9/11 still affecting U.S.: Town Hall panel discusses America's world relations

9/11 still affecting U.S.: Town Hall panel discusses America's world relations

by Ryan Schreiber
Michigan Journal
10/09/2004

Still not convinced one way or another about the way America is perceived around the globe?

Bringing the truth about U.S.-world relations to the students of UM-D was the subject of the first installment of a 9/11 Town Hall series last Thursday.

The series titled "Hope Not Hate" was presented by Student Government, Students United for Peace & Justice and Americans for Informed Democracy. The event was held in the multipurpose room of the University Center.

Thursday's event was a panel discussion and Dr. Ronald Stockton started the program out with a speech highlighting policies of the current Bush administration. Stockton is a professor of Political Science at UM-D and is the former interim-director of the Center for Arab-American Studies.

When discussing the troubles facing America in today's' world, Stockton said, "All of us need all the help we can get in solving these problems."

Next to speak was assistant professor of Political Science at UM-D, Dr. Trevor Thrall. Thrall, who received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, questioned Bush's policies on the global scale, asking, "Are these policies likely to succeed?"

Last to speak formally was Gillian Sorensen, a Senior Adviser and National Advocate at the United Nations Foundation. Sorensen was also formerly an adviser to Boutros Boutros-Ghali and head of the Office of External Relations for Secretary General Kofi Annan. Sorensen has worked closely with diplomats and parliamentarians in pursuit of peace and justice throughout the world.

Sorensen discussed several topics relating to security, policy agendas, religions, Middle-East conflicts and the United States' image throughout the rest of the world.

"Some ask whether religion is the enemy of peace...what do we do when faiths collide?" Sorensen said.

Sorensen rhetorically questioned the audience of about fifty people about how Americans view themselves and how they view other civilizations.

"All of us need to hold ourselves more accountable," Sorensen said.

After Sorensen was finished, the session was opened to questions from audience members and topics discussed included anti-Semitism and the Camp David negotiations. All three panel members gave answers and were eager to help those in attendance understand the truth from a global perspective.

When the question and answer period was done, all enjoyed a Middle-Eastern cuisine lunch.

At the culmination of the Town Hall series in October, a global teleconference will be held with other universities across the world, including those from Egypt, Lebanon, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey. The representatives from the United States will be students from Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and UM-D.

The program is funded through the Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), which is a non-partisan organization working to raise global awareness on more than 100 U.S. university campuses and in more than ten countries.

Numerous town hall events have already been conducted throughout the past two years and over thirty U.S. states have hosted talks and discussions within the "Hope Not Hate" series.

Upcoming Town Hall speakers include former Congressman David Bonior and professor of Arabic & Islamic studies Dr. Sherman Jackson.