Cultural Event #2 Falling Whistles Presentation, Emens Auditorium, 11/09/2011
On Wednesday November 9, 2011, Sean Carasso came to Ball State’s Emens auditorium to talk about his organization. Falling Whistles is an organization dedicated to promoting peace and raising awareness about the wars going on in the Congo. His presentation consisted of a movie followed by a short PowerPoint presentation describing his personal encounters with the people of the Congo. His story was very inspiring and allowed people to gain a sense of what was going on.
Sean Carasso’s story is really inspiring because of the fact that he fell upon the situation in the Congo, he didn’t go looking for it. He decided that he wanted to “get away” from his life in California and so he went to Africa in search of some exciting experiences. What he found was a war where children were abducted and forced to fight for a rebel army in the Congo. The children he met with in a military encampment were being held because they had fought for the rebel army, but the problem was that they hadn’t fought by their own choice. These children were too small to carry a gun, so they were forced to sit in trenches with whistles, and when the enemy came close they were to blow the whistles to scare them away. When the enemy didn’t leave they were to jump out of the trenches and take the first round of bullets so that “their side” would have a fighting chance. Sean saw this injustice that the children were facing and decided to act out. He called all the contacts he possibly could to get these five boys, prisoners of both sides, freed and with a little politicking he did. Sean decided that just freeing these boys wasn’t enough so he decided to start Falling Whistles, an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to this issue and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sean brought up a lot in his presentation but some points that he wanted to stress were his story and how he came about finding these children, how we could help these children, and what we could do to spread the word about the injustices going on in the Congo. Sean definitely had a plan for his organization and wanted to assist in improving the quality of life in the Congo. His campaign is working to build rehabilitation sites within the Congo so that people will have a safe place to live in this dangerous zone. People can do this by buying whistles and t-shirts for the cause.
Falling Whistles goes along with another campaign that is also addressing issues in the Congo called Invisible Children. Invisible Children, instead of raising money for more rehabilitation camps, is focusing on creating a network of radio towers so that small villages can communicate with each other on the whereabouts of the Lord’s resistance army and the things that they are doing in other villages. Both of these organizations seem to be a legitimate way to help with the things going on in the Congo. I really appreciate the efforts that are going on with these organizations.
I really enjoyed the falling whistles presentation. I think the falling whistles campaign is doing a lot of things to address social justice issues going on around the world. Being a part of the experience at Emens really made me appreciate what I had in this country and made me realize how much I take for granted. Overall I’m really glad I went and was a part of a crowd dedicated to changing what was going on in the Congo.
Cultural Event #1 Jeanette Walls Presentation, Emens Auditorum, 09/21/2011
The freshman common reader this year was entitled The Glass Castle written by award winning author Jeanette Walls. Walls recently came to talk here at Ball State about her experiences as a child living in homelessness and poverty. Her captivating accounts of her life touched all those who came out to hear her speak at Emens Auditorium. During her presentation, Jeanette Walls discussed her view on poverty, talked about the current status of her family, and answered questions from inquisitive readers.
Jeanette Walls wrote in her book that she never considered her family poor and she never considered herself homeless. She also elaborated on this point at her presentation. She stated that even when their family did not have the means to survive, they made due. She also discussed the fact that she always had a place to call home, whether it was the back of the car, the dessert, an abandoned house, or a rental home. She talked about how when they needed something they couldn’t afford or didn’t have, they improvised and they always seemed to manage.
Walls also discussed the current situation of her family. She talked about her mother how currently lives with her and helps her raise her horses. She discussed how much convincing it took for her to finally move in with her. She talked about how her brother recently retired from the police force to take up teaching at an inner city school. She humorously brought up the fact that his training might come in handy there. She also talked about how she was trying to get her sister to come live with her, but was struggling with this at the time. Her Dad was brought up multiple times and each time she talked about him as if he was looking down from above. All-in-all she made it seem that her family was doing very well and was very much united more than ever.
Walls took time during her presentation to answer questions from many of her readers. Several questions that were brought up asked about her father, how her family was doing, if she herself helped the poor, and her acceptance of her father’s alcoholism. She answered all of these questions and wasn’t afraid to tell the truth. The question that really drew the attention of the crowd was when she was asked about her father, specifically if she blamed him for his alcoholism and if she had forgiven him. She gave a very compassionate answer. She discussed the fact that her father was sick and no matter how much he tried he couldn’t get better. She talked about how some of her siblings had a hard time forgiving her father, especially Brian. She talked about how her personal connection with her father and how she had always tried to see her father in a positive light.
The presentation that Jeanette Walls gave to her audience was really a special one. I cannot believe how privileged Ball State students were to be able to hear such a renowned author speak during this time. I think it really speaks wonders about this university and its immersive learning atmosphere. Jeanette Walls story is one of inspiration and is a very powerful testament to those living in poverty everywhere in the United States. Listening to her describe her experiences and life stories allows us to relate to her on a greater level and helps us to understand the life of someone living in poverty and homelessness. I only hope that we as students can learn from this experience and help others in our nation who struggle with poverty.
