What are three to six key points or impressions that you will take away from these stories?

A few points that I will take away from the story "Safer at Sea" are that at the current rate we are exploiting are fishing populations and resources we will have no fish stock left to catch by 2048.  This is an alarmingly fast rate and seeing as the sport and livelihood of fishing has millions of people dependent on the sea, this would only increase levels of starvation and poverty for many fishing villages.  Another major point of "Safer at Sea" is the diplomatic unrest that is being caused by the fisherman having to venture farther out to sea and into neighboring countries fisheries.  If these issues escalate, only more serious issues will arise such as increased jail time and restrictive legislation.  So my main takeaway is that we need to act on our own sustainability now more than ever.

A few points I took away from the podcast about "food scholarships" is that with all the stigma surrounding free handouts and food pantries students need to take the time and find help where they can and be accepting of this help.  Not only be accepting but be self aware of the issue.  I think the most noticeable and unforgettable statistic was that over 30% of students are struggling with food insecurity.

Write a 200-word reflection that engages, analyzes, critiques, expands upon, and/or questions what you read or listened to.

After reading “Safer at Sea” I feel that our environment can be overlooked greatly and if the issues are so colossal in the Philippines currently, it begs the question, what other issues are out there that we don’t know about. Before reading the article, I had no idea that there was an overfishing issue in the Philippines because personally, that is outside my scope of understanding and daily life. It’s sad to think that greater issues don’t cross my mind regularly, as I’m sure the same goes for thousands of students on campus. Similarly, upon reading about the women’s rights issue in India, I now see how different and blessed my life is. I have it unbelievably easy compared to millions if not billions of people across the planet. To have just your basic human rights is something I would never even question. Perhaps this makes me ignorant or perhaps this is a greater issue with the male population. For hundred of women in India to be abused and murdered by their husbands, is so far beyond my comprehension of what life is for me. The culture of India and the treatment of women baffles me, and I can only hope for change to come. I think by having education programs in place to teach the teenage boys of India about morals and rights is a brilliant start to defeat the systemic culture of sexism in India.

Share your reflections on your experience reading, watching or listening to the solutions journalism stories. Did you learn new information; gain new understanding; see things with a different perspective than you had in the past? Did the stories reinforce an idea or thought you'd previously had? Did you meet new people, or learn about opportunities you were previously unaware of?  

I think each article, podcast, newsletter provided insight into several different worlds and issues that plague this planet.  From ecological issues to human rights each story shocked me with the numbers and circumstances surrounding each problem.  We live in a world at the University of Florida that is sheltered and "bubble-like".  We do not get to see the issues that affect peoples daily lives and well-being.  After reading/listening to each piece I feel that I have a very different view about the many topics I seem to overlook regularly.  I knew that these problems existed but I never realized the scale of the problems.  After reading more into these detailed stories I feel I can actually fathom how monumental these issues are.  I felt that after learning specifically about the "food scholarships", and gaining knowledge about the Field and Fork Pantry on campus, I feel we need to remove the stigma surrounding food pantries.  Food insecurity is a real issue and I cannot imagine how many people this affects so close to my home.

Were there other stories this week that you’d like to give an “honorable mention” -- that you enjoyed, but were not your top choice to share?

I really enjoyed reading about the story about the Indian boys learning how to be anti-sexist.  I think aiming for teenage boys to fix the sexism issue and violence towards women in India is a fantastic idea as these boys will be the leaders of the next generation.  I think there needs to be systemic change to the culture surrounding  women and I found this to be quite an interesting read.

What else would you like to share?

The Story "Safer at Sea" really hits close to home for me as I am born and raised in Florida and my passions and love for the sea and fishing are vital to me.  To hear how bad commercial fishing practices are in the Philippines worries me because I could not imagine living by the coast and not having any stock of fish left.  The idea that an entire ecosystem would collapse truly scares me and I took much greater appreciation and dive into this story.