, most of us have found our niche. We have found that one thing, that one subject, that one hobby, that keeps us sane in the whirlwind that is Baylor’s BIC. Whether it is choir, crew, or any number of clubs, there is a place for our passions here at Baylor.

Jon Burns, CEO and founder of Lionsraw, has managed to put his passion into practice with his foundation. Lionsraw utilizes his passion for soccer and tenacity of its fans for the betterment of communities in impoverished countries. Lionsraw uses soccer to teach life skills, raise awareness for social issues, and form broad alliances to enable social change. Burns has not only joined his love for soccer with his desire to change the world, but he has also made a global impact on society.

Burns’ platform for passion and global change is inspiring, the vision of which he shared during chapel at Waco Hall on Monday, September 21. Burns said, “I love coming to Waco, because of all the potential I see in the students I speak to. I did not get an education like you or even have the potential you possess; I am just an ordinary guy, and look at what God did with me. Imagine what God can do with you.”

Burns’ humble words sparked a reality in me – there is potential within all of us. I wrote about our potential as college students to make a difference in spreading awareness of the Syrian refugee crisis, and that potential doesn’t have to end there.

Burns shared stories with the students about horrific events that he has experienced as well as the tragic events which often befall those who he helps. He spoke about the refugees that are throwing their babies across electric fences – just to give them an inch of hope. He spoke about a teenage orphan who attended one of his schools in Africa, she who was attacked and left for dead on the side of the road. He shed light on the realities, not just the news stories.

We all have a passion. Name it and I’m sure Baylor has a club or intramural for it. Our passions can be used to change the world, we just have to activate the change. As stated earlier, our passions keep us sane, but imagine our passions changing the lives of someone across the world? We are constantly waiting for Canvas to update itself and post new grades. Meanwhile there are children currently being separated from their families or young orphans experiencing the horrors of war.

Now pause for a second – we drown ourselves in the hectic lifestyle that every college student attains, and we sit here concerning ourselves with exams and GPAs when there are men, women, and children on the other side of the world waiting for us to ignite our passions for a change. Every passion matters, and every passion can become a platform for social change. Our potential is present, we just have to put it into practice.

For more information, check out Lionsraw.org.

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience. 

Baylor University – an academic institution to most and a second home to many; it is a community filled with encouragement of education and the pursuit of ambition. The BIC is a community within the Baylor family that provides integrative curriculum and opportunities to its students.

Among the 13,000 students on campus, there is a common pursuit: the future. As college students, from athletes to honors students, the future is always in view. Students want to win every football game, study hard for classes, ace exams, and build a résumé that will outshine competitors for future opportunities.

Although Baylor and the BIC have provided students with a safe haven to learn, explore, and grow, there is a world outside of this bubble that does not share the same parallel.

Today will mark four years since the onset of the civil war in Syria. Statistics provided by human rights organizations reveal that 2014 was the worst year by far, bringing the death toll to nearly 220,000. At least 7.6 million people, including 3.5 million children, have been displaced and are being forced into settlements with minimal access to services that support their basic needs.

Syria’s crisis has been especially hard on children. Helpless and wandering, there are over 5.6 million children in need of assistance and close to 2 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries. Yet these nations are struggling to support the influx of people. Tortured and hungry, children are resorting to dangerous labor or are even married off early in order to support their families during this crisis. The numbers are real, and they aren’t going anywhere.

We often regard these statistics as current event issues that should be discussed in class or in daily news updates, but these statistics are more than just numbers – they represent real, suffering Syrian people.

Our constant pursuit of success is the norm for college students, but as college students we can also be a platform for change. As the young adults of our generation, we have the power to raise awareness in our communities for the social injustices in the world. With that being said, we must be the primary conduit of such awareness.

I recently attended the Honors Residential College Retreat, and Dr. Jonathan Tran, the faculty master, gave an address on this very concept. He said, “We are constantly pressing our time; we keep our focus on the next test and mastering the concepts we learn during lectures, that we forget there are lives outside of ours that don’t have the same opportunities.”

Although it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day to study chapter after chapter of content, or to juggle extracurricular activities and a social life as well as our GPAs, at the same time there are not enough places for the children of Syria to seek refuge. There are not enough resources to support the needs of children, and there are not enough outlets to escape the horror that is the Syrian civil war.

The “Save the Children” foundation is a campaign that raises awareness and helps provide relief for the war on children, and more specifically the child refugee crisis. The war on child refugees in Syria is not coming to an end soon, but the way we choose to live our lives in recognition of this crisis can begin today. We can make the difference.

Kassie Hsu is a freshman BIC student majoring in neuroscience.

 

References:

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.B143/Official_USA_Site.htm

http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/SYRIA_FACTSHEET.PDF

Hey guys! My name is Kassie Hsu and I am a freshman neuroscience pre-med major. My new column is called “BIC Meets World.” I will be writing about social issues that surround our world outside of Baylor University and the BIC. My vision for this column is to compare the focus of college students’ constant pursuit of the future and the endurance of people pursuing a life of freedom from social injustice. Experience everything the world has to offer with me every Tuesday this fall!