Author: Daniel Libertz

A Woman’s Place is Everywhere

by Daniel Libertz, posted in WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

Gender equality, sexism,women’s rights, status and position had always been topics that I am most interested about. These are highly controversial issues that had been discussed and debated for a very long time. We could see today that these issues had some progressive developments, while some are just not developing at all.

Being the Asian that I am, my father had always wanted me to be a doctor or an engineer. I do believe those are promising careers. However, there are always voices that would discourage me to branch into the engineering field, the most male-dominated field in STEM. I had a classmate that asked what my major was and when he found out I was majoring in Chemical Engineering, his answer was, “But, you’re a girl…”. I was speechless and was a tiny bit offended by his response. The look on his face made me realize, he was not looking down on me or underestimating me. He was sincerely shocked. He was just stating the fact that I was a girl and engineering is a field that he believes is not suitable for a girl. It was at this moment that I realized sexism is REAL.

Growing up in South-East Asia, culture and religion are important parts of our lives. My mother was born in a small village in Indonesia, where all her friends were married by the age of 16 or 17. Girls were married off by their parents because they believe there is no point of sending them to school anymore at that age as they would eventually be bearing children and be housewives. These girls had no education and with children, when their husbands left them, all they could do was work in factories that pay them so little, all they could afford to eat and feed their children was plain white rice and soy sauce. My mother escaped that and migrated to Malaysia to find work.

I really want to say that women’s rights and status in Malaysia is better, but that would be untrue. Even with all the progressive developments regarding this issue, few men still have backward thinking where they believe women do not need education or be independent because the only thing a woman should know is how to be a good ‘wife’. We practice a culture where future husbands need to pay a ‘bride price’ to the bride’s family to compensate the family for ‘losing’ a daughter. The ‘bride price’ is usually set by the bride’s family depending on how much they think she’s worth. Some men of conservative beliefs think that the older you are, the less you’re worth and this discourages some women to pursue higher education as they would be married at a later age. This upset me that women are being treated as an object where your worth is decided by others.

Being in the states for almost four years now, I believe that women have more rights here. These issues are also far more progressive here than they are in some other parts of the world. I feel more empowered here than I do in my own country. I want women to not be afraid to be whatever they want to be, to work wherever they want to, to decide their own self-worth and to be proud that they are women. I want little girls to grow up and believe they can achieve anything without worrying what the society would think of them. I do not have the full understanding of these highly sensitive and controversial issues to come up with solutions, but I do hope that one day we will be able to resolve them.

Lia Solomon Blog Post (due 1.15.18)

by Daniel Libertz, posted in Uncategorized, WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

When I was younger, I volunteered at elderly living facilities. This was an incredible experience because the residents often expressed gratitude at me being there, so I came to learn that I could make an impact on other people’s lives.

My senior year of high school I became passionate about fighting injustices, focusing on racial disparities and police brutality. I went on a few marches and protests, but I realized the organization I was part of had flaws. I thought protestors’ use of derogatory language about police, even if warranted, could in no way aid or create momentum for change. Additionally, the marches felt like the goal was the march itself, when I felt that the marches should have been steps toward progress, meant to draw attention to issues and invigorate current and attract new members. Freshman year at Pitt I joined a social action committee where we discuss a variety of issues. The problem, however, is the complete other side of the spectrum; we do a lot of talk and little action.

Around the same time I joined social action committee, I also joined an organization called Pitt Prison Outreach which works to raise awareness and educate students about issues of mass incarceration and the unjust criminal justice system. The organization also volunteers sending books to prisoners and fundraises for organizations that aim to create better quality of life for those whose lives have been affected by mass incarceration. I found a lot of satisfaction in learning about these issues and in volunteering.

In both the fall and spring of my freshman year I also volunteered at different homeless shelters. It was rewarding because I got to know a lot of interesting people. When you look at a societal injustice, you often envision a group of people struggling with a problem. You tend to forget or ignore the individual. To meet people who struggle, means you put a name, a face, a story to the cause. You remind yourself that you’re fighting for people, as opposed to just fighting against an issue.

Since I started learning about different societal ills I have found that many link together. Race and class disparities; poverty; environmental, education, and food injustice; and mass incarceration all have ties, and some can become a vicious cycle. And I don’t know how you solve this.

