From the American Revolution to Reconstruction after the Civil War to the study of historiography I learned what history is and how to write concisely. I learned that how we interpret history changes as, in a sense, all historical writing is revisionist history. Studying history has allowed me to tap into the mind of great historical figures and to see how they lived. My passion for history has encouraged me to pursue further education and to advance to a PhD. My study of history and understanding of historiography has prepared me for future study through concise writing and critical thinking. To judge historical events when they occurred rather than with present-day bias and our contemporary way of thinking and to critically evaluate primary and secondary sources.

Political science enabled me to witness how nations interact and that politics is about justice. Politics allows me to apply history to solve complex questions and fulfill my duty as a citizen. I identify as a political realist, and that has altered my worldview and how I view the United States’ current role in world politics. Political science led to Aristotle’s question and how we should live our lives. It exposed me to deeper questions of democracy, liberty, equality and free will. Political science allows us to help the world through public service. From studying Campaigns & Elections to the politics of Iran, World Politics and Political Theory I have created a global mindset to make me a global citizen.

In January 2015 I joined Lambda Chi Alpha and became part of a fraternity filled with my brothers on campus. They’ve been there for me since day one and have become a second family. I’ll never forget my time with my brothers since my first year. They have made me a better man in my personal and academic life. LCA reinforced leadership qualities of duty and trust that have allowed me to excel academically and personally by following LCA’s seven core values. LCA has built upon my college experience and encouraged me to pursue a life of public service in future studies after Jewell and to pursue my passion in my two majors. We embodied LCA core values through public service from semester Serve & Celebrate to LCA-led service projects through our philanthropy, Feeding America.

In January 2017 I studied abroad in Cardiff, Wales, in the United Kingdom. While abroad I became immersed in a new culture that made me part of a nation. I made lifelong friends and went out of my comfort zone to explore the UK. From walking every day to visiting museums, castles and other historical sites I spoke with Welsh, English and Irish citizens to answer Aristotle’s question: what is the good life? The good life is one of service to others. The simple life is being content with what we have but constantly striving to improve ourselves to live a life of meaning. I’ve always enjoyed visiting museums, art galleries and other historic sites both in the U.S. and abroad. I grew interested in art and the works of various artists such as Joseph Mallard, William Turner and Vincent Van Gogh. I lived the good life through traveling around the UK to 12th Century reenactment and sparring through Historia Normannis. Late night conversations with flatmates about where we came from and future plans, the constant rain, endless miles of walking and coffee and tea made Cardiff a second home.

On Feb. 21, 2018 I spoke at Jewell Chapel about my time abroad where I found the good life in Cardiff and answered Aristotle’s question. The good life in Cardiff of walking, tea, coffee and conversation has allowed me to slow down and enjoy life. I have grown since my freshman year to become more confident and ask more questions from my time at Jewell through my broad academic interests. The Critical Thought and Inquiry curriculum at Jewell has changed my worldview. From a class on sustainability to learn how we should conserve the world’s resources to Stalinism as Civilization to learn what it’s like to live under a tyrannical regime and the attempt to create a new civilization, I learned how we should live. From studying religion as a part of the CTI program I learned more about Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well as the Divine Image and how to better connect with others.

In February 2018 I went to Windermere, a Baptist educational community in Roach, Missouri, and learned about the power of reconciliation and how we can forgive others and be accepting to all and consider new ideas and new ways of life. I reconnected with my friends from Christian Student Ministries as well as made new friends from Jewell and other parts of Missouri. I’ll miss Monday CSM meeting with Jeff Buscher. My tenure with CSM has strengthened my Christian faith and encouraged critical reading of the Bible as well as other religious texts such as the Torah and the Quoran. My experiences with CSM has changed my life from personal life decisions to how I read academic texts such as the Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder. My study of politics, history and religion has changed how I answer political and historical questions to work with students of similar and conflicting mindsets. CSM has encouraged me to work for the glory of God through teaching.

Throughout my time at Jewell I learned about presidential leadership and how we should live our lives through the teachings of Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt. I studied George Washington, Harry Truman and Thaddeus Stevens to learn what leadership means and how we can help others. I became immersed in politics through conversations with the political science department. This has increased my confidence in my studies. I became interested in theatrical performances through the Jewell Theater Company and attended frequent performances every semester.

I’m cherishing every day until graduation as I look to the future. Everything will change after May 12, and things won’t be the same. I’ll be a Jewell alumnus instead of a student. The friendships I’ve made will grow, and I will have lifelong friends after Jewell. Everyone will go their separate ways to grad school or the armed forces or law or medical school, but we’ll still be part of the Jewell community.

