Envoy mar 2017

Volume X Issue V

March 2017

Europe Receives Pence’s Assurances With Skepticism U.S.Targets 25 Iranians Involved in Missile Test

By Abby Shamray Editor-in-Chief In Brussels on February 20, Vice President Michael R. Pence of the United States gave a speech to assuage fears that the White House wants to break up the European Union. He told European leaders that “the United States’ commitment to the European Union is steadfast and enduring,” according to The Washington Post.

Mike Pence accompanied Defense Secretary James Mattis to Europe for a weeklong tour, in an effort to quell the concern that a change in U.S. foreign policy would negatively affect relations between the U.S. and the E.U. European Council President Donald Tusk, who called himself an “incurably pro-American European,” was satisfied with his meeting with Pence and Mattis, saying “Too much has happened over the past month in your country, and in the E.U. Too many new and sometimes surprising opinions have been voiced over this time about our relations, and

By Renata KochAlvarenga Staff Writer

Courtesy of AP

Mike Pence met Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, among many European leaders, in Brussels.

our common security, for us to pretend that everything is as it used to be,” reported CNN. The statement of “cooperation and partnership” on the last day surprised some onlookers in the wake of what was said on other stops on the tour and what U.S. President Donald Trump has said in the past. “People were not reassured. They think that Trump is erratic and incalculable. We all hear what we want to hear. But

everyone knows that any Trump official could be gone tomorrow, or undercut in another tweet,” Daniela Schwarzer of the German Council on Foreign Relations told The New York Times.

At the Munich Security Conference during the trip, Pence and Mattis stuck to prepared statements, even while India and China took questions. Pence criticized European countries for failing to meet NATO

spending pledges, aiming his message at Germany, France, and Italy, according to the Guardian.

He also expressed the need to counter Russian aggression, expressing hope regarding Trump’s search for “new common ground with Russia,” reported CNN. It did not go unnoticed that Pence did not mention the E.U., according to the Irish Times.

Pence’s speech immediately followed Ger-

man Chancellor Angela Merkel’s in which she stated that Germany would not be intimidated by the U.S.’ focus on defense spending and that Germany saw investment in developing countries as being as important as military spending.

After the Munich Security Conference, Pence, Merkel, and the leaders of Ukraine and the Baltic States held bilateral talks Continued on page 3...

Diplomacy Senators Abstain From SGA Resolution on Immigration

By Mariah McCloskey Web Editor The Senate of the Student Government Association on February 6 passed a resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, calling on University administration to devise a formal plan to protect students under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.

“I thought it would be appropriate for student representatives to officially express their disapproval of Trump policies through a resolution and to also urge our school

to protect vulnerable students,” said Adrian Orozco, a senator-at-large who drafted the resolution.

“I wanted to write this because I saw that other schools’ SGAs were passing similar resolutions and the student body’s support of immigrants.”

The resolution says that Trump has threatened to end programs like DACA, a measure aimed to provide undocumented children with education in the United States. Many colleges around the country have devised plans to protect undocumented students. Dr. Gabriel Esteban, president of the University, has pledged to support these undoc-

Inside Focus on the Black Market Pages 6&7

umented students, but “a concrete plan for Seton Hall is needed” if DACA is ended, Orozco said.

A roll call vote, an atypical procedure for SGA, found 18 in favor, zero against, and six abstentions. Five other senators were absent. Two of the six who abstained were the School of Diplomacy senators, Michael Roma and Matthew Schaller.

Roma said he abstained from the vote because he is currently “an employee of the executive branch,” and under the Hatch Act of 1939, he is prohibited from “engaging in some forms of political activity.”

Int’l News

Red Cross Halts Aid In Afghanistan On page 2.

Pope Asks Order of Malta Chief to Resign On page 4.

Schaller said his reason for abstaining was that he believed there were “other ways in going about dealing with this important issue.”

“Even in a free society, you must have laws pertaining to immigration,” he added.

All three freshman senators voted in favor of the resolution. Senators Rishi Shah, Bill Kuncken, and Jacob Abel agreed that Seton Hall should be a place of acceptance and, according to Abel, “a place that promotes education for all.”

“I am a firm believer in the principle of social justice,” Kuncken stated.

OPINION

Editorial Diplomacy Senators Must Represent Our Values Responding to Iran, North Korea Tests On page 8-9.

“Consequently, given our school’s Catholic identity, I would hope that our university would reflect that ideal. I think that it is our responsibility to help those fleeing from turmoil, especially people driven and bold enough to pursue a higher education against all odds,” he added.

