Student Groups Aim to Tap Interest in Politics

Student Groups Aim to Tap Interest in Politics

by Eric Hoover
The Chronicle of Higher Education
01/31/2004

When Seth J. Green arrived in Britain to study in late September 2001, two weeks after the terrorist attacks against the United States, he saw the Union Jack and the American flag flying side by side. That image comforted him and so did many people he met, including Pakistanis who stopped him to express their sadness.

But when the United States went to war in Afghanistan, then in Iraq, on-the-street sentiments about Uncle Sam changed.

"I had seen this incredible potential and had very dramatically watched it evaporate," Mr. Green says. "It was as if every American were a gun-toting cowboy."

Those perceptions, which are widespread in Europe, prompted Mr. Green and other Americans studying abroad to establish Americans for Informed Democracy in October 2002. The goals of the group are to ease anti-American sentiments overseas, in part by showing the diversity of views in the United States, and to make Americans more aware of world opinions of U.S. foreign policy. The organization has members at 65 colleges and universities in 10 countries.

In the aftermath of September 11, more students are plugging in to politics. Interest in current affairs among incoming freshmen is at its highest level in a decade, and many student activists say their peers are becoming more attuned to foreign-policy issues.

Beginning in late January, Americans for Informed Democracy will sponsor a series of town-hall meetings called "Hearts and Minds," in which speakers will discuss how the United States can win the campaign against terrorism and improve its relations with other nations.

The main event, at George Washington University, will include speeches by Akbar S. Ahmed, a professor of Islamic studies at American University; Leon Fuerth, who was U.S. national security adviser to Vice President Al Gore; and R. James Woolsey, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Related discussions will also take place at the Free University of Berlin, at the Institute of Legal Studies in Lahore, Pakistan, and at James Madison, New York, and Yale Universities, among other American colleges.

Although it is nonpartisan, Americans for Informed Democracy takes positions on global political and economic issues. It promotes a multilateral foreign policy, opposes steel tariffs, and supports a Palestinian state, for instance.

Yet Mr. Green, a first-year law student at Yale and the group's coordinator, says his main goal is to sustain an international dialogue, led by students who hold diverse views:

"To have globally conscious students who believe very strongly in a benevolent American presence in global affairs, who really want to engage in a debate about how we get there," Mr. Green says.

Adriana de Riva, a senior at George Washington who describes herself as politically "neutral," says she founded a campus chapter of the group with a fellow student who is a conservative. Born and raised in Spain, Ms. de Riva has experienced the campaign against terrorism on both sides of the Atlantic, which gave her a unique perspective in helping to plan "Hope Not Hate," a series of discussions on improving U.S.-Islamic relations, at the university last fall.

At James Madison, members of the group have organized screenings of Why U.S.?, a documentary film that explores anti-Americanism. That issue is also a frequent topic of discussion among members of the Orange Band Initiative, a student-led organization that began at James Madison last year to spark informed discussions of local, national, and international issues. (Students don orange bands to signify their dedication to a particular cause.)

"9/11 is meant for Americans to mature, to open up," says Kevin Melton, a senior at James Madison who has been active in both groups. "For some, it's done the opposite. It's made people want to retreat. For others, it's really pushed them to know more."

Like Americans for Informed Democracy, Orange Band describes itself as nonpartisan. A message on its Web site states, "We are protesting nothing but apathy."