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OHIO
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS USE BREAK TO PURSUE ADVENTURE,
EDUCATION
While most
students scrambled to make quick cash over the long winter
break or simply took it easy until classes resumed, some
Ohio University scholars and faculty spent the leave
pursuing adventure and education. Here's a sampling of
activities:
An island
experience
Twenty
undergraduates participated in a new course, "Island as an
Environment," taught by Professors Gene and Royal Mapes in
the Bahamas. Students conduct hands-on studies of the
effects of tourism, waste disposal and business on an island
and examine more than 50 marine plants and 250 marine
animals. The students departed Dec. 4 for Andros Island, the
largest of the Bahama islands, where they stayed for a week
in field station cabins.
During
Week 2, students stayed on the three sailboats that carried
them to Nassau for the second leg of their trip. A typical
day on the islands included an early breakfast, snorkeling,
scuba diving, a brown-bag lunch, hikes to observe the island
and lectures in the evening.
"It was a
great bonding experience," says senior Craig Bontempo, a
marine biology major. "The interaction with the native
culture was wonderful."
Searching
the Andes
Discovering
violets that had not been seen since the 1800s was one
highlight of a trip to Bolivia by Assistant Professor of
Environmental and Plant Biology Harvey Ballard and graduate
student Ross McCauley. Working high in the Andes Mountains,
Ballard was observing the species division of the Viola
Bangia, a primitive and unusual violet of the region.
Meanwhile, McCauley was studying cotton weeds.
"Most
research that takes place in Bolivia is done in the lower
regions," Ballard says. "Our research is very unique since
it takes place in nearly the highest spots of the Andes
Mountains."
Although
there is no regular field study course in Bolivia, Ballard
is developing a proposal for one that would involve both
undergraduate and graduate students.
A
Japanese flair
Seniors
in the School of Dance traveled to Japan over winter break
to participate in what student Jill Kuhlman calls a "most
memorable and amazing experience."
"Words
and pictures will never accurately portray the event," she
says. Students and faculty attended Kabuki theater, toured
temples, sampled the nightlife and took Butoh class from
93-year-old Master Teacher Kazuo Ohno. Seniors performed
with Japanese dancers in three concerts, appearing in Tokyo
and Kanagwa.
"This
trip provided an opportunity for our seniors to perform for
an audience with a very different cultural perspective than
their own," School of Dance Director Madeleine Scott says.
"It was an extraordinary adventure."
In
September, nine Japanese dancers came to Athens for two
weeks to study and perform.
Finding
solutions
Professor
of Telecommunications David Mould led a contingent of 26
students from the university's Global Learning Community and
three other faculty members to Cueca, Ecuador, to
participate in a two-week consulting project. Through prior
contact and research, Ohio University and Ecuadoran students
paired up to develop business solutions for 10 companies in
Cueca, the third-largest city in Ecuador. Business,
communication and even an anthropology major participated.
During their down time, students were able to hike through
the Andes and visit some Inca ruins.
"This
trip included important business, communication and cultural
elements," says Mould, acting director of the Global
Learning Community.
On
Southeast Asia business
Eleven
students from Ohio University's International Business
Society traveled to Southeast Asia to meet with various
businesses and professional associations.
While in
Malaysia, students participated in the Razak business
conference, an academic seminar that dissects business
practice and policy. Students also hiked for two days
through Taman Negara, a nationally protected rain forest in
Malaysia, and later traveled to Ho Chi Minh City to visit
businesses and meet Vietnamese students studying business
and English.
Professor
of Management Information Systems Thom Luce says the
students visited a significant technology project in
Malaysia, the Multi-Media Super Corridor. "The MSC
is a major national project to put Malaysia in the growing
world of high technology," Luce says. "We were lucky to have
visited the project."
Mission
in Kenya
Medical
and development studies students from the College of
Osteopathic Medicine traveled with physicians to Western
Kenya, where they worked in health centers and villages to
provide care for more than 3,500 individuals for three
weeks.
The team,
called SHARE (Student Health Assistance Rural Experience)
Kenya, was created in part by Benson Bonyo, a 1998 OU-COM
graduate who was born and raised in Kenya. The project has
been ongoing since 1994.
***
This
story originally appeared in the Winter Quarter 2000 Parents
Newsletter, which is published by Media
Services.
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