“Those who may be protected under DACA should not live in fear on our campus – that is not what the foundation of our country was built on,” Shah said. “We should show we accept everyone and will do anything to protect our peers.”

Contact Mariah at mcclosma@shu.edu

The Trump administration placed sanctions on Iran on February 3 as retaliation to the ballistic missile test performed

by Tehran on January 29. The sanctions by the United States targeted 25 Iranians who assisted in the development of the ballistic missile program in Iran, according to The Washington Post. A few individuals were also connected to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon by financially supporting them.

The Iranian missile, which traveled approximately 600 miles until it exploded, was met with a strong response from the White House through sanctions against arm traders and businesses in Iran. According to The New York Times, the U.S. took action to show it will not tolerate Iran’s violations, and that Iran is now “on notice” in the administration due to the missile tests.

The tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated after Ali Akbar Velayati, the Iranian adviser, stated the ballistic missile test was not offensive and did not need permission from the U.S. to happen, suggesting that further missile tests are to be conducted.

CNN reported that the missile test done by Iran did not violate a United Nations Security Council resolution on the purpose of missile tests, which prohibits the country from testing ballistic missiles that may deliver nuclear weapons and consequently lead to a nuclear conflict.

Continue on page 2...

Foreign

Diplo News

Gabrielle Hunt Mobile Bookstore Spreads Literacy in Amman, Jordan

Diplomacy School Selects Two New U.N.Youth Observers

On page 5.

On page 12.

Correspondents

March 2017 Page 2

International News

Red Cross Puts Aid in Afghanistan on Hold After Employee Deaths

By Joshua Corpuz Staff Writer In the Jowzjan Province of Afghanistan, six International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employees were killed and two others went missing after an attack on February 8. The ICRC employees were carrying supplies to towns and villages suffering from the snowstorms and avalanches in the northern area of the country that killed over 100 people, Al Jazeera reports.

Governor Lutfullah Azizi of the Jowzjan Province blamed the Islamic State group’s affiliates for the attack. The motive behind the attack was believed to be a desire

to maintain the Islamic State’s military footholds in the northern and eastern regions of Afghanistan.

Marie Claire Feghali, ICRC spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the organization “makes contact with all the groups that are active on the ground.”

“We do not know why our convoy was attacked,” Feghali stated, noting that her team “would have made all the contacts and they were in clearly marked ICRC cars.”

According to The New York Times, the Red Cross “had begun a mission to distribute livestock material in the Qush Tepah area of Jowzjan Province, where the attack happened, but that

its work was paused by recent avalanches. When workers went to resume giving out aid, they were targeted.” Mr. Azizi stressed that the area “is rife with militant groups, including five Islamic State factions with about 200 fighters total.”

As a result of the attacks on its employees, the Red Cross placed all of its activities on hold.

The ICRC global operations head, Dominik Stillhart, said, “As we speak our operations are on hold indeed, because we need to understand what exactly happened before we can hopefully resume our operations,” according to Reuters.

A search operation was launched to find the

two missing aid workers.

The ICRC noted, however, that due to the conflict and violence in the area, it has been very difficult to mobilize and bring humanitarian aid to parts of Afghanistan.

Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, stated that “his group was not involved in the attack and promised that Taliban members would put all their efforts into finding the perpetrators.”

At this time, the ICRC workers’ bodies had been taken to the provincial capital.

According to Stillhart, “ICRC would pause its programs out of respect for the slain aid workers.” A date to resume the humanitarian aid has

not been announced yet.

Thomas Glass, a public relations officer for ICRC, explained that “We’ve been in Afghanistan for the past 30 years assisting people in need. We want to provide aid and help but not at the cost of our colleagues. So we need to know what happened before we restart our humanitarian efforts.”

The attack came a day after a suicide bomb was detonated in the parking lot of the Supreme Court in Kabul, the country’s capital. At least 20 people were killed, and at least 35 people injured from the blast. Later on, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through Twitter.

Starting in 2015, for-

mer Taliban members, now members of the Islamic State, began to terrorize parts of Afghanistan. After a year, the United Nations said that “in 2016 there was a tenfold jump in civilian casualties caused in attacks by the Islamic State.”

According to Al Jazeera, the February 8 attack was “one of the few incidents” in the country’s north carried out by ISIS, which has been mainly active in the east. The Islamic State has been trying to establish a foothold in Afghanistan and has stepped attacks around the country, mainly targeting the Shi’ite Muslim minority community.

Contact Josh at joshua.corpuz@student.shu.edu.

