Instead of partying and sleeping in, 27 students chose to discuss pressing international issues last Friday night and Saturday morning.\nGathered at round tables, the students had forsaken their friends and their beds to take part in a conference co-sponsored by the Hutton Honors College and the Wells Scholars Program called, "The View from Abroad: An Undergraduate Workshop on the Role and Image of the United States in the World."\nFreshman Rebecca Burns, who served on the student-faculty committee that organized the event, said the main purpose of the workshop was to encourage discussion on global issues and to challenge participants to examine the roles of the United States and other major international actors in forming policy.\nThe workshop centered on two key issues -- the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and the challenge of nuclear proliferation in Iran.\n"I didn't come here to argue or debate," said sophomore Sarah Clauser. "My goal was to learn, and I think I've really benefited from it. Just hearing what everyone has to say has left me feeling so much more informed."\nFreshman Lisa Dunk said she wanted to find out more about what's going on in the world and she was willing to sacrifice one Friday night to do that. \n"I definitely learned a lot more than I would have by sitting in my dorm room watching a movie," she said.\nThe seven-and-a-half-hour workshop took place in two sessions.\nThe goal of the first session, Friday night, was to discuss international perceptions of U.S. influence, said sophomore Katie Rosenberger, a member of the Hutton Honors College program planning committee. \nThe next morning, the students participated in a simulated press conference, where they acted as representatives of the U.S., E.U., China, the international business community and the news media. The simulation took place after the students had read selected articles on Iran, Sudan and their connections to various international actors.\n"(The simulation) was a valuable exercise to help students learn that international problems are multidimensional," said Robert Affe, senior lecturer for Telecommunications and International Studies and a former television executive. Affe was one of five experts in an array of fields who joined the workshop to facilitate discussion. \n"There are elements of politics, economics, culture and language involved," he added. "Even countries with similar goals often find themselves in conflict as to the best way to affect peace and security in the world."\nRoberto Garcia, clinical professor of international business in the Kelley School of Business Department of Management, said the simulation demonstrated how the success of policy often depends on how the public perceives it.\n"Effective policy depends on effective communication," he said. "Governments have to present it forcefully and in a certain way in order for people to buy into it."\nThe changing dynamic among China, the U.S. and the E.U. emerged as a major topic of discussion during the simulation.\n"It is quite likely that China is going to be an economic and military superpower, and sooner rather than later," said political science professor Jean Robinson. "We're going to have to consider what it means to be sharing power ... particularly with a country that sees the world and international relations in a very different way."\nThe conference opened Friday with a survey, a map quiz and a discussion to identify nations seen as the "most reliable allies" and "most dangerous enemies" of the U.S. Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Canada, Israel, Poland and Denmark topped the list of friends, while common choices for enemies included North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Syria and Venezuela.\nStudents also discussed perceptions of Americans in the rest of the world.\n"I think Europeans may tend to see us as being culturally shallow," sophomore Abbey Stemler said. "Their traditions are thousands of years old. Maybe our continual drive to create something new ... somehow takes away from the tradition that was once there."\nVisiting professor Joachim Krause, director of the Institute for Security Policy at the University of Kiel and professor of international relations at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Germany, offered a different take on the subject.\n"This drive for 'newness' is typical not only of the U.S. but of modernity and capitalism as a whole," he said. "However, the U.S. is often the one in the spotlight."\nIn fact, he said, the U.S. appears most often in the foreign media in news stories about crime, the Bush administration and obesity -- often associated with fast food.\nIn discussing other countries' perceptions of the U.S., students found themselves trying to figure out if they should focus on the opinions of governments or of citizens.\n"I think a lot of anti-American sentiment in the world today is more indicative of animosity toward the current administration of the U.S. than anything else," said freshman David Pavkovich.\nKrause agreed.
\nStudents also saw a presentation on the influence of America's film industry abroad. The discussion was led by Barbara Klinger, associate professor and director of Film and Media Resources.\nAmerican movies can represent freedom and independence in some cultures today in much the same way as previous generations reacted to Western pop culture, Klinger said.\nAfter the presentation Garcia said he was pleased with the overall outcome of the workshop. \n"We need the best and the brightest, and some of those future leaders may be right here at IU," he said. "The simulation, in particular, demonstrated how hard it is to craft government policy"
