Journalist Lisa Ling engages audience members following her keynote address. (Photos by Ashley Henningsgaard)
As the keynote speaker at the College’s 12th annual Building Bridges Conference, investigative journalist Lisa Ling challenged young people to actively seek and find the information they need to be informed, active, well-rounded citizens.
Ling, who does stories on issues of social justice for the National Geographic Channel, Oxygen Network, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, said that we live in a time where we can find a wealth of information on the Internet. “The [mainstream] media is often filled with stories of crap,” Ling said. “It is incumbent on us, ourselves as individuals, to seek that information out.” She suggested that people look at unconventional outlets as sources of news.
Ling shared stories and video clips from her journalistic travels throughout the world to the crowd of more than 500 people who filled Alumni Hall at noon Saturday, March 10. Ling’s messages were part of the 2007 conference theme “Find Your Voice: Putting Awareness Into Action.” In addition to her keynote address, there were several workshops and breakout sessions that explored the conference theme.
The annual Building Bridges conference is a student-led, student-initiated diversity conference organized to promote mutual respect and understanding of diversity and to deal with diversity in a proactive, social, and informative way. For more information, contact the Diversity Center.