Somalia Elects Former Prime Minister as President U.S. Places New Sanctions Despite Terrorist Group’s Attempts at Disruption Targeting 25 Iranians Involved in Missile Test

By Santiago Losada Staff Writer

On February 7, suspected Shabab militants launched a series of attacks on the Somalian capital of Mogadishu, including one in which two mortar rounds were fired close to the airport.

Ahead of the presidential election, Somalia issued a traffic ban and sealed off major streets. The travel ban also included a ban on flights flying to and from Mogadishu.

In a country that is frequently plagued by violence, security remains an issue with the ongoing Shabab militant attacks.

Despite efforts to fight off the group, the Shabab still maintains a presence in much of the southern part of Somalia and has initiated many attacks against Mogadishu. According to the BBC, voting was moved from the police academy to the airport because it is viewed as the most secure site in the city.

Al Jazeera reported that ahead of the election, the Shabab increased their attacks and targeted government installations and hotels in the city. The Mogadishu police chief, Bishar Abshir, stated that security forces were working to make sure that the election was concluded peacefully.

After all the votes were

Courtesy of Mogadishu Airport

Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, where the election was held.

counted, former Prime Minister and popular favorite Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo defeated the incumbent president.

There were 24 candidates running in an election marred by allegations of corruption and intimidation. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who came into power in 2012, had sought reelection for another four year term.

After the first round, 24 candidates were whittled down to three. Although he was accused of vote-buying, the incumbent president Mohamud won the most votes in the first session. Farmajo finished in second place, and was triumphant in the second round. Although there is corruption on all sides, “a vote for Farmajo is seen as a vote against corruption,” according to NPR.

Somalia was promised a one-person-onevote system in 2016, but the system came to a halt because of security concerns. Instead, the country held what the United Nations and the government considered an indirect election.

In the last election, held in 2012, 135 clan leaders chose members of parliament to vote for the country’s leader. This year’s presidential election was due to take place in August, but political infighting and insecurity delayed the election, which was changed into a limited voting system, according to The Guardian.

On February 6, Al Jazeera reported that the candidates held their first televised debate where they promised to fight corruption in the country and discussed plans

to combat insecurity and attacks from the Shabab.

According to The New York Times, several countries, like Turkey, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, were accused of buying off candidates. Since 1991, the international community has given aid to Somali, and the United States has increased its presence in the country to combat security threats.

Somalia has been without a functioning government for the past 25 years.

While some diplomats and investigators saw the presidential election as a milestone for democracy, others believe that the election was a milestone for corruption. Somalia was ranked by the Transparency International as the most corrupt country on earth.

Contact Santiago at antiago.losada@studnet.shu.edu

Continued from Page 1...

The Obama administration had previously imposed sanctions on companies in Iran due to the country’s ballistic missile program.

The relationship between the two states has gotten even worse in 2017, however, as Trump signed an executive order to ban citizens from seven Muslim majority countries, including Iran, from coming to the United States. The immigration travel ban by the U.S. president is based on security. According to CNN, Trump stated the ban is a measure to not “take any risks” and to “keep America safe.”

The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenel, referred to Trump’s statement on the missile test by saying “we are thankful to Trump for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America,” reported Reuters. Iran’s main authority declared that Trump’s measures toward his country are simply proof of the corruption engrained in the U.S. political system.

The White House reacted to the speech by the supreme leader by emphasizing that the Trump administration will not allow such violations of the U.N. agreement. The

White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, reiterated Trump’s statement on not tolerating Iran’s threatening actions to security, and stated that the Muslim-majority state has to recognize that this is a new administration.

“I think Iran is kidding itself if they don’t realize there’s a new president in town,” Spicer emphasized at a press briefing, reported Reuters.

As a response to the Trump administration statement and executive order on the temporary travel ban, Iran retaliated by banning American athletes from traveling to the country for the Freestyle World Cup competition, which took place on February 16 and 17.

On February 5, however, the Iranian government decided to allow the U.S. wrestlers to get visas and take part in the competition. According to the Los Angeles Times, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry explained that the decision to grant visas to the U.S. athletes was made after an American federal judge determined to “hault the execution of discriminatory restrictions against the entrance of Iranian citizens to America.”

Contact Renata at alvarere@shu.edu.

International News

March 2017 Page 3

Without Trial, Judges Free French Peacekeepers Accused of Abuse ByTheodore Ezike Layout Editor Last year saw renewed focus on the role of United Nations peacekeepers and their conduct in the countries that they serve.

