2008 Woodie Awards
Adler: Think globally
Ali Adler
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Opinion
Saturday was my first ever Maryland Day, and I was truly impressed by the immense amount of planning, organizing and resourceful undertaking that went into bringing this action-packed and diverse showcase of our university to life.
Yet one of the grandest displays of the day gave me some food for serious thought - literally. The 54,000 cupcakes Dining Services started baking way back in December sat on Hornbake Plaza meticulously arranged in the shape of the Maryland seal. Just a few yards away, flags from around the world were perched in the grass, most likely to represent our new Strategic Plan's theme and goal of becoming an international institution. The juxtaposition of these two displays got me thinking about the strides we have to take as we move toward achieving global consciousness as a university.
The cupcakes were meant to break a world record, but to me, the $15,000 project symbolized a lack of global thinking. While our guests and we enjoyed our 12.6 million calorie delight this weekend, the world continued to suffer from the current food crisis. Sunday's Washington Post reported food prices have risen 80 percent in the past three years, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. Though it has begun to decline in recent weeks, the price of grain in particular has skyrocketed, having risen by 200 percent since 2000, according to the World Bank.
Many of us in the United States may be feeling a slight pinch in our pockets, but for the more than a billion people living on less than $1 per day - many of whom depend on grain as the major staple in their diets - spiking food prices are a true matter of survival. Violent food riots have broken out in at least 14 countries, including Haiti and Bangladesh.
Officials at the U.N. World Food Programme fear the current food crisis could plunge 100 million of the world's poorest people into hunger. When, according to the WFP, close to 900 million people in the world do not have their dietary needs met, we, at the university, spent the equivalent of the daily income of 15,000 of some of the world's poorest on desserts. Among the ingredients used were 1,415 pounds of flour, 177 gallons of 2 percent milk and 117.93 gallons of eggs to bake our cupcake extravaganza.
Granted, most people probably didn't have visions of starving children when they looked at the spirited cupcakes, and I know we needed a big publicity draw to put Maryland Day on the media map. Maybe we could have drawn attention to our global consciousness by donating or asking our sponsors to donate $15,000 to the WFP, which provides food to about 73 million people. The WFP estimated in January that it would need to raise an additional $500 million this year to compensate for rising food prices.
But beyond what we could or should have done, in the end, this isn't really about the cupcakes. They simply symbolize the importance of making the connection of how even our smallest actions connect beyond our borders as we continue to work toward becoming a "world-class" university.
In order for this institution to achieve a level of international status, we must first learn to think globally, even down to the seemingly insignificant details. As Maryland Day demonstrates, this university is not just about academics. Along with our studies, we have a plethora of activities and groups, and we're all trying to have a little fun. But in enjoying this privilege, all of us - students, faculty, administrators, staff and visitors - must keep in mind and talk about how we relate to the global picture. We can see ourselves as Terps, as Marylanders and as Americans, but above all else, we need to see ourselves as world citizens, taking into account how we might better express ourselves in the collective spirit that we hope will characterize our institution in the years to come.
Ali Adler is a freshman sociology major. She can be reached at aliadler@umd.edu.
Yet one of the grandest displays of the day gave me some food for serious thought - literally. The 54,000 cupcakes Dining Services started baking way back in December sat on Hornbake Plaza meticulously arranged in the shape of the Maryland seal. Just a few yards away, flags from around the world were perched in the grass, most likely to represent our new Strategic Plan's theme and goal of becoming an international institution. The juxtaposition of these two displays got me thinking about the strides we have to take as we move toward achieving global consciousness as a university.
The cupcakes were meant to break a world record, but to me, the $15,000 project symbolized a lack of global thinking. While our guests and we enjoyed our 12.6 million calorie delight this weekend, the world continued to suffer from the current food crisis. Sunday's Washington Post reported food prices have risen 80 percent in the past three years, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. Though it has begun to decline in recent weeks, the price of grain in particular has skyrocketed, having risen by 200 percent since 2000, according to the World Bank.
Many of us in the United States may be feeling a slight pinch in our pockets, but for the more than a billion people living on less than $1 per day - many of whom depend on grain as the major staple in their diets - spiking food prices are a true matter of survival. Violent food riots have broken out in at least 14 countries, including Haiti and Bangladesh.
Officials at the U.N. World Food Programme fear the current food crisis could plunge 100 million of the world's poorest people into hunger. When, according to the WFP, close to 900 million people in the world do not have their dietary needs met, we, at the university, spent the equivalent of the daily income of 15,000 of some of the world's poorest on desserts. Among the ingredients used were 1,415 pounds of flour, 177 gallons of 2 percent milk and 117.93 gallons of eggs to bake our cupcake extravaganza.
Granted, most people probably didn't have visions of starving children when they looked at the spirited cupcakes, and I know we needed a big publicity draw to put Maryland Day on the media map. Maybe we could have drawn attention to our global consciousness by donating or asking our sponsors to donate $15,000 to the WFP, which provides food to about 73 million people. The WFP estimated in January that it would need to raise an additional $500 million this year to compensate for rising food prices.
But beyond what we could or should have done, in the end, this isn't really about the cupcakes. They simply symbolize the importance of making the connection of how even our smallest actions connect beyond our borders as we continue to work toward becoming a "world-class" university.
In order for this institution to achieve a level of international status, we must first learn to think globally, even down to the seemingly insignificant details. As Maryland Day demonstrates, this university is not just about academics. Along with our studies, we have a plethora of activities and groups, and we're all trying to have a little fun. But in enjoying this privilege, all of us - students, faculty, administrators, staff and visitors - must keep in mind and talk about how we relate to the global picture. We can see ourselves as Terps, as Marylanders and as Americans, but above all else, we need to see ourselves as world citizens, taking into account how we might better express ourselves in the collective spirit that we hope will characterize our institution in the years to come.
Ali Adler is a freshman sociology major. She can be reached at aliadler@umd.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
Sweet tooth
posted 4/29/08 @ 1:29 PM EST
Screw you! The cupcakes were delicious. I had six of them throughout the day. Yea, the world's a messed up place, thus all the more reason for cupcakes. (Continued…)
Joel Gleiser
posted 4/29/08 @ 1:40 PM EST
What can we do?
Stop eating meat. The more food we have to feed the livestock we are raising for meat, the less food available for people.
Forget ethanol. (Continued…)
come on...
posted 4/30/08 @ 2:21 PM EST
You're being ridiculous-the school can't even do a nice thing without being criticized?! What would you prefer, a boring campus?
Concerned Citizen
posted 5/01/08 @ 6:48 PM EST
Seriously? An article talking about how useless cupcakes is will not change anything. The cupcakes brought families to our campus, they brought student volunteers together, and they brought media attention to our school. (Continued…)
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