Students knowledge of ISIS

Attending a diverse university such as Rutgers has put me in contact with people from cultures all over the world, with many different backgrounds and stories, but all with the same goal of seeking knowledge and learning about their topic of choice.  However, this quest for knowledge seems not to extend beyond most students’ fields of study.  When discussing current events most students I talk to only have the most general knowledge of what is happening in other parts of the country, let alone the world.  Students are quick to condemn ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, as they should, but they have trouble giving a reason as to how ISIS came to be.  The lack of understanding behind the formation of the terrorist organization is troubling because not understanding the cause can allow those conditions to happen again.  The problem with students at a prestigious institution such as Rutgers not understanding the causes behind the formation of this organization is that it represents a general lack of understanding by the nation as a whole.  Additionally, some students have bought into the political ideology that Hillary Clinton or President Obama are the ones who caused the creation of ISIS.  This is dangerous because it does two things, it reduced the socioeconomic and political factors down to a very simple and incorrect way and it creates a very western-centric view of the political problems in the Middle East.  This view while not entirely incorrect does leave out many important factors and situations.  For most students, ISIS is an organization that popped up in Iraq very recently and was seen by them as coming out of a void.  I interviewed and discussed this with many students and asked what sources they had for their information, for the most part students only looked at information directly presented to them via Facebook or twitter news feeds.  Of those students who gathered news from more than social media were often forced to stay away from news outlets such as Fox or CNN because of the clear bias and sensationalized news. 
            Current events have played and will always play an important role in the college experience, forming student’s world views and allowing for students to take the first steps into political involvement.  However, in order to have a positive effect on the political world college students have to be informed and interested, like the Vietnam War protesters were.  The information is freely available but not actively sought after.  This is why classes and lectures about the modern Middle East are so important, so that students understand not only how things happen, but also why things happen and the historical events that led to the environment that created them.

Written by Michael Marsh
With Pictures from flicker.com and the Daily Mail
Video provided by Vox