I know that there are problems. I know students of color are more likely to be suspended or expelled, often for subjective offenses. I know that suspension and expulsion make it hugely unlikely that students don’t graduate high school or go to college. I know that not graduating high school extremely raises the likelihood of incarceration. I know that students can’t study when they don’t have clean clothes to wear or food in their stomachs. I know the recidivism rate is around 75% and that re-entry is almost impossible. I know that those trying to re-enter struggle to find jobs and housing, and often don’t have people to help them on the outside.

Society makes a lot of effort to try to hide what they see as unfit. People complain when they have to walk past those dealing with homelessness on the streets. But instead of wanting to help people obtain a better life, many people just want to be able to walk down the streets and not have to see the homeless population. People want prisons but don’t want to see the ugliness and abusive nature of prisons or to have those who have served time living in their communities. People don’t want to see hungry children, but they also don’t want to spend their money to feed them.

I don’t know how you make life affordable for the poorest people in a capitalist system. I don’t know how you convince society that those who get out of prison have paid their debt to society and are supposed to be able to rehabilitate and re-enter. I don’t know how to convince people that barely have enough to send their kids to college in a day where higher education is almost required for a good life, that they should pay more in taxes to take care of those less well-off than they are, or how you convince the wealthiest to use their wealth for the betterment of others. I don’t know how you get people to acknowledge racism and racial disparities. I don’t have any answers, but, hopefully caring is a good place to start.

 

 

Narcotic Abuse Beyond the User

by Daniel Libertz, posted in WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

In a world full of so many opinions, it is difficult to narrow my focus onto one specific issue. The first thoughts that come to mind are gender inequality, abortion, and climate change; however, while I find those topics interesting, I am not knowledgeable or interested enough to dedicate a semester to these topics. I feel that these issues are on such a large scale that it would take much more than a semester of writing to feel that I had contributed.
As I would like to take on a smaller scale issue, I have narrowed it down to two options, drunk driving and narcotic abuse. When I was in elementary school, one of my classmates was killed in a drunk driving accident that also paralyzed her father. From then on, my community was passionate about providing awareness of the consequences of drunk driving. I was a member of a club in high school that partnered with MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving to bring their message to high school students. Although drunk driving is a familiar and important topic to me, I feel that narcotic abuse is a serious issue that is not taken as such.
As a pre-pharmacy student, medicine is a main interest of mine. I have worked in retail pharmacies for three years and have witnessed narcotic abuse from the pharmacy perspective. When my training began, one of the main focusses was how to determine if a script is fraudulent. We are also taught to look for signs in a customer that hint towards narcotics abuse, and I am required to check with the pharmacist if I am at all uncertain of the legitimacy. Almost weekly, pharmacists are notified of doctors who abused their power to prescribe and are no longer permitted to write for narcotics, as well as doctors notifying us when their prescription pads have been stolen. I have also witnessed customers abusing our pharmacy to feed their addiction. While working this summer, we came across a family that had been receiving narcotic prescriptions and sending different members of the family to pick them up and “play dumb” to the fact that they were frequently receiving narcotics. After our pharmacist became suspicious, they began looking into the family members’ prescription history and after investigating discovered that the family members were getting narcotics for their mother. My experience in pharmacy made me aware of the severity and prevalence of narcotic abuse.
On a personal level, I have a family member struggling with narcotic abuse. Without forging a prescription or having others get their medication, they manage to legitimately obtain pills frequently enough to maintain an addiction. It is hard to watch someone you love become a stranger, to see them during their bad days, to put up with their mood swings, to walk into their home and see a counter so full of pill bottles it looks like a pharmacy, and to have them forget a phone conversation simply because they were too high to remember it. Narcotic abuse does not just affect the person addicted. It is an issue that spreads to all health professionals and friends and family members, as well.
Of course I believe in the good of medicine. I understand that most people take narcotics for legitimate reasons and they help them to function in their daily lives. However, I want to make others aware that narcotic abuse is a large issue. I also think that everyone should know the signs for a narcotic addiction and how to help those addicted. If we learn how to identify and prevent the issue, we can take a step in the right direction towards decreasing narcotic abuse.