The United States-based NGO AIDS-Free World, which has operations in the Central African Republic (CAR), released a report in 2013 highlighting cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by European peacekeepers. The organization has continued to release statistics of reported abuse annually.

Among the accused were French soldiers stationed in CAR, according to Al Jazeera. The most recent report, published in January 2016, condemned the U.N. for not taking action against rampant sexual abuse, calling the U.N.’s handling of the sexual abuse cases “severely flawed.”

In 2014, the involvement of French troops

in the scandal was made public when Anders Kompass, a Swedish officer from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, published a report implicating the soldiers. According to the Guardian, when Kompass delivered his report to French officials, a criminal investigation was commenced. He gave his report to French prosecutors because he believed that there were no actions being taken by the U.N. For the next two years, French prosecutors built a case against the soldiers.

After completing an initial investigation pertaining to cases that took place in a camp for displaced people near M’Poko airport in Bangui, six French soldiers were identified as possible abusers. According to the Guardian, three French judges visited the sites of the alleged abuses and interviewed children. Their

ages ranged from nine to thirteen.

This January, however, the judges decided against bringing charges against the six peacekeepers, citing a lack of concrete evidence. Agnes Thibault-Leroux, a spokesperson for the court, stated that there was difficulty identifying people. She also said that it was challenging to build a case on the testimony of children, according to the Associated Press.

Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer for Epcat, an NGO focused on combatting the sexual exploitation of children, lamented the court decision but was not surprised, telling the New York Times that the group would bring a civil case seeking compensation for the wrongdoing committed by the peacekeepers. Eléonore Chiossone, a technical expert at Epcat, said the group was also contemplating gathering more evidence

Courtesy of Mohammed Sadegh Heydari

Iranian peacekeepers participating in the Sacred Defense Week parade.

to present to the court.

She acknowledged, however, that extracting more testimonies from children would be challenging.

The U.N. for its part will be closely following the developments in France. Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the U.N., told the AP that “obviously we’ll keep an eye on this…But as we’ve said, it is the responsibility of member states to fully investigate and hopeful-

ly prosecute crimes. The fight against impunity for these horrendous actions has to be a partnership between the U.N. and member states.”

Anders Kompass, the initial whistleblower, is unconvinced of the U.N.’s commitment to addressing the issue. Mr. Kompass resigned from his post as the director of field operations at the U.N. human rights office in Geneva.

Speaking with IRIN, he attributed his resignation to “the complete impunity for those who have been found to have, in various degrees, abused their authority, together with the unwillingness of the hierarchy to express any regrets for the way they acted towards me.”

He had previously been reprimanded for releasing his initial reports.

Contact Theodore at theodore.ezike@student.shu.edu.

Meeting Pence in Brussels, Turkish Forces Move Forward on Al-Bab ISIS still controls military has said that 185 at the town of Tel AbEurope Remains Skeptical By Mohammed Syed war, 90 percent of the al-Bab terrorists have been neu- yad, currently seized by municipality.

Turkish tralized throughout the Kurdish YPG forces. The Staff Writer Of U.S. Commitments shelling and strikes have campaign, mostly Islamic joint forces would move Continued from Page 1...

in which Merkel avoided direct references to Trump and encouraged further multilateralism, reported the Guardian.

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said after the meeting, “I put my trust in them, so I am definitely reassured. [Pence] said if you don’t want to call the president, you can always call me,” according to the Washington Post.

When Mattis visited NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, he expressed that NATO should spend more on defense or the U.S. would “moderate its commitment to the alliance,” according to the Economist. Trump has called NATO “obsolete” and stated that the U.S. would not help allies unless they had “paid their dues.” Mattis’s assurance that the U.S. stood with NATO was dampened by the consistent rhetoric criticizing NATO. European leaders have expressed both public and private suspicion regarding Pence and Mattis’ message of support.

During his campaign and presidency, Trump called

Brussels a “hellhole,” supported Brexit, called the E.U. “basically a vehicle for Germany,” and invented a terror attack in Sweden.

Additionally, many European leaders suspect Pence to either be a shadow president or do not believe that he truly speaks for the president, reported the Washington Post. At every stop on the tour, Pence made frequent reference to Trump and repeated that the assurance he was delivering was on behalf of the U.S. president, according to the Guardian.

U.S. reaction to the European trip has also been mixed. Republican Senator John McCain countered Mattis and Pence’s message of cooperation by saying at the Munich Security Conference that the Trump administration is in “disarray,” according to Reuters. On the other hand, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told “Face the Nation” that U.S. allies “feel better” after Pence’s statements.

