| Summary: | January 25, 2013 • theconcordian.org Wancordian 9 Rethinking leadership Let's get social What's in a like?' KELSEY KAVA CONCORDIA SENIOR During the Fuel the Fire leadership con-ference last Saturday, keynote speaker Kristi Wieser, class of '84, left attendees with an impor-tant message: live your values every day. She explained to students that she chose to work at IBM, a large multina-tional corporation, be-cause of the company's core values. I appreciate this mes-sage as I near gradua-tion, and am taking it to heart. It's the reason I'm putting off homework right now to write this editorial; this is one way I can live out my values and share what's impor-tant to me. While I ap-preciated learning from Kristi's experience as a Global Technology Ser-vices Program Execu-tive for IBM, it also left me wondering: is this the most important kind of leadership that Con-cordia College can show-case to student leaders? Is this the kind of lead-ership model we should highlight? My idea of what it means to be a leader dramatically changed during my fall semester, which I spent in India on the Social Justice, Peace, and Develop-ment program. Instead of hearing from people in high leadership posi-tions— ones that come with fancy titles and big paychecks—on the top-ics we discussed (such as globalization, ethics of development and sus-tainable agriculture) we saw first-hand how peo-ple are affected by these issues. I learned from child laborers, factory work-ers and farmers. I met with activists, communi-ty organizers and people volunteering their time to causes and organi-zations that are mak-ing positive changes in the world. I listened to stories of people who hadn't finished elemen-tary school and didn't know how to read- EMILIE BOWMAN CONCORDIA JUNIOR While I agree with the statement that the visi-tation policy needs to be amended, I find that I completely disagree with points in Mr. Amos' rea-soning on this matter. Amos states, "The ease and comfort sustained by the policy's enforcement, however, inhibits student growth." as "discomfort is a necessary and pivotal part of (the) maturation process." Yes, discomfort and be-ing pushed out of one's comfort zone is a neces-sary part of growing in life, but Concordia fulfills this need by encourag-ing students to become engaged and passionate about what they believe, not by forcing them into 'damaging and emotion-ally vexing situations. We all have the right to feel safe and comfortable where we live and in col-things that, in the Unit-ed States, are seen as necessary to be a leader. I learned from these un-conventional teachers for four months, and it was my most transfor-mative semester yet. In a world that is dom-inated by huge compa-nies making millions of dollars each day, we need more models that show you don't have to go into the corporate world to be successful, and that your main priority doesn't have to be mak-ing money. Working in a corporate environment, spending more than 40 hours each week at an office, and constantly striving to increase sales and profits are the norm in our society. This is the kind of life that many soon-to-be college gradu-ates see as successful— being in a high position of leadership, with a great deal of influence and power over both peo-ple and money. But there are often unwritten and unseen costs to this kind of leadership—both for your personal life and for other people across the world. During her presenta-tion, Kristi mentioned that IBM had to let go several employees in her Bentonville, Arkansas office because their jobs were moving to India. Although Kristi did not give a specific reason for the jobs shifting from the United States to In-dia, a common reason for companies to out-source jobs is to increase their own profits. At the time I'm writing this, one U.S. dollar is equal to 53 Indian rupees. The employees in India, and other countries around the world, do the same amount of work as those in the United States, yet are paid much less. The idea that one laborer can be exploited for a corpo-ration's gain is incon-gruent with my personal values, as well as what Concordia stands for. Kristi and countless other individuals work-ing for IBM are likely lege, our living quarters are our dorm rooms. I don't believe Amos real-izes the stress and anxiety that those conflicts create for all parties involved. As someone who has gone through roommate conflict, I would not wish that experience on any-one, even if it supposedly helped me to "grow" Amos also makes the case that the visitation policy can negatively impact enrollment, as prospective students will choose to go to schools with more liberal poli-cies. Amos fails to ac-knowledge, however, that students do not choose Concordia because of its visitation policies; the average Cobber comes here because of programs, professors, the atmosphere and the community. Even if pro-spective students con-sider the policy