Honors geography students’ Death Posters uncover global killers

Honors geography student explains poster to visitors during geography of death poster session. (Sasha Baharestani/Lariat)

The Honors Cultural Geography class held a Geography of Death Poster Session, showing causes of disease and death from countries around the world, last Thursday at Saddleback College in Student Services Center Room 212.

“This [class] is more based on demographics of geography rather than the actual land masses themselves so you learn more about the people cultures and as you can see, how diseases are able to exist in these different places,” said Gaurav Singh, honors geography student.

Singh was among other Honors Geo students who were showcasing their project boards in an exhibit fashion, offering answers to questions any students had for them.

Those in attendance were mainly students of other geography classes, and were offered extra credit to attend and write reflections on what they learned from each of the different boards.

“This project, specifically for the honors geo class, is just to be more aware about how people are dying around the world,” said Honors Geo student Daniel Juat.

Some examples of the topics covered included, deaths involving drugs and overdoses, diseases, such as Cholera and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, along with deaths brought about from natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes. There was even the topic of the geography of deaths that have been and are still occurring with the conflict in Syria.

These topics managed span most of the world, from California, to West Africa, England, Haiti, Pakistan, Israel, Syria and the Philippines.

The topics were effective because they dealt with many issues that are relevant and very real today. For example, terror attacks in Israel, and the amount of deaths that are continuing with the Syrian conflict.

Since the honor students were asked to conduct thorough research on their projects, students in attendance discovered detailed and in-depth information regarding the topics and actually learn about certain topics through the projects.

“I was learning how it’s basically not in our news all the time, what’s really going on in Syria,” said student Faith Kusunoki. “The one I got the most out of was the Syria board, to be able to see the underneath of what’s going on, that’s not always in the open.”

Some topics discussed were less well known, such as the infection MRSA.

“It’s basically a drug-resistant superbug, which can enter the body through open wounds, so it’s basically a staph infection which can enter your body,” Singh said. “This one caught my eye because this is most common in developed countries, so this affects us more than anything else because sometimes medicine makes this bacteria even stronger than it actually is.”

Not only were the boards able to educate other students, but students who conducted their own research were able to have equal, if not more of a take-away through their own projects.

“It kind of amazes me that no matter how we as humans continue to advance medically, nature advances just as much to counteract our own vaccines against it,” Singh said.

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