I will miss a lot about Jewell. From smiling faces around the quad to freshly cut grass. From blizzard winters to scorching spring. I’ll miss being called Mr. Jones every morning and being given life advice from world-class professors. I’ll miss the stimulating seminars and lectures in history, politics and religion. I’ll miss talking with professors in and outside class about historical topics such as Theodore Roosevelt and WWII and the Holocaust to questions about world politics and the works of Aristotle. I’ll miss talking with professors about how they chose to become academics and teach the next generation of scholars. I have no regrets at Jewell and I have done everything I wanted to and more. I’m glad I asked more questions. I’m glad I joined The Hilltop Monitor and Lambda Chi Alpha. I’m glad I traveled abroad and spoke at Chapel. I’m glad for late night MOSAIC and Harriman Jewell events. I’m glad that all my professors encouraged me and prepared me for life. I’m glad I made lifelong friends. I’m glad I spent a weekend at Windermere.

I’m glad that I spoke to you from our various classes of Campaigns and Elections, the Great War and golf, at the bench in front of Curry and Luigi’s on the square. I’m glad that I got out of my comfort zone and talked more. I’m glad that I’ve been active on campus through Hilltop Monitor, Christian Student Ministries and Lambda Chi Alpha. I’m glad that I joined the Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Sigma Honor societies. I’m thankful for late night LCA parties and morning conversations in front of Curry. For Jewell Theatre plays and CUAt the movies. For Jeff Buscher’s chapel service and Armstrong’s War Ethics class. For Reynolds and Howell’s history lectures and Wilkins’ seminars. For Holiman’s Politics of Iran and Staal’s Political Theory.

I’m thankful for the CTI program which allowed me to answer complex questions with students across the campus both inside and outside of my major to learn from different perspectives. I’m thankful to have several mentors in both of my majors and the desire to continue to love what I do. I’m thankful for talking with my brothers in the PLC and stimulating seminars from the Responsible Self to Christianity and Tyranny and from Presidential Leadership to Harry Truman. From my time at Jewell I pushed myself and completed my best work. The future is coming fast, but now I want to live in the here and now. I’m ready to go, but I have infinite reasons to stay as we approach graduation. It’s been quite a ride and I’ve loved every minute of it.

Photos courtesy of Mykala Crews. 

The concern about how Facebook managed and protected user data began in a Washington Post opinion editorial May 24, 2010. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for misusing users’ personal data. He stated that Facebook will work to clarify how users’ data is utilized and do a better job at protecting user privacy in the future.

Cambridge Analytica began the activity that contributed to the scandal in 2013. Cambridge Academic Aleksandr Kogan and the company Global Science Research created an app to ask Facebook users to answer questions for a psychological profile while harvesting their personal data simultaneously.  The app, known as Thisisyourdigitallife through Facebook had almost 300,000 users take the survey, harvested their personal data as well as their friends’. Kogan soon had access to millions of Facebook users’ data. Facebook made additional rule changes in 2014, but they did not affect Kogan’s use of personal data already acquired.

Cambridge Analytica has been involved in 2016 election ad campaigns for  Presidential Candidates such as Senator Ted Cruz as well as President Donald Trump. The Trump Campaign used its ties to Cambridge Analytica through Steve Bannon to obtain voter political preference profiles and target specific individuals with ads to influence their vote and determine where to send Trump for campaign rallies. Other 2016 contenders paid Cambridge Analytica for similar services such as Ted Cruz, Ben Carson’s campaign and later the Republican Party when Trump accepted the Republican nomination.

Christopher Wylie, a Cambridge Academic whistleblower described how the company exploited Facebook to obtain user data on millions of Americans. Cambridge Analytica harvested Facebook profiles and created models of individuals to track how they would vote in elections such as the United States 2016 Presidential Election and the United Kingdom Brexit Referendum. Voters were targeted with specific ads based on political preference.

Facebook released a statement on the controversy in 2015 and stated it would work to protect and retrieve the more than 50 million affected Facebook users’ data. Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix denied that the company works with Facebook or has obtained Facebook data. Facebook lawyers sent Wylie letters asking him to destroy Facebook data. Facebook never checked that the data had been properly deleted more than two years later.

Zuckerberg responded to the Cambridge Analytica scandal March 21. He stated that he will do more to protect user data. He did not explicitly apologize for the scandal but stated it was a breach of trust that the company would work to fix. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg stated that the scandal violated user trust and that she regrets that Facebook did not do enough to protect user data. Congress responded to the controversy by ordering Zuckerberg to testify under oath to Congress about the scandal. They ridiculed him on Facebook’s inability to protect user data and that if social media sites like Facebook do not change, then privacy will disappear.

Zuckerberg’s April 10 testimony highlighted Facebook’s failures to protect user data. Lawmakers and citizens on both sides of the aisle were outraged at the blatant Fourth Amendment violation. The testimony highlighted concerns of the disconnect between Congress and the technological world. Several members of Congress asked obvious questions that the younger generation could easily answer and made it clear that Congress did not understand various technological aspects of Facebook. It raises concerns as to how they can regulate a business that they do not understand. Nevertheless, they asked several questions that highlighted the dangers of Facebook’s influence in the digital age.