Contact Abby at abby.shamray@student.shu.edu.

Turkish jets have been striking targets in the al-Bab region of northern Syria in an operation carried out with Syrian rebels, signaling a move towards the Islamic State stronghold in Raqqa.

Al-Bab, 20 miles from the Turkish border, has been the target focused on by Turkish forces since the Euphrates Shield campaign was launched in early August to push ISIS off their battle frontier.

The campaign also serves the purpose of destabilizing and preventing Kurdish militia gains, by the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (YPG) against ISIS. A strategic push for alBab would allow for the Turkish military to broaden their influence within the buffer zone created, and clear the path for Turkish forces to push on successfully towards Raqqa, the ISIS capital in Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory of Human rights, a NGO based in Britain that uses internal contacts and a network of international resources to monitor the

resulted in 45 dead civilians, including 18 children through the weekend.

The operation has undergone complications due to the large amount of civilians still in the city.

Anti-ISIS leaflets rained on the city in December, as Turkish backed Free Syrian Army forces edged on the assault.

Turkey has been confident in its campaign against al-Bab. “The operation to gain complete control of the al-Bab region has neared its end and the resistance of the Daesh terror group has largely been broken,” the Turkish military said in a statement to the press early on Friday.

“While the neighborhoods of the city have been reached, control in most parts of al-Bab have been established and a planned operation for taking control of all of the city as part of the search activities are ongoing,” the Turkish military maintained.

According to Business Insider, the Turkish military sees the Kurdish Democratic fighters (PYD) as a threat. The

state fighters- but also including Kurds.

“It is time the U.S. leadership made clear who they are cooperating with in their Syria policy,” a senior Turkish government official told Reuters.

“U.S. soldiers are present in Syrian territory, and we saw the results. They trained the PKK-YPG, which we call a terrorist organization, gave them weapons and supported terrorist groups.”

Turkey presented two proposals to the United States on how to carry out a joint military operation in Raqqa, reported Newsweek. Ankara has told Washington that the operation should be carried out through local Arab militants with support from Turkish forces, rather than the U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Force (SDF), which is dominated by Kurdish forces.

Washington’s support for the Kurdish forces has created tension with Ankara.

Turkey hopes to see Turkish and U.S. special forces, backed by Syrian rebels, moving into Syria through the border

through Kurdish territory, to push into Raqqa, 60 miles south, according to Newsweek.

The U.S. would have to negotiate with the Kurds to allow the Turkish backed forces to move through a 12-mile strip of Kurdish territory.

The other proposed plan involves a push to Raqqa from al-Bab. However, between Raqqa and al-Bab, lies 110 miles of rocky and mountainous terrain, making it a much harder operation.

Cooperation with the Kurdish fighters seems unlikely. Commander Adnan Abu Amjad of the Kurdish fighters in Manbij city at the Syrian front, told Al Jazeera that “his forces will fight to defend any move by Turkey to take over the area.”

“If Erdogan wants to come to Manbij, it’s his business, but we will defend our city with all the strength we can find. As Syrian people, we’ll resist any interference in our internal affairs,” said Abu Amjad to Al Jazeera.

Contact Mohammed at mohammed.syed@student.shu.edu.

March 2017 Page 4

International News

Non-Politician Businessman Sworn in as Haiti’s President

By Gabrielle Goldworm Staff Writer Haiti has finally sworn in a new president after over a year of political stalemate. President Jovenel Moise was sworn in as Haiti’s 58th president on February 7, inheriting a government that has been without a leader since early 2016. Moise fills a position left vacant by former president Michael Martelly who left office in February 2016, leaving former head of parliament Jocelerme Privert in charge as interim president.

At his inauguration, President Moise emphasized a message of hope and healing for a nation long ravaged by natural disasters, economic devastation, political corruption, and general unrest. The idea of unity in a time of strife was heavily emphasized, with Moise stating his intent to strengthen institutions, fight corruption, and bring back jobs and prosperity to the Hai-

tian people. His uplifting declaration that “we can change Haiti if we work together” was reportedly met with applause, but many native Haitians have heard similar promises before and remain unconvinced, The Miami Herald reports.

History supports the Haitians’ caution. The developing nation has a long history of corrupt leaders and weak infrastructure that has failed repeatedly to provide stability. Since the United States ended their occupation of Haiti in 1934, the Haitian people have been allowed to hold free elections, but they have long been plagued by leaders who used the presidency to enrich themselves, and won a “suspiciously large” portion of the votes during the election, according to The Miami Herald.

