Public Health: A Major, A Human Right

Statement of Learning Objectives

Margaret Babayan
4/12/2012





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My little sister turned on the television after my family and I returned home from
Christmas dinner at a friends house. A PBS documentary tracing the origin and spread of
HIV/AIDS in the US was on, and I sat down to watch. Twenty minutes in, my mother, who
immigrated to the US after AIDS faded from the publics eye, asked why I was yelling at the
television. I erupted in fervor, passionately explaining policy, health implications and human
rights with regard to HIV/AIDS. In that very moment, I realized I wanted to major in public
health, and pursue a dual public health and law graduate program.
In pursuing the Public Health Major, I want to solidify my understanding of the legal
system and its interaction with public health. However, by studying policy and law, I do not want
to overlook the science behind health, and intend to pursue a Bachelor of Science to gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the microscopic determinants of health as well as the scientific
method in research. The courses which I intend to take center their focus on human rights, legal
systems, and most importantly, health (especially womens health). By first examining the
conditions and history of social structures, I will gain insight as to why health is undermined,
causing phenomena like maternal mortality to persist. Courses in human rights will help me
comprehend why health is not perceived as a right which will allow me to assess the paradigms
that are perpetuated by public health programs. General public health courses will help me think
more critically about the relationships between all forces that shape health so that I can
eventually participate in creating public health programs that transcend the root causes and
structural barriers that keep certain populations from good health, a fundamental human right.
As an Armenian-American, I grew up with the remnants of the Armenian Genocide
permeating my personal and cultural consciousness. I used to believe human rights abuses were
confined to the pages of history books, however, upon growing up and learning that genocide
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and other abuses continue today, I felt the need to both educate myself further and act up.
Without good health, all other human rights are belittled, and a populations isolation from
resources that enable good health is perhaps the greatest human rights abuse that can be
committed. Thus, my interest in public health stems from my seemingly inherent interest in
human rights. Moreover, the issues and challenges that are intrinsic to public health are complex
and at times even conducive of a headache, but such nuances make public health an exciting area
of study for me. I realize that the world is not separated into realms of black and white, and that
matters of health and disease are determined by complex webs of individual behavior, policy,
environment, biology and so on. The liberal arts approach of the Public Health Major as well as
the field itself is valuable to me because I do not believe that one can even begin to understand
health without considering all conditionsfrom microscopic pathogens to macroscopic
policieswhich influence health. Ultimately, the vast array of coursework I will encounter
within the major will enable me to develop a varied perspective and apply different frameworks
to public health. I plan to combine the Public Health Major with a minor in Human Rights so that
I can apply a human rights lens to issues in public health. Such a perspective is critical because
health is not only a human right, but also the condition necessary for an individual or a
community to thrive and recognize all other rights.
My long-term goal is to combine a law degree with a MPH and become a lawyer to,
through legal processes in public health, make healthcare more accessible to all individuals,
especially those who have struggled to receive care in the past. An undergraduate career in the
Public Health Major will enable me to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for me to
ultimately defend the right to health and healthcare.