Frustrated Learner

by Daniel Libertz, posted in WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

For as long as I can remember, my interests outside of school were sparked by frustration. Thankfully (or not, depending on who you ask), these interests were fostered and allowed to flourish by my parents. My household was fairly progressive for the early 2000’s. My mom was the primary breadwinner, and my dad was a stay-at-home dad. Even to this day, my parents don’t necessarily participate in the typical gender roles. This I believe has been the driving force behind my feminist mindset. As a young girl, I was inspired by my mom and her work ethic, so I looked for more powerful women that I could learn from. At around 9 years old, I became infatuated with Rachel Carson. She is not the typical feminist icon, but I could not help but to aspire to be someone like her. She was a woman who was interested in science, who was not afraid of what others thought or said about her; she stood up for what she believed in, and was ultimately right in the end, despite harsh criticism.
After learning about Rachel Carson, my parents encouraged me to read Silent Spring. Little did I know, this book would spark my interest in public health. The focus of Rachel Carson’s research revolved around environmental contaminants, such as DDT, and their potential impact on human health. As I got older, I continued become interested in public health issues. My mom began working for a major vaccine manufacturer during the Anti-Vaxxer heyday. Frustrated is not a strong enough word for what I felt when I heard about the movement. When my mom introduced me to two moms who had lost babies to pertussis, I knew that I had to do something. Their babies were too young to receive the vaccination, so they were likely given the illness by someone older who had not received the vaccine or booster. Hearing the stories of what their families went through was heartbreaking. The trips to the NICU, the distinct coughs, the blue skin when their baby could not get enough oxygen, their stories were different but also the same. I realized that these two women represented just a small fraction of those with similar stories, that likely could have been avoided all together.
The next event that acted as a catalyst for hours of learning, numerous books, and eventually my major in college, was the Affordable Care Act. The legal process of trying to get the bill passed was fascinating to me. The government has long tried to address the issues of access to care and cost of care, and despite many efforts we are still dealing with these issues today. People in minority populations face even more difficulty gaining access to affordable and quality care. Learning about this fired up my feminist side; ever since, I have been taking notice of the injustices that seem to apply specifically to women’s health.
I am passionate about a lot of issues; however, I always seem to find a way to relate them back to health. It does not take a lot for me to become intrigued enough to do more research, however it usually starts with me getting angry. I hope that I can turn this anger and frustration into positive motivation for change.

My Route to Poverty Alleviation

by Daniel Libertz, posted in WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

Over the course of my life, many of my ideologies and opinions have undergone transitions, or matured due to personal life experiences. But, the main topic that has remained the same is my family – especially my mom, dad, and brother. They have supported me throughout my entire life and acted as role models for what I aspire to be. From the institution of house rules to the encouragement on the volleyball court, I have been blessed to have a happy and healthy family support system. However, this is not necessarily the case for many children across the United States, and even throughout the world and I would like to gain insight into the minds of poverty-stricken individuals.

A controversial topic that has been noticeable in my life is poverty. For the past four summers I have travelled to Booneville, Kentucky to construct homes and additions for the less fortunate. These individuals wear holy shirts and have stained, yellow teeth – if they even have any. Their homes are not much better, where the floorboards are caving in due to termite infestation or the walls are slanted from inclement weather conditions. I continue to go back every year to feel a sense of accomplishment in knowing that I have made an impact on a family’s life. I once was asked why I do not just relocate the individuals to a more populated, economically-attractive area. But what that person neglected to realize is poverty is not confined to a specific area or community – it is all around us, whether it be visible or hidden. I also encounter it on a daily basis. I see it every day walking on Forbes Avenue – the man sitting on the ground in a ripped sleeping bag or the beggar asking if I could spare a dollar or two. Normally I answer and say I have no spare change, or I even bow my head and look the other way. I always wonder what would happen if I did give up that dollar – where it would go. Encouraging people to serve others and become more socio-economically aware are two ways that can address the poverty concerns.