From 1946 to 1986, Haiti was essentially under the control of a military dictatorship, and after the 1986 revolt, the country endured another 30 years of revolt and U.S.

intervention. However, Moise isn’t exactly a classic Haitian politician or military strongman. The 46-year-old entrepreneur formerly dealt in the exportation of bananas, and has never held a public office, according to CNN report. He fits in with the recent spike in the trend of countries electing “outsider candidates.”

That is not to say that Moise is entirely without controversy or opposition. According to a BBC report, the president was questioned by a judge in Haiti who accused him of money laundering and receiving favorable loans before entering the political scene a mere one month prior to his swearing in ceremony.

The investigation, however, started in 2013 as part of a routine banking-regulation procedure, and was not truly investigated with any intent until four opposition senators demanded the findings.

Moise claimed it was an attempt to smear him. His three main rivals continue

to contest the results of the case.

Even as far back as the first round of the preliminaries, Moise reportedly polled very well, but not so well as to be inherently suspected of fraud, coming in at 55.67 percent, well ahead of his closest competitor, Jude Celestin, who received 19.45 percent of the vote. This popularity maintained well into the following

months, and Moise has now inherited the responsibilities and challenges of Haiti, of which there are many.

Haiti is still struggling to recover from the devastation brought on by Hurricane Matthew, and they still have not fully managed to recover from the 2010 earthquake that killed between 220,000 and 316,000 people and devastated the Caribbe-

President-elect Jovenel Moise of Haiti, right.

an nation’s infrastructure.

Additionally, cholera has remained a major concern since 2010, reports The New York Times.

According to a report by the World Bank, “Haiti remains the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest countries in the world.”

Contact Gabrielle at gabrielle.goldworm@student.shu.edu.

Courtesy of VOA Creole Service

Pope Requests Resignation of Grand Master of the Order of Malta

By Anthony Tokarz Staff Writer

On January 28, the Knights Sovereign Council of the Sovereign Order of Malta – the ancient Roman Catholic order of friars – accepted the controversial resignation of Friar Matthew Festing, the Order’s Grand Master.

The previous day, Festing had personally delivered the handwritten note to Pope Francis in his private residence, in the culmination of a months-long power struggle between the papacy and the Order.

The resignation marks the first time in centuries that a Grand Master resigned rather than holding the office until his death, a move many within the Order have likened to the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.

The controversy, which has split the Vatican, stemmed from the activities of one volunteer corps in Myanmar, Malta Today says. The aid projects have included the provision of condoms among the services provided to the poor. Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager had shuttered two of the

Courtesy of AFP/Gabriel Bouys

Pope Francis dismissed Matthew Festing, left, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta.

projects, but maintained the third for fear that the poor serviced by it would otherwise lose all access to basic medical supplies and services, reports Reuters.

Upon discovering this, Festing fired Boeselager in the presence of the ultra-conservative American Cardinal Leo Burke, whom Pope Francis had in 2014 demoted from high-ranking Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura to lowly Patron the Knights of Malta. The latter role constitutes little more than a ceremonial sine-

cure, usually proffered to Cardinals past the age of 75 and nearing retirement, according to The New Yorker. Pope Francis also broke with the precedent of reappointing high-ranking officials to positions of similar authority, leading many to think that the pope intended to snub Burke for his refusal to cooperate with Francis’s reforms.

The Catholic Church opposes the use of condoms and all other means of contraception, advocating instead for abstinence and the restriction of sexual relations to het-

erosexual marriages. Boeselager, in deciding not to halt the aforementioned aid project, faced the difficult task of choosing between providing services contrary to his faith or blocking an entire local population from receiving basic medical assistance.

According to The New York Times, Festing then told Boeselager that the Vatican had demanded his resignation. In response, Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, sent Boeselager a letter denying this mandate and urging a solution through dialogue. Festing

proceeded to fire Boeselager, and Pope Francis responded with an investigation into the matter.

On January 17, Festing pledged not to cooperate in the investigation, citing threats to the Order’s sovereignty, and the Pope issued a public order demanding his obedience.

A week later, Festing resigned. Cardinal Burke then urged Festing to withdraw his resignation and push back against Francis, but before tensions could escalate, Francis reinstated Boeselager, thus frustrating the nascent challenges of his

ultra-conservative critics.

The Sovereign Order of Malta entrusts the execution of its charity missions to its 13,000 official members, 80,000 volunteers, and 20,000 paid medical professionals. Its activities fall under the categories of providing aid and services to refugees, disaster relief and prevention, fighting diseases and epidemics, creating medical facilities, and providing social assistance in 120 countries. Though political crisis engulfed the top of its hierarchy and created tensions with the Vatican, the Order’s missions will not be affected.