The scandal has strengthened the call for government regulation. The political fallout from the scandal has resulted in a drop in Facebook’s stock. The resulting fallout has raised concerns about how Facebook and other social media sites use their members’ personal information, remain transparent and how we as citizens can maintain privacy in the digital age.

Photo Credits to AFP.

KCI’s short term goal is to offer seasonal flights through Iceland Air from May to September. Their long term goal is to offer year-round Iceland Air flights. KCI believes that Iceland Air will allow Americans to have access to low cost European flights for holidays. KCI officials have lobbied international airlines to partner with KCI. Officials argued that KCI would be perfect for Iceland Air because more airlines are using smaller planes so KCI would have room. Kansas City Mayor Sly James endorsed Iceland Air as it would connect American and European businesses and markets. This would create stable jobs and grow the economy.

The decision to incorporate Iceland Air into KCI will hopefully attract more Americans to travel to Europe. This will potentially encourage Europeans to visit the Kansas City and KC metro area as well. Kansas City contains global businesses that operate in Europe as well as other parts of the world, so Iceland Air can help Kansas City’s economic growth.

Iceland Air can also help travelers by increasing flight competition as a low-cost airline. When Iceland Air opens in KCI it could potentially persuade other airlines to decrease costs leading to more flight options and cheaper airfare. It could also create a more competitive environment between KCI and other U.S. international airports.

The new airline will come after a $12 million construction project to revitalize the international arrivals and departure area. This is just one part of a $1 billion renovation to ease pedestrian congestion. Construction will begin in the fall of 2018 and is expected to end in late 2021. Plans have been made to eventually demolish Terminals A and C but have not yet been finalized. The new larger terminal will improve passenger mobility.

The new renovations may make it possible for KCI to attract additional international flight companies in the future.

Photo Courtesy of Travel + Leisure.

The plot of the film focuses on Chadwick Boseman as the titular Black Panther and king T’Challa of Wakanda, a fictional country in East Africa, as his sovereignty as king is challenged. The film introduces Wakanda as a technologically advanced civilization hiding in plain sight. Wakanda consists of five East African tribes determined to protect Vibranium, the strongest metal on Earth, from the world. The film adaptation of the comic book is a visually stunning masterpiece. T’Challa first made an appearance in Captain America Civil War in 2015.

The film is supported by many well-known and skilled actors. Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman have acting experience together as Gollum and Bilbo Baggins in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Serkis portrays the villain Ulysses Klaue, and Freeman portrays a C.I.A. agent who is becomes familiar with Wakanda. Serkis and a group of mercenaries, including Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), steal Vibranium, alerting the Black Panther of upcoming complications. Forrest Whitaker portrays Zuri, an important elder statesman of Wakanda.

The film shifts from Wakanda to South Korea but maintains the visually stunning backdrop while T’Challa is tasked with capturing Klaue and returning him to Wakanda to be punished for his theft. Vibranium is central to the film’s background as it is used in everything from Black Panther’s armor to clothing, transportation, technology and a means to heal injuries. Vibranium has created a moral conflict in Wakanda and its place in world politics. The debate is: what does Wakanda owe the rest of the world, and should they share their technology and resources to help other African descendants?

The film’s visuals immerse the audience in a rural farm nation with technological advances of spaceships, hover trains and a seemingly endless Vibranium mine. The contrast of rural landscape with futuristic technology creates a technological empire and a visually stunning masterpiece from interior and exterior shots to clothing and CGI. The shift from car chases in South Korea and fight scenes in a casino and Wakanda add to a new visually stunning chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The main conflict between T’Challa and Killmonger occurred after a dispute on who has the right to be king. The conflict mixes identity, ancestry and two contrasting ideologies wanting to expose Wakanda to the world and the second to maintain the lie to protect their technological democracy.

The supporting acting is another strong reason for the film’s commercial success. T’Challa is supported by Danai Gurira as a female Wakandan General and Letitia Wright as his sister who creates the Black Panther suit and other technologically advanced equipment. Additional supporting female cast members include Angela Bassett as the royal mother Ramonda and Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, a Wakandan spy and T’Challa’s love interest.

Wakanda embodied the film’s strength in its visually stunning landscape and portrayal as a country of only textiles and farmers while immersed in dazzling clothing and technology because of their seemingly endless Vibranium mine.

The “Black Panther” soundtrack includes music by a variety of artists such as Kendrick Lamar and SZA. The soundtrack includes other artists such as The Weeknd, Schoolboy Q and 2 Chainz.

The main story of Black Panther is one of race and empowerment. It’s about how our past shapes our present and future. The central conflict is about how to use the power that we are given. The film depicts freedom and origins to create a better future. Boseman and the supporting cast highlight past African American struggle and hardship in America and Wakanda that influence the titular character and the antagonist. The film’s strong points come from a strong female cast that in some areas steal the show and the importance of how different races and origins can come together combined with stunning views and an all-star cast to create the nation of Wakanda. The film solidified itself into the Marvel Cinematic Universe while maintaining itself as a stand-alone film about race, origins and the importance of cultural identity.

Photo courtesy of NME.com