Journalist Lisa Ling's opening remarks were greeted with much applause from her audience Thursday night.
"I can't stand the New England Patriots," she said.
Aimee Ash, associate director of Student Life, said more than 750 students, some of whom sat in the aisles or stood against the walls, packed into Cardinal Hall at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center for Ling's speech.
Ling spoke about her experience as a reporter at Channel One News, the Oprah Winfrey Show and National Geographic where she covered topics such as civil war in Afghanistan, maximum-security prison life in the United States, China's one-child policy and bride burning in India.
She said traveling and gaining awareness about different cultures is important to people's development as human-beings.
"I truly, to this day, feel like if we all had the opportunity to know more about the world, we'd relish that opportunity," she said. "You know there's this assumption that Americans, particularly young people, don't care about what's going on in the world, but I categorically disagree with that. I truly believe that we do care, but our media just does such a crappy job covering anything international unless there's catastrophe or war."
Ling said she thinks one of the most important stories in the world right now is that 70 percent of the population in the Middle East is younger than age 30, and half of that number is younger than age 15, which means an entire generation is growing up with a negative view of the United States.
Ling said aspiring journalists should start submitting their own stories to networks. There are more opportunities open to young journalists than before because of advances in video and camera technology, she said
There need to be more people covering world events in the media, Ling said.
"What drives me and the passion that I have is due to the fact that I've been exposed," she said. "Somehow, someone, somewhere gave me the opportunity to be exposed to so many of these incredibly powerful stories in the world, and, for me, I just can't pretend that they're not there; I can't turn my back on them."
Ash said Ling's visit was co-sponsored by Excellence in Leadership, the Department of Telecommunications, the Asian-American Association, Housing and Residence Life and the Multicultural Center.
"We just really believed that her message of global awareness and student activism was a positive one for Ball State," Ash said.
Freshman Om Srivastava, a saxophone performance major, said he didn't expect to learn anything from Ling because she is a celebrity, but she changed his thinking.
"It kind of really hit me when she talked about her becoming more human when she traveled the world and how too often Americans have these preconceived judgements, and if we just meet people and think about their background, then we'll be more understanding," he said.
Srivastava said Ling inspired him to travel more and consider becoming fluent in a foreign language.
Senior English major Bo Young Roh said she has always been a fan of Ling's work because she focuses on stories about people other than celebrities.
"She inspired me a lot to open my eyes to the world," Young Roh said.
Young Roh, an exchange student from South Korea in her second year at Ball State, said she agrees with Ling's advice to travel abroad.
Sophomore TCOM major Kevin Jones said he came to hear Ling's speech because her position in the news relates to his major. Jones said he knew Ling's presentation would be good because of her reputation in the television industry.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