while making their final col-lege decision, they would good examples of corpo-rate responsibility; for example, Kristi is also involved with a non-profit based in India that provides technology for children with disabili-ties. I'm not writing this to denounce Kristi as a leader or the LeadNow® program in their selec-tion of a keynote speak-er. But CEOs and corpo-rate business executives are constantly high-lighted; the namesake of the new Offutt School of Business is a perfect ex-ample. While both IBM and Ronald Offutt's com-panies have charitable endeavors, they are pri-marily concerned with making a profit. When I think about Concor-dia's mission to inspire students to "become re-sponsibly engaged in the world," these are not the kinds of leaders I think of. I value learning from nonconventional lead-ers. I value hearing the stories of the under-dogs— the individuals working tirelessly for so-cial change, who spend countless hours at non-profit organizations or NGOs where they make pennies to the dollar compared to CEOs of big companies. I value the kind of work that puts people's wellbeing before profit—because that's the kind of leader-ship Concordia College has taught me to value during my time here. To show us the CEO, the businessman, even the businesswoman, is to show us who we've al-ways seen at the top of the economic pyramid. To show us an activist, a caregiver, a true be-liever in combating hate with love, is to show us the person who's going to change the world for the good of all instead of profit for some. I encour-age Concordia College to think about the types of leadership they show-case throughout the col-lege, and students to think about the leaders they want to become. not overlook Concordia based solely on one pol-icy above a multitude of other potential reasons. Because of this, one can only conclude that the impact on admis-sions is not as great as Amos implies. Further-more, if some students' only focus is to make sure it is possible to be in the opposite gender's dorm room all night, rather than to learn, are they the type of students Concordia wishes to at-tract? The college needs to move forward in terms of visitation policy and some amendments need to be made, but we also need to make sure that we are not abandoning the legitimate reasons for the policy currently in place in favor of in-valid arguments, even if their end goals are in agreement with popular opinions on campus. JOEL LEEMAN OPINIONS COLUMNIST I've always wondered what a Facebook "like" re-ally means. With so many unfortunate incidents in the past year, I've really come to question why we click the like button on certain posts, what we in-tend it to represent and how others interpret our actions. In the past few months, I've seen people press the like button on statuses including, but not limited to: shootings, breakups, deaths, sadly jaded re-marks and natural disas-ters. Most recently, I was ex-tremely disgusted to learn that a photo was posted on Instagram of someone be-ing taken to an ambulance at the Back to School Bash. I understand the compul- ADAM TWARDOWSKI CONTRIBUTING WRITER As the Cold War wound down over twenty years ago, it became fashionable among some intellectual circles in the West to sug-gest that the ideological struggles of the 20th cen-tury were about to culmi-nate in the irrevocable triumph of liberal democ-racy. That century began under the yoke of expan-sive European colonial empires, experienced un-precedented devastation in two successive world wars, and then held its breath under the never-ending threat of nuclear devastation during the long, tense standoff be-tween the United States and the Soviet Union. Francis Fukuyama's well-known essay "The End of History" argued that there would not again emerge serious ideological chal-lenges to the emerging global consensus of lib-eral democracy because the experience of the 20th century had discredited them all. America's triumphal emergence from the Cold War left it the world's sole superpower, a state so in-credibly powerful that its ability to influence global affairs with relative ease through its unparalleled military strength and rich and innovative economy. Commentators and pun-dits of all stripes believed that the world was about to enter a "new American century" whose direction would be shaped largely by the will of the United States. Crucially, they be-lieved that more states would evolve to embrace liberal democracy and come to reflect the values that had been legitimized at the end of the Cold War. It's quite clear, howev-er, that the experience of the first decade and three years of the 21st century shows that optimism re-garding the triumph of liberal democracy is gro-tesquely misplaced. A mere glance at the decline of American power rela-tive to other increasingly powerful states-princi-pally China-reveals that sive need to share current events, but is this really what we've