Survey reveals Samo students need to study up on their geography

Sam Harreschou and Will WolfSurvey Club President and ICC RepresentativeSeveral weeks ago, 25 percent of 550 Samo students polled were able to identify Afghanistan on a map. In this geopolitical survey regarding the greater Middle East, students were asked to identify three Middle Eastern nations and state whether or not the United States has conducted military operations within those particular countries in the last five years.On March 20, 2003, President George W. Bush asked the Joint Chiefs to commence hostilities against the nation of Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom — better known as the Iraq War. Since then, the destruction has captured international media attention as nearly 150,000 deaths have been confirmed, including those of 4,432 U.S. service men and women.Despite these staggering losses, only two-thirds of the surveyed students were able to identify that we have been involved in a war with Nation #1 (Iraq) within the last five years. In order to identify the nations with which the United States was at war, students had to identify the geographical location of each country. 53 percent of students were able to identify Iraq in the multiple-choice section and only 37 percent were able to identify Iraq in the free response section. Significantly more students (74 percent) incorrectly identified that we have been or are still in combat operations with Nation #2 (Iran) in the past five years.Geography is a subject that many find insignificant, yet it is nonetheless important. We live in a world of different nations. The corn you ate this afternoon may have come from Chili. Your morning Starbucks coffee hails from Indonesia. Your Xbox came from Mexico and your beloved Apple product indeed came from China. It is common practice in this country to not be familiar with “Places That Are Not America,” despite the fact that we inhabit a global community. With the escalation of violence in many nations across the Middle East — and American military interventions growing — it is now imperative that we, as active Americans, understand the dynamic geopolitical situation that exists in the Middle East. Considering that the United States has found itself in many foreign entanglements in this region in the last five years, we must strive to know where U.S. troops have engaged in battle and where roughly 20 percent of our current federal budget is being spent. We should know where other nations are and how we all fit together in this modern age.The Survey Club meets Tuesdays in T217.