Duquesne University connects with students across state, world

Duquesne University connects with students across state, world

by Michael Wargo
The Duquesne Duke
March 31, 2005

A group of students gathered in a small room in Fisher Hall in front of a television screen that projected students from other universities around America as well as universities from Seoul, South Korea and Canberra, Australia. Duquesne was one of the universities to host a worldwide video conference whose topic was “Strategies in containing North Korea.”

The conference televised students from all over the world discussing Korea’s nuclear weapons programs and how the international community should respond. The video conference was part of a broader series of events called “Red White and Blue Coming Together,” a town hall and videoconference series that strives to identify common ground between American citizens and international citizens around the world.

Sacha Kathuria, Duquesne University leader for Americans for Informed Democracy, expressed her eagerness to connect students from all parts of the world. “This is a way for Duquesne to become more informed and involved in international affairs,” she said. Kathuria believes this videoconference will bring the next generation one step closer to knowing more about other countries in the world and their views on American policies. “It’s important because the world is much more globalized,” she said. “Every decision that the U.S. makes impacts all of us.”

The conference opened in Washington D.C. with moderator Eugene Kogan, a Senior Political Analyst for Americans for Informed Democracy. He explained how the conference worked; each university had a few minutes to give opening statements and then the conference would open up to any comments, debates or questions from any of the universities’ students.

The conference, designed to see if America’s viewpoints were the same or different from other counties, brought together students thoughts and opinions about America’s involvement with North Korea as well as the involvement of the international world.

From Michigan, students debated that America should turn toward diplomacy and negotiate appropriately and efficiently. Kathuria, representing Pittsburgh, said it is important for people to engage with other Americans and the world. She also said the United States cannot isolate itself from the world but must engage with other counties. Kathuria saw allies like South Korea and Japan being affected if North Korea was attacked. Students at Vermillion in South Dakota agreed that containment is critical for the containment of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons. Vermillion thought advocating six party talks would be better than bilateral ones. Six party talks would include other key countries in the world which would be more pragmatic, according to the students at Vermillion. Lastly, they debated ending economic sanctions and providing other incentives to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table.

The last university from the U.S. to speak was State College. They stated they were afraid of North Korea selling nuclear weapons to terrorist groups. State College also explained that it would be a good idea to work with China in trying to get North Korea to join the six party talks.

From the other side of the world students from Seoul, South Korea and Canberra, Australia also offered their comments in this international situation. From Seoul, some students regarded North Korea as an immediate threat while others agree with the U.S. that North Korea must join the six party talks in order to retain peaceful relations. As for American policy, South Korea believes the U.S. is ignoring justice and morality factors concerning the human rights issues in North Korea. They also questioned if the government actually wants world peace. They used the example of the U.S. attempting to subdue China from becoming the next superpower. They ended by saying if America attacks North Korea, South Korea will be affected. They didn’t want war but favored diplomatic talks.

The last country to respond to the debate was Australia. Students in Canberra opened up by saying they have a special relationship with North Korea and America because they can mediate between the two. They felt North Korea had nothing to lose in an economic war so it would make diplomatic talks difficult with them.

After opening statements were made, students from all the universities gave their personal thoughts and comments addressing issues regarding foreign policy, humanities and the threat of nuclear attacks.

Students who watched the conference felt it was a valuable experience. Paul Beach learned of the conference from a friend at Carnegie Mellon University affiliated with Americans for Informed Democracy. “I’m here to see what people have to say,” he said. Likewise, Mindy Rovan, who attended the conference with Beach, was also interested in the other students’ views. “It’s an important issue in today’s world,” she said. “I’m interested to see if our views are the same with students from other parts of the globe.”

The videoconference was a positive step toward connecting students from all over the U.S. to others in other parts of the world. Kathuria stressed the fact that students may not realize how connected they are with others all over the world.

“Just because you’re sitting in Pittsburgh, doesn’t mean you don’t have anything in common with students from South Dakota or Australia.”