In addition, my transition to college has forced me to become aware and susceptible to working with the mental health issues that are prevalent on college campuses today. As a resident assistant, I serve as a mentor and try to help resolve issues that I might not necessarily know how to. College campuses have seen an increase in mental health cases, and this has been attributed to reasons such as test anxiety, poor nutrition, psychological damage, and hereditary traits. Resident assistants undergo extensive training to work with mental issues and also participate in a week dedicated to mental illness. If an issue arises that we cannot address alone, we direct residents to the counseling center, and if the counseling center needs assistance, the residents can be directed to a hospitalized institution. But the issue is, there is no right or wrong answer because each case is different. As this issue is a growing concern, knowing and understanding how to work with each individual would make my job easier and allow me to become more confident in my abilities – simply knowing that I too am doing something right.

While my strong family support system has served as a blessing for me, others have not been so fortunate. Gaining more knowledge on poverty alleviation will help me to address the concerns both within my neighborhood and through the organizations I am involved in. In addition, poverty can be a correlation to mental health, where having a bad upbringing can negatively affect someone’s outlook on life. Understanding this correlation and addressing the root cause – poverty – can make me more knowledgeable and potentially becoming one step closer to solving mental health awareness issues.

 

A Case for Implementing Better Mental Health Resources

by Daniel Libertz, posted in WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

Mental health illness is something that plagues hundreds of millions of people all around the world on a daily basis, myself and various other people in my life included.  Despite this, it is still a topic very much stigmatized transculturally.  Recent years have seen the emergence of campaigns, such as StigmaFree, which strive to combat a milieu that prefers silence more often than not when it comes to mental health.

Campaigns like StigmaFree are important.  They promote talking about mental health in a way that doesn’t alienate anyone who might have a mental illness.  They promote mindfulness; they promote therapy; they promote self-care – and all of these are important.  It’s important to get out of your own head sometimes, to talk to a professional about how you’re feeling (RE: a professional; your friends and family are not, nor shouldn’t be your therapists), and to take all of the steps necessary to be the best version of yourself that you possibly can.  Mental health campaigns make all of this possible because they normalize mental health illnesses in a way that encourages people to actually talk about what they are going through.  This can’t be the end of progress, however.

Though some headway has been made as far as how mental health is treated as a topic in different areas throughout the world, there is still more to be done.  Almost anywhere you go, the resources needed for people to effectively improve their mental health are severely lacking in one area or another.  For instance, various countries in Europe, as well as Canada, provide free healthcare for all their citizens, meaning that mental health services are affordable for everyone.  The drawbacks, however, include a smaller number of practicing mental health professionals, as well as required long waiting periods before a first appointment can be made.  The United States has the opposite problem.  Mental health professionals are available at every other street corner, and an appointment can be made as soon as it is needed, but health insurance here is based in the private sector.  This means if you cannot afford health insurance, or you do not have a job which is able to provide you with those benefits, you will either have to pay for your mental health treatment out of pocket or not receive any treatment at all.  It would be beneficial for people all over the world if mental health services were both affordable, and available to everyone.

I think it would also be beneficial if mental health professionals could be integrated into public schools to provide counseling services and mental health education.  For young people to have important resources available to them at a time in their lives when they are easily impressionable would be good for them both in the short-term and in the long-run.  In the short-term, younger students would have someone available to them, free of charge, in a place where they already legally have to be.  Those resources would be readily available to them whenever they might need them (within operating school hours).  In the long-run, students would be able to build up their mental health or, at the very least, develop healthy coping mechanisms to use, should they develop mental health illnesses later in their lives.

TL;DR: Talking about mental health so that people who have mental illnesses don’t feel alienated from the rest of the world is great, but just talking isn’t enough.  Adequate resources, such as available and affordable mental health services for people of all ages, should be implemented all over the world to give full support to people who have mental illnesses.

My Personal Responsibilities and How They Shape Me

by Daniel Libertz, posted in WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

The first thoughts that I have when trying to figure out my personal wants to change the world are birth control and abortions. However, in light of the fact that older people (men mostly) who do not need birth control or abortions decide the laws that have to do with them, I must keep myself out of it (for the time being at least). Moving on, I think of the Black Lives Matter community and I am sad that my tiny voice would do so little for such an amazing movement. I am also a big LGBTQ+ community supporter and love to offer my help for them but these movements already have so much support that I wanted to channel my energy into a smaller movement to let it grow. From then on I realized my most personal issue of public interest and my true want to help: immigration.

