As part of the Union Program Council’s celebration of Women’s History Month, National Geographic correspondent Lisa Ling spoke to University students Tuesday night about what she said is the No. 1 problem in the world today — apathy.
“Members of our generation will one day inherit the problems created today, and right now a lot of people simply do not care,” said Ling, who formerly worked with Barbara Walters on the daytime talk show, “The View.”
Her speech, hosted by the UPC Ideas and Issues Committee in the Union Theater, charted her rise from a 17-year-old correspondent on Channel 1 News — a news program broadcast to junior high and high schools throughout the country — to the host of her own television show on the National Geographic Channel and the stories she has covered along the way.
“We didn’t cover stories like Michael Jackson wearing pajamas to court on Channel 1,” Ling said. “We covered things like the conflict in Afghanistan, drug wars in Columbia and underage prostitution in Japan. Stories like those showed me that there are huge issues out there that the American people simply do not know about.”
Ling said she believes her mission as a reporter is to raise awareness of world issues, but she feels that many of her cohorts do not share that mission.
“I don’t feel journalists are doing a good enough job bringing global issues to our attention,” Ling said.
Though she acknowledges the fact that people have to decide for themselves what to do with the information she provides, Ling said she hopes Americans will seek out organizations that attempt to address international problems.
Louis LaVie, chairman for the Ideas and Issues Committee, said the committee wanted to bring Ling to the University for Women’s History Month because they felt that she has a unique perspective on women’s issues.
“She travels the world covering women’s issues like gang rape in the Congo and female mutilation in the Middle East,” LaVie said.
Ling said she tends to focus on issues involving women and children because many are suffering around the world.
“When I was in Afghanistan, I saw 10-year-old boys carrying machine guns and bazookas,” Ling said. “It was a surreal experience because usually when you see children of that age, there is a feeling of innocence. I only saw death in the eyes of those boys.”
Ling, who also works as a foreign correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey show, said her travels have shown her how poorly women are treated in some parts of the world.
“When I first went to work for Oprah, they told me to cover issues pertaining to women,” Ling said. “When I went out on assignments, I learned that in some parts of the world, women are tortured and mutilated over something as trivial as money.”
Katie Penny, an English literature senior, said she learned a lot from Ling’s speech about issues she had not heard anywhere else.
Penny said she respects Ling because she is willing to risk her life to report issues.
“It’s terrifying to think that Ling walked through the streets of Rwanda, a place where women are raped and killed daily,” Penny said. “She shows so much courage by reporting in dangerous places in order to educate Americans.”
Katie Friday, a public relations senior, said it was inspiring to hear a woman speak about pursuing her dream job.
“A lot of women feel that they do not have what it takes to follow their passion, and Ling shows that anything is possible,” Friday said.