Pope Francis emerged from the infighting with a strengthened hand in future disputes, but insists that the Church ought to avoid culture wars and instead make every effort to understand, sympathize with, and show mercy to all, The Telegraph reports. He hopes that mercy will inspire those disenfranchised people to live as holy lives as they can within their specific circumstances..

Contact Anthony at anthony.tokarz@student.shu.edu.

Foreign Correspondents

March 2017 Page 5

In Amman, Local Man Spreads Literacy With Mobile Bookstore

By Gabrielle Hunt Staff Writer AMMAN, Jordan – On a pleasant February day, a friend and I were strolling around Dawar Paris—the café hub of the hip neighborhood known as Jabal al-Webdeih in Amman, Jordan.

In search of a spot for productivity and frozen mint lemonades, we stumbled upon a 1974 Mercedes covered from bumper to windshield in books. Enter Gaith Jann, the bearded, beanie-wearing owner.

Gaith greeted us welcomingly, in line with the Jordanian hospitality for which the country is known. We began looking through the numerous books on the bumper of his car, which ranged from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” to Plato’s “Republic” to Stephen Hawking’s “Brief History of Time.”

More impressive than the variety, though, was that Gaith seemed to know something about every title we asked about.

For four dinar (a little over five U.S. dollars) each, my friend and I both bought books—and learned a little bit more about Gaith. For starters, this bookselling venture on the back of his vintage car — “Books on the Road” — was only a small part of his larger mission of reviving the love of reading in Jordanian culture. In addition to sell-

ing books in Dawar Paris around every Thursday, he also runs a bookstore in Madaba—a quaintly historical, church-lined town a few miles from Amman—called Kawon, which means “universe” in Arabic. For four dinar, one can buy a book and then continually exchange it for another with no additional cost. Most of the books come from donated collections; Gaith’s oldest book is around 120 years old.

Through the exchange, we were able to engage Gaith a bit more about his background and pick his brain on his personal mission. He used to work in the corporate world as an insurance risk analyst, but left it in search of a more alternative path. At his shop in Madaba— which, though it sells books, also functions as a cultural space for free exchange of ideas—he revealed that he felt like a “monkey” while working in corporate, which I later pried him on for more explanation.

Working in corporate, he said, was like living in a zoo. He felt that his only job was to stare at “people staring back at me,” and that fitting the cleancut business mold was like being caged. “Bounded by the contract I signed, I felt I had no purpose except to accomplish their goals,” he told me. So he left his job and began selling books, fueled by

a nostalgic memory of a childhood constantly surrounded by literature, and the goal of doing something that felt fulfilling.

Fueled entirely by book sales, he’s also been renovating Kawon—the centuries-old, tiny room that is his bookstore in Madaba—to become the cultural space he envisions it to be. He imagines the space to be a center of social activism, but more importantly, a haven of pluralism and acceptance.

He emphasized that he named it “Kawon” to foster the very universality the word means—when one walks in, social identifiers and troubles alike are left outside. His next step is to expand into the lot next to it, in addition to adding a bathroom, because as of now, “People don’t stay very long.”

He doesn’t consider his work now, though, a job—but rather an opportunity to not be bound to the expectations of mainstream Jordanian society and instead to seek opportunities and further develop his ideas.

Gaith’s main mission is reviving the love of learning through reading in Jordanian society, something he believes is lost on many people because of both decreasing emphasis on reading as leisure, and life in Jordan growing harder. Though the issues at play are complex and nuanced, both Gaith and I seemed to agree that the

Courtesy of Gabrielle Hunt

Gaith Jann sells books for a low price, most of them by Western authors.

“TV culture” (the base of Jordanian home life is focused around sitting in front of a television, and Turkish, Egyptian, and Bollywood series are religiously followed here) of Jordan is what has largely contributed to decreased reading.

Additionally, Gaith explained that life is getting more difficult, as the cost of living has increased and less people are able to afford books, making them luxury goods more than ever. In our interactions, it seemed that this part was especially upsetting to him, because the only way for people to mend these type of social

ills is through activism, and reading is the key to understanding social discourse and upheaval— and the tools by which to enact it. The most poignant point that came out of my interactions with him were that without reading, we can’t do anything.