I am from Russia and not even a first generation immigrant (my kids will be). Since I have moved here with my parents I have experienced more than three handfuls of times, discrimination. When I was 16, I went to the DMV with my dad for my drivers test. I remember sitting in that blue Subaru, terrified. The lady who was proctoring my test kept looking at me and then at her papers, not even paying attention to my driving. About five minutes in she told me to turn around and head back to the lot.

“What did I do wrong?” I felt tears forming. I told my friends I would drive to the movies later.

“I noticed here that you are from Russia. I don’t think people like you are ready to drive in this country”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “I have lived here since I was 6. I have never learned to drive in any other country, none the less Russia.”

She didn’t give me my license. I went back a couple weeks later and did an AWFUL job and got my license (I now drive decently well, do not fear). I think that event is something I will ever forget nor forgive. Even before the age of 16 I had been surrounded by people who called me a Communist and thought it was the funniest thing in the world. With that being said, the current President and many people of his caliber believe terrible things about immigrants. My boyfriend’s cousin has even said that driving out immigrants would make crime and poverty absolutely null (???). I think the beginning to helping this problem is educating people about how wrong these ideas are. Creating a society where there isn’t hate for people you are not used to, would let those people show their kindness to you and let you understand they are not bad. Having an open mind is also a big part of understanding the immigration culture in America. Even if you meet an immigrant that is rude or dangerous or any negative adjective, you can also meet an American person with those attributes. Just because they are an immigrant doesn’t mean the immigration part is the reason for their ways or personality.

Be open minded and be supportive. Always.

Uniting a Nation

by Daniel Libertz, posted in Uncategorized, WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

When brainstorming ideas trying to come up with something I’m actually passionate enough about that I may want to spent an entire semester writing on, my mind was continually taken to one specific place. In our society it has become common to turn on the news or open the newspaper and immediately hear of some horrible hate crime, mass killing, or act of terrorism. It would be more uncommon to go months or even weeks without one of these tragic events occurring. We as a nation, seem so divided.

 

Political parties have divided the people of our country since 1796 when the first election in the history of our country was held where candidates ran for office as members of specific, organized political parties. Of course, these parties held very different and seemingly opposite political principles. Specifically, this past election seemed to be more controversial than ever and certainly one that divided many people in our nation. According to an article posted by the Washington Post, more than four in ten democrats and republicans say the other party’s policies are so misguided that they pose an actual threat to the nation (WashingtonPost.com).

 

Being a college student at a large university, unfortunately, I see this division of people first hand. Immediately following Trump’s election into office I watched hundreds of college kids storm the streets of Oakland protesting until three or four in the morning. The day following the election I witnessed an informal Trump rally form outside of Sennott Square that included students handing out flyers listing ways Trump can help our country. The students around me seemed to instantly become more divided than I had ever seen. Speaking out about your political opinion today, especially at a large university has certainly become a quite scary thing to do.

 

Aside from politics, there have been over three hundred and twenty mass shootings (the F.B.I. defines a “mass” shooting as the killing of three or more people) in the US in 2017 (abc15.com). Horrible acts of extreme hate such as the Las Vegas shooting and the bombing at the Ariana Grande concert are all too common in today’s media.

 

Additionally, racism in our country seems to be at an all-time high. The incidents that occurred this past year in Charlottesville Virginia remind us that racism seems to be alive and in our society. Hundreds of people chanting anti-black, anti-LGBT, anti-Jewish, and anti-Muslim chants in Charlottesville became the largest public demonstration of its kind in generations. Hate crimes seemingly motivated by dislike of a specific religion are also all too common nowadays.

 

George W. Bush said it best when he said, “At times, it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together.” How then, can we unite as a country and get along? A tough question to answer of course, but one that certainly deserves a lot of attention in today’s society. When will the violence and hate stop? When will we stand together as one group of people with the best interest of others in mind?

