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Born in India and raised in Alva, Oklahoma, Ganga Moorthy is now a senior at the University of Oklahoma, majoring in Microbiology with minors in Chemistry and Medical Humanities. In addition to...
Where do young people come down on questions of faith, values, and public life? How do they relate their values to public policy issues including education, economic inequality, and the environment? These questions, critically important for the 2012 election, are at the center of a campus conversation being organized by the Berkley Center and Georgetown University. This blog features an ongoing conversation about these issues between students selected as Millennial Values Fellows through a national competition. You can read and comment on their blogs here.
To learn more about the project, visit the Campus Conversation on Values page.
OTHER POSTS
Millennials on Social Media and Politics
November 15, 2012
Millennials on Social Issues and Diversity
November 12, 2012
Hira Baig (Rice) on Why the Presidential Election Matters to Millennials
November 7, 2012
Millennials on Religion and Interfaith Work
November 7, 2012
Ryan Price (Drake) on E Pluribus Duo
November 6, 2012
Mohammad Usman (DePauw) on Unpredictable Millennials
November 5, 2012
Millennials on Affirmative Action Policy
November 3, 2012
Seth Warner (Vassar) on What Happens as the "God Gap" Widens
November 2, 2012
Josina De Raadt (Dordt) on How Social Media Is Like Wii Bowling
October 31, 2012
Zachary Yentzer (Arizona State) on the Next Greatest Generation
October 29, 2012
Brice Ezell (George Fox) on Post-Racial America? Race, Millennials, and the 2012 Election
October 25, 2012
Tyler Bishop (Vanderbilt) on a Future of Hashtags #whatitmeansforus
October 23, 2012
Brice Ezell (George Fox) on How the People Can Heal a “Divided,” Partisan Nation
October 4, 2012
Hira Baig (Rice) on Religion and American Democracy
October 4, 2012
Tyler Bishop (Vanderbilt) on How It’s All About Relatability: Voter Turnout
October 3, 2012
Josina De Raadt (Dordt) on Mistaking Politics for a Hollywood Blockbuster
October 2, 2012
Mohammad Usman (DePauw) on the Internet Solution
October 1, 2012
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October 4, 2012
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Ganga Moorthy (University of Oklahoma) on Millennials, Values, and America's Future
April 16, 2012
We are encouraged by these opportunities and are continue onward through the negativity that the world throws our way. Millenials understand the challenges that face an overcrowded world, filled with greed, violence, and oppression. But at the same time, we are astounded by the extraordinary capacity of human beings. We are beginning to recognize how to solve many of the world’s issues and now we must channel our rose-colored view of the world away from thinking and actually engage in action. As Tyler touches on, we must use our optimistic viewpoints and engaged voices to do something. Our future is exciting and we must actively seek to explore, to travel, to learn, to connect, and to make a difference.
Our glasses might be half empty for now but our cups of optimism won’t run dry.
Abigail Clauhs (Boston University) comments on Ganga Moorthy – April 17, 2012
Ganga, I really love your positive view on how this generation is equipped to face the challenges of the future (and the phrase "Our glasses might be half empty for now but our cups of optimism won't run dry" is great). I'm going to focus this comment specifically, however, on where you spoke about how some of our generation are uninformed, especially by the "safety net of college." I know I've found in my personal experiences as well that having access to the internet and global communication doesn't mean that people are informed (it can be the difference between following celebrities versus the BBC or NYT on Twitter, for example). And there is no question that students at college can end up in an insulated bubble, unaware or uncaring about what is going on in the "real" world. How, then, can we encourage some of our peers to pop this bubble, to go outside their comfort zone of celebrities and cat photos and engage in actual, hands-on activism?
Brian Goldman (University of Pennsylvania) comments on Ganga Moorthy – April 17, 2012
I agree with Abigail, like Jelani’s piece, the optimism is both inspiring, and as I’ve posited before, probably necessary. However, I think the alternate point of view is one that should get some service as well. For example, some might argue (and many would agree) that while optimism is well and dandy, to really solve some of these great issues—energy, education, and the economy, as Colin wrote—hard headed realism will be a necessary aspect of any solution. Although optimism and realism are not necessarily mutually exclusive, do you think that we need more doses of realism as opposed to optimism? Again, I’m inclined to agree with your point of view, but I think a compelling argument can be made that the Millennial generation should take a “real-politik” approach to our greatest issues.
Daniel Chen (UC Berkeley) comments on Ganga Moorthy – April 18, 2012
Your optimism is very similar and inspiring like many of our other bloggers such as Jelani. However, as Tyler noted, optimism means little without actual action. What is your optimism grounded in? Is it the fact that we have the world at our fingertips or is there some additional intrinsic quality of the millennial generation that has broad ramifications for society? For example, when reading the New York Times and hearing about North Korea’s increasingly belligerent actions, why and how do you stay optimistic amidst the failure to solve one of East Asia’s most intractable problems?