LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — On Monday, EKU professor Jeff Norwitz’s class was filled with students who had questions about the war in Israel. He responded to those questions, but hoped the answers weren't his students' main takeaway.
When major world events take place, many people are left without the context they need to properly understand them and form opinions that are based on facts, said Norwitz, a former longtime NCIS agent who was based at times in the Middle East, including Israel.
People don’t know what happened in the days, months, and years before the major event.
The best way to gain that context, he says, is to pay attention to world news as it is taking place.
“Learn about Ukraine, learn about Taiwan, learn about these potential flashpoints so that when something happens you will feel more prepared to form an opinion,” Norwitz said.
In their class, which is for students looking for careers in the veterans services industry, he said he is teaching his students how to research, learn, and find answers, rather than go to someone who may have an agenda.
“Your homepage should be a news aggregator,” Norwitz explained, saying you should get from multiple sources, and gave Google News as an example of an aggregator.
LEX 18 spoke with one of the students in his class, who said the class has led him to follow world news more closely
Another student stressed the importance of staying informed.
“I think it's dangerous for anyone to take someone's side on either side without really understanding the full context of the history,” said Emma Ryan, a student studying homeland security.
She said when opinions aren't based on facts, it can be dangerous to Jews and Muslims, especially because of the potential for those opinions to unnecessarily create stigmas.