Roland Wong

Bio

Hello! My name is Roland Wong. I am currently (2022) a sophomore at IU majoring in Computer Science. I'm from New Castle, IN. My favorite past time is 3D printing things and the post print process because of how much creative freedom you are given with 3D printing. However, the reasoning behind me taking this course is due to its unique concept dealing with water crises. This class has helped open my eyes to issues that I've never even considered. 

Photo of Roland

Project Summary

Within my project, I go over important dates and events related to the water crisis of Flint, Michigan. Specifically, this overview focuses on how the events affected the African American community. Surprisingly, this water crisis was a build up of multiple issues starting all the way in the 1930s when the African American community was redlined for being "hazardous" investments. 

In order to finish this project, I had to do an extensive amount of research. My research consisted of gathering important dates related to the events that occurred in Flint, Michigan like policy changes, water purity tests, formal complaints by the Flint community, ect. From this research, unnecessary information was sorted out of the important dates gathered and the remaining dates were organized in linear order. Afterwards, I would locate a news article about the events that occurred on the specific dates to be added onto a timeline by Knightlab. Then I would find images related to the events in which I cover while also making sure that it had a creative commons license in order to avoid any legal issues. Due to time constraints, this project would have been much larger, however, I don't want to put out an incomplete project. In conclusion, this project was created with the idea of allowing scholars to have a quick look at the preceding issues that led to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan and its effects on the African American community while also offering a potential one-size-fits-all solution to the water crisis in general in which everyone may face one day. 

Personal Relationship to Water

Water has an extremely important role in my life. I literally need it to survive. Furthermore, without it, I couldn't enjoy swimming. I've always believed that if I feel ill then a cup of water is my first go-to remedy. However, through this class, I've learned even more about water and now place an even greater importance upon it.

Photo of lake

Pumzi

Upon the first viewing of Pumzi, I realized how realistic the premise could be if there ever were a global water war, forcing us to not only use water as a currency but also making sure not a single drop is wasted. This was only possible though if the technology could  support water being totally renewed without any contamination or waste. By the end of Pumzi, I was saddened thinking how the main character was so close to the forest but never reached nor saw it. During the second viewing, I questioned whether the forest was actually there when she died or if it was what became due to her sacrifice. Perhaps it is meant to show that everyone can make a difference.

A Historical Overview of Flint, Michigan's Water Crisis by Roland Wong is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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