On Monday Nov. 19th, the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity organized a conversation series entitled “It Ain’t Just America.’’

Open for all students, the conversation imitated a Model United Nation conference, discussing worldwide problems such as poverty, corruption and rape. Augustana students were urged to look beyond the United States, putting the focus on India, Nepal and Congo.

The “It Ain’t Just America” conversation is an example of the work Augustana students do for Augustana’s American Model United Nations (AMUN).

AMUN and the conversation series are two outlets for students to participate in debates concerning international issues and to work together to come up with solutions for these issues.

Senior Karthik Kasireddy is part of the Office of Student Inclusion and Diversity and organized the “It Ain’t Just America”event with Sophomore Akankshya Shrestha.

By participating in the conversation, “It Ain’t Just America,’’ a new light is shed on issues beyond our backyards.

“This is to empower multicultural students, especially because we are in a predominant white institution.

“This is to take a break from the US news and switch to the world news, so that people know that certain issues are not just central to the United States, but happen all over the world,’’ said Kasireddy.

Akankshya Shrestha commented on the importance of looking further than just American issues and news by including views from students from different countries:

‘’It is a good idea to gain perspectives of international students. It is always important to include them as well. This is for everyone, but now we mainly focus on multicultural students.’’

Over the weekend before the “It Ain’t Just America’’ conversation series, Augustana’s American Model United Nations (AMUN) delegates went to Chicago to represent Vietnam at the annual AMUN conference.

Founder and president of AMUN Nicholas Zammuto, senior at Augustana, commented on the importance of AMUN,

“The point of AMUN is not simply to discuss and debate real global issues affecting the world today, but moreover to work together in order to develop solutions to improve our world’s future outcomes in all areas of importance.

“And, since our generation will soon be responsible for successfully leading the future, such experience is incredibly valuable to developing effective leaders that will best navigate the complex obstacle of global issues that lies ahead.’’

In today’s political climate, students are becoming more and more politically aware.

“In general, I don’t think AMUN is becoming more important or popular because students are becoming more politically aware in the sense that they actively seek to understand and discuss the actual global issues at stake, although politics has certainly entered the conversations of students more in recent years.

“I do think, however, that the passion that students bring to these conversations has indeed increased and this has, in turn, made AMUN a more attractive outlet for channeling one’s ambition and having one’s voice heard,’’ Zammuto said.

Augustana student can continue tackling world problems together through continuation of OSID’s conversation series and through participation in AMUN.