become-post-ing a photo of something so extremely sensitive and private? What does it say about us as a society if we are liking and sharing such sensitive statuses and posts like that? Then again, one could ask what it says that we share and post some of that informa-tion so freely. But here are the points that I'm really trying to make: Has social media de-sensitized us? Is it shaping our lan-guage, communication and social boundaries? Please, tell me if I'm the only one on this, but for me, it just doesn't sit well with me when I see someone "liking" or post-the 21st century will con-tinue to be dominated by interstate competition, and will result in a world characterized by increas-ingly intense Great Power struggle. The question of liberal democracy's fate in the greater context of global affairs has not been settled. In fact, our continuing experience of the interaction of states shows ever more clearly that the fundamental driv-ers and movers of world affairs are not fleeting values or attachments to naïve ideological sys-tems; they are, in fact, considerations of interest achieved by the develop-ment and projection of raw power. The rise of China is an issue that deserves particular attention. It's quite easy to get lost in daily headlines that-in spite of recent economic gyrations related to the ongoing global economic crisis-acclaim China's mesmerizing rise from catastrophic poverty a mere 30 years ago to the innermost circles of glob-al power. Richard Nixon and his then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger's opening of American relations with China in the 1970s was not only a brilliant Real-politik chessboard move designed to further con-strain the Soviet Union during the Cold War; it was also, in an important sense, the beginning of a reordering of the global distribution of power. Today, China's influ-ence in Asia is growing at an alarming rate (re-cent events surrounding the issue of sovereignty over the South China Sea and the disputed Di-aoyu/ Senkaku Islands are indicative of this). It has been aggressively pursuing and defending its interests in Central Asia, Africa and now even the Arctic region. After a "century of humilia-tion" during which it was carved up and abused by foreign powers, China is eager to reclaim a position its national consciousness believes it unjustly lost: a position of unsurpassed ing a status that deals with such heavy content. While I don't think that these social super users necessarily have mali-cious intentions, I just wonder if we're becom-ing a bit too careless with what we post and do. Moving beyond the sad and heartbreaking events, I also often think about some of the vulgar and senseless content that is posted on social networks every day. As we build our digital brand and foot-print, I think it's vital to be conscious of how we "sell" ourselves and what portrait we want to paint of ourselves. What do you think? Am I reading into things too much? Share your opinion and tweet me @jtleeman. power in the world, and of hegemonic dominance in eastern Asia, a region which is presently kept stable largely through the contribution of American military might. This American pres-ence has preserved stabil-ity on the Korean peninsu-la, prevented China from enveloping Taiwan, pro-moted a relative degree of calm between Japan and China and generally keeps shipping lanes open and safe for the business of high-stakes, multibil-lion dollar trade. China, however, sees American power in the region as a constraint on its ability guarantee its security and pursue its ends. It desires to attain enough power to exclude the United States from what it regards as its right sphere of interest. This is the next potential theater for serious Great Power conflict in the 21st century. Contrary to the world-view of idealists, ideology and values do not deter-mine how states interact with each other in the in-ternational system. The fact that the United States professes allegiance to lib-eral values, or that China continues to be commu-nist in name, does not al-ter the basic realities that provoke their behavior with respect to each oth-er- realities which include the constant struggle for security in an anarchi-cal global framework, chronic fear of the inten-tions and power of other states, and the pursuit of interests through the pro-jection of raw power. This intellectual perspective is a reflection the great tradition of "realism" in international relations, a tradition that finds its ori-gins in the writings of an-cients such as Thucydides and was developed by the contributions of conse-quential thinkers rang-ing from Machiavelli to George Kennan. Future columns will elaborate on this tradition, and the world will be consid-ered in this small space through its venerable lenses. For the right reasons? A response to Jacob Amos' 11/30 article Modern powers
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