Two Ohio State students traveled to Miami, Fla. last weekend to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University.
Shikha Prasad and Viral Patel used the conference with 1,300 students and former president Clinton to craft their own innovative solution to a problem that they say needs more media attention.
South Asian people are being attacked in Australia, and Viral and Shikha plan to increase media awareness of those attacks.
Clinton hosted the third Clinton Global Initiative University meeting April 16 to 18 at the University of Miami. The initiative engages college students, organizations and administrators to make commitments that address global issues with practical, innovative solutions.
“We decided to apply to the [Clinton Global Initiative] conference to help,” said Prasad, a fourth-year in molecular genetics. “The attacks in Australia are racially motivated; no money or personal goods are taken.”
Patel, a third-year in economics and microbiology, is president of the South Asian Student Association. He co-authored a petition to address the attacks.
“We started the petition at OSU, but Harvard and Stanford [students] have been in touch,” Patel said.
The goal is to get 5,000 signatures on the petition, many of them at the conference.
“We will then send it to Australian Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Kim Beazley,” Patel said.
Keisha Senter, director of the initiative, said, “We select students based on the strength of their Commitments to Action, coupled with other characteristics we care about. We want to make sure we have a good proportion of community colleges, Ivy league schools, public and private schools, and historically black colleges, as well as good representation of all 50 states.”
Prasad and Patel were two of 1,300 students selected to attend the conference out of the 3,500 who applied. They recognized the opportunity for wider exposure to the attacks.
“We’ll get leads at the conference to reach out and network,” Patel said.
Several celebrities attended the conference, including hip-hop star Usher Raymond; Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health; Michele Norris of NPR; U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin; John Podesta, former White House chief of staff; and actress Heather Graham.
Like other students at the conference, Prasad and Patel must commit to an action plan. Their petition matches that mission statement.
To apply to the conference, applicants should go to the Clinton Global Initiative website. Applications are accepted in October, and selections take place in March. Stipends are available depending on need.
