A main character from the TV series 'The L Word' will be speaking at Pruis Hall tonight, not about sexual orientation, but about her experiences traveling to several poverty-stricken countries during the past seven years.
Mia Kirschner, a Canadian actress who has starred in dozens of films and TV series such as 'Not Another Teen Movie,' '24' and 'The L Word,' will speak at Pruis Hall at 7 p.m.
Residence Hall Association President John Caplinger said he became interested in inviting Kirschner to Ball State University after hearing about her in an English 104 class. His professor, Tara Tuttle, used Kirschner's book 'I Live Here' to illustrate visual rhetoric, which is a form of communication that uses images to create meaning or construct an argument.
Caplinger said the book is a collection of four journals about her perspective of displaced people camps, and he considers them 'impactful stories.'
Kirschner visited Ingushetia, Burma, Juarez and Malawi and uncovered issues such as genocide and child prostitution. Her grandparents were refugees during the Holocaust, but her stories of displaced people are different than most well-known scenarios.
Caplinger said he was impressed with her down-to-earth personality. He said she seemed anxious to speak at Ball State and tell her story.
'I think her goal is to have students want to know more about what needs to happen,' he said. 'A lot of times, we only hear about things whenever they become immediately relevant.'
He said he doubts many people would think about things like poverty in Haiti if it had not been struck by an earthquake. He said Kirschner sought a cause to take up instead of relying on the mainstream media for direction.
'Instead of being apathetic, she wanted to make a change,' he said. 'She went out to experience it.'
Kirschner wrote 'I Live Here' during breaks from filming 'The L Word.'
Tuttle said from what she's seen of Kirschner's book-related speaking tours, she speaks about the people she met while writing the book rather than her acting career.
'She's low key, down-to-earth and approachable,' Tuttle said.
Kirschner will speak with English 104 students at 12:30 p.m. at the Park Hall Multipurpose Room before the main presentation tonight. Caplinger said this will be a more intimate meeting targeted at people who have read the book.
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