St. Norbert Collaborative - Connections

St. Norbert College was among the ten schools (such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc) that were invited to go to New York City and question the controversial president of Iran, Ahmadinejad. This was obviously a great opportunity for students to be able to ask him about tension between the US and Iran, as well as Iran's plans for the future. As I political science and international studies double major, I recognized this as a unique opportunity to see an application of what I learn in class first hand. While in New York City, our delegation of 15 students also got to meet Benjamin Barber, author of Jihad vs. McWorld, attend the We Have a Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution, and also attend a ceremony of peace at Columbia University to remember the genocide in Rwanda and celebrate the International Day of Peace. JessicaWang

Our group was fortunate to have many activities to do while in New York. However, the highlight of this trip for me was the dinner where the Iranian President was interviewed by each of the delegations. From my delegation, the question I wrote was the one chosen to represent St. Norbert College. St. Norbert College was given the privilege of being the 2^nd delegation to ask a question, and I was the one who presented the question to President Ahmadinejad.

This event helped me greatly as a political science and international studies global scholar because I could listen to what the Iranian President said about Iran at the dinner and then to what dissenters said was going on within from their own experiences. I could compare and contrast the two testimonies. This experience taught me to critically analyze two pieces of information and weed out personal biases.

This trip also gave me the chance to hear and learn about injustices going on around the globe, making me more knowledgeable about oppression in the world and what people are doing to fight against it. Because of this event, I also became more appreciative of the rights and freedoms I have as an American, especially because most people on the planet do not share the same privileges I have. This experience definitely gave me a different perspective of political science and international studies and helped me view international circumstances in a new light.

My participation in the event will help me greatly in the future, especially in my plans of fighting against injustices in the world. My participation taught me how to present in front of very important, educated people that I do not know, in a very scholarly manner, as well as how to network with others, a quality much needed for those in political science.