Potential Writing Interests

by Daniel Libertz, posted in Uncategorized, WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

As I reflected upon potential topics to write about, I thought about issues that are on the minds of people in my hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Over the past few years back home, the opioid crisis has been growing at an alarming rate much like other parts of the country. This is an issue that really hits home for me as two people from my high school graduating class have overdosed and passed away within the past two and a half years. Measures like informing younger generations about the dangers of drugs and a bill passed by Congress dedicating funding to treatment centers has already been done with little to no effect while the issue at hand continues to grow. Upon looking into the subject area closer, I came across articles where experts in the area agree that both the current addicts as well as potential addicts in the future need to be accounted for in order to combat the problem. Attempting to fix one without the other will only partially fix the problem and the results will not last. Everyone seems to know someone affected by substance abuse and a solution needs to be pursued.

Another issue I have particular interest in is the question of whether or not college athletes should be paid. This is a very relevant topic as we are a class of college students and some of us routinely have classes with athletes. I personally think that they should not be paid because they are students first and foremost (although some act as if it is the other way around). However, I do understand the players’ standpoint that university’s should not be profiting millions of dollars from the work of its students. There are several ideas floating around about how to come to a solution for this issue. One proposed solution I have found to be the fairest, in my opinion, is that the money the student-athletes earn (however much it may be) goes into a savings account that they only get access to once they have graduated. This way they are getting paid as well as receiving incentive to finish their schooling.

The third topic that it relevant to the public and to myself personally is the crumbling infrastructure in the United States. Currently, I am in my second co-op rotation at FedEx Ground and the importance of quality roads and bridges to the company is crucial. In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the United States overall infrastructure a D+ which, in my opinion, is unacceptable for our country. Everyone who lives or works in around the Pittsburgh region knows how poor the road conditions are in this area. In fact, some people deem there only being two seasons in our neck of the woods: winter and construction. The ironic part is that Pennsylvanians’ pay the highest gasoline tax in the country and this tax is mainly supposed to go towards road maintenance and improvement. Clearly what is being done is not working and changes need to be made.

Although all of these topics are relevant and important, the declining infrastructure of the United States is the most relevant and impactful to me. There is a clear problem and it is a problem that people can get behind and be a part of the push for change.

Personal Responsibility

by Daniel Libertz, posted in Uncategorized, WFP Blog Posts Spring 2018

I’m not sure exactly why, but I don’t usually put a lot of thought into what I could do to improve the world as a whole.  There are so many people that want to change the world in amazing ways.  There are people that won’t quit until they leave their mark on society.  I, on the other hand, tend to focus on myself and what I need to do every day to be successful.  I don’t see myself as a dreamer, but more of a doer.  I have always believed that if I do what I am supposed to do, and if I put my best effort into everything I do, I will eventually end up where I want to be in life.  I am by no means trying to put down these other people.  I wish I had a noble cause that I felt so strongly about.  But until I do, I am going to try to be the best person I can be every single day, and improve myself as a person constantly.

I have always been raised to believe that you get out of something what you put into it.  Along with this, I have been taught to be accountable for my actions.  These two ideas have got me far in life.  However, I see many people on a personal level that do not live by these “rules”.  I have close family and friends that are in very bad situations for a variety of reasons.  For the most part, their unfortunate circumstances are a result of their own doing.

I think many people today are brought up believing that whatever bad things happen to them are someone else’s fault.  Many people convince themselves that if they are not successful, it is because the “system” is against them or because of some circumstances out of their control.  Although this may be true in some cases, the vast majority of these people have given up on the idea that they could have an internal “locus of control”.  People with an external locus of control tend to look at themselves as victims of society and choose to stop putting forth an effort.  Once people stop trying, it is almost impossible to be successful.

If I could influence society in one way, I would encourage people to be more responsible for themselves and their actions.  I do not believe that a healthy individual should ever be taught to be reliant on anyone else for anything.  I know far too many people who suffer because they rely on their parents, a spouse or significant other, or the government to get by.  These people will never be able to contribute positively to the world if they do nothing but sit and wait to be taken care of.  I would encourage people to take command of their own lives and to become reliant on only themselves.  If everyone acted in this way, our entire society would be more efficient and prosperous.  In the meantime, I will continue to work as hard as I can to be in control of my own future, and hopefully if I ever come up with a plan that can change the world in a positive way, I will be in a position to execute it.