Cultural Event #2
Falling Whistles Presentation, Emens Auditorium, 11/09/2011
On Wednesday November 9, 2011, Sean Carasso came to Ball State’s Emens auditorium to talk about his organization. Falling Whistles is an organization dedicated to promoting peace and raising awareness about the wars going on in the Congo. His presentation consisted of a movie followed by a short PowerPoint presentation describing his personal encounters with the people of the Congo. His story was very inspiring and allowed people to gain a sense of what was going on.
Sean Carasso’s story is really inspiring because of the fact that he fell upon the situation in the Congo, he didn’t go looking for it. He decided that he wanted to “get away” from his life in California and so he went to Africa in search of some exciting experiences. What he found was a war where children were abducted and forced to fight for a rebel army in the Congo. The children he met with in a military encampment were being held because they had fought for the rebel army, but the problem was that they hadn’t fought by their own choice. These children were too small to carry a gun, so they were forced to sit in trenches with whistles, and when the enemy came close they were to blow the whistles to scare them away. When the enemy didn’t leave they were to jump out of the trenches and take the first round of bullets so that “their side” would have a fighting chance. Sean saw this injustice that the children were facing and decided to act out. He called all the contacts he possibly could to get these five boys, prisoners of both sides, freed and with a little politicking he did. Sean decided that just freeing these boys wasn’t enough so he decided to start Falling Whistles, an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to this issue and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sean brought up a lot in his presentation but some points that he wanted to stress were his story and how he came about finding these children, how we could help these children, and what we could do to spread the word about the injustices going on in the Congo. Sean definitely had a plan for his organization and wanted to assist in improving the quality of life in the Congo. His campaign is working to build rehabilitation sites within the Congo so that people will have a safe place to live in this dangerous zone. People can do this by buying whistles and t-shirts for the cause.
Falling Whistles goes along with another campaign that is also addressing issues in the Congo called Invisible Children. Invisible Children, instead of raising money for more rehabilitation camps, is focusing on creating a network of radio towers so that small villages can communicate with each other on the whereabouts of the Lord’s resistance army and the things that they are doing in other villages. Both of these organizations seem to be a legitimate way to help with the things going on in the Congo. I really appreciate the efforts that are going on with these organizations.
I really enjoyed the falling whistles presentation. I think the falling whistles campaign is doing a lot of things to address social justice issues going on around the world. Being a part of the experience at Emens really made me appreciate what I had in this country and made me realize how much I take for granted. Overall I’m really glad I went and was a part of a crowd dedicated to changing what was going on in the Congo.
Cultural Event #1
Jeanette Walls Presentation, Emens Auditorum, 09/21/2011
The freshman common reader this year was entitled The Glass Castle written by award winning author Jeanette Walls. Walls recently came to talk here at Ball State about her experiences as a child living in homelessness and poverty. Her captivating accounts of her life touched all those who came out to hear her speak at Emens Auditorium. During her presentation, Jeanette Walls discussed her view on poverty, talked about the current status of her family, and answered questions from inquisitive readers.
Jeanette Walls wrote in her book that she never considered her family poor and she never considered herself homeless. She also elaborated on this point at her presentation. She stated that even when their family did not have the means to survive, they made due. She also discussed the fact that she always had a place to call home, whether it was the back of the car, the dessert, an abandoned house, or a rental home. She talked about how when they needed something they couldn’t afford or didn’t have, they improvised and they always seemed to manage.
Walls also discussed the current situation of her family. She talked about her mother how currently lives with her and helps her raise her horses. She discussed how much convincing it took for her to finally move in with her. She talked about how her brother recently retired from the police force to take up teaching at an inner city school. She humorously brought up the fact that his training might come in handy there. She also talked about how she was trying to get her sister to come live with her, but was struggling with this at the time. Her Dad was brought up multiple times and each time she talked about him as if he was looking down from above. All-in-all she made it seem that her family was doing very well and was very much united more than ever.
Walls took time during her presentation to answer questions from many of her readers. Several questions that were brought up asked about her father, how her family was doing, if she herself helped the poor, and her acceptance of her father’s alcoholism. She answered all of these questions and wasn’t afraid to tell the truth. The question that really drew the attention of the crowd was when she was asked about her father, specifically if she blamed him for his alcoholism and if she had forgiven him. She gave a very compassionate answer. She discussed the fact that her father was sick and no matter how much he tried he couldn’t get better. She talked about how some of her siblings had a hard time forgiving her father, especially Brian. She talked about how her personal connection with her father and how she had always tried to see her father in a positive light.
The presentation that Jeanette Walls gave to her audience was really a special one. I cannot believe how privileged Ball State students were to be able to hear such a renowned author speak during this time. I think it really speaks wonders about this university and its immersive learning atmosphere. Jeanette Walls story is one of inspiration and is a very powerful testament to those living in poverty everywhere in the United States. Listening to her describe her experiences and life stories allows us to relate to her on a greater level and helps us to understand the life of someone living in poverty and homelessness. I only hope that we as students can learn from this experience and help others in our nation who struggle with poverty.