Another interesting point that came from our interactions was Gaith’s allusions to what I termed a “voyeuristic” culture in Jordan. He briefly told a story of sitting with a female friend visiting from Germany outside his store in Madaba, and being met with uncomfortable stares and subtle

backlash. He remarked, similarly to his zoo metaphor, that “all people can do is stare.” He went on to say that though the situation is getting better, many people in Jordan still find it hard to participate in interactions—like non-gender-segregated ones as this one—they are not used to.

I pondered on whether this was a result of decreased reading and Gaith seemed to agree— he remarked that reading has the potential to conceptualize expectations of foreign cultures better and cultivate the opportunity for sharing common knowledge—albeit acknowledging there is no simple answer, and that hesitance about “outsiders” is nothing specific to Jordan. Dealing with cross-cultural encounters—whether in the U.S. or in Jordan or anywhere in the world—is especially relevant to our current social discourses on identity and the type of society we wish to live in.

On that Thursday we met Gaith, we bid him farewell with books in hand; my friend with an Arabic translation of the “Little Prince,” and I with “The Gaze”—a Turkish book by Elif Safak about “an obese woman and her lover, a dwarf, who are sick of being stared at.”

Contact Gabi at gabrielle.hunt@student.shu.edu.

Courtesy of Gabrielle Hunt

Gaith Jann, a resident of Amman, stands in front of the 1974 Mercedes from where he sells books at low prices.

March 2017 Page 6

By Nicholas Elden Staff Writer As Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım’s first year in office nears its end, Turkey’s underground alcohol market continues to grow according to International Business Time.

In Turkey, taxes on a multitude of items including cigarettes, alcohol, cars, and mobile phones have risen as a result of fiscal policy.

Reliance on credit cards and overspending has caused unwanted inflation and crippled Turkey’s commercial market according to Bloomberg news . As the economy fights inflation and currency depreciation, taxes are needed to slow exces-

By Samantha Stevenson Staff Writer Some people joke about selling their kidneys for a profit during financial hardships, but for many in India, it is not a joke—it is a necessity.

Live Mint reports that an estimated 200,000 Indians need an organ transplant every year. This large consumer base, coupled with India’s strict donation laws, have increased demand for illegal organs drastically.

Quartz reports that under Indian law, donations from unrelated parties can only occur if the procedure receives government approval to ensure that no money transaction is involved. Besides this and transplants from close relatives, those in need can only receive an organ from the recently deceased, or from patients with clinical brain death, given their families’ permission.

The report went on to say that the organ market has become so popular in India, that entire villages in places like West Bengal and Bihar have citizens living with only one kidney due to local operations. Kidney sales in the city of Calcutta are so great that it has been nicknamed “the Great Kidney Bazzar,” said Al Jazeera.

sive spending and allow its banking system to work as a watchdog. Turkey’s current taxation methods were intended as a solution to this overspending, but instead created a shadow market for alcohol.

According to Havocscope, Turkey has a total black market value of $17 billion dollars, and is the 15th country most at risk of security risks from the global black market.

International Business Times reports that political instability stirred up Turkey’s infrastructure since 2013. Former Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan fought with opponents who accused the leader of being autocratic and unable to accept criticism for his increased taxation. Through

The demand for organs does not stop domestically, as India ranks number eight on Havoscape’s list of countries most at risk from the global black market.

India’s large contribution to the black market for organs, an estimated $68.59 billion, has earned it a spot among the “organ importing and exporting countries,” reports the World Health Organization.

The Transnational Institute conducted research into the interconnectedness of illegal clinical operations within India in order to see how deep the organ market penetrates Indian society.

They found that one doctor, Dr. Amit Kumar, has an operation which runs three hospitals, five diagnostic centers, and 10 laboratories, with more than 50 accomplices. These accomplices include doctors, nurses, “spotters”, and touts. Touts, also known as brokers, are the individuals who lure potential “donors” with promises like payment or jobs, and then take them to someone who removes their kidney.

Al Jazeera spoke to a broker referred to as Vikas, who admitted to helping foreigners in need of a transplant find locally based donors. When

Turkey

all of this turmoil, an underground alcohol market emerged due to Turkey’s strict new prohibitions.

Al Monitor reports that these new prohibitions have created numerous business opportunities for many.

For instance, a Turkish individual named Burak B. quit his job as a pizza delivery man and took to his motorcycle to sell and deliver liquor across the nation. Newly implemented restrictions on the sale of alcohol, like Turkey’s ban on selling spirits past 10 P.M, turned regular working class citizens into members of the black market.

Restaurants have hired couriers like Burak in the past to sell imported spirits and late-night drinks

Focus on the

for much higher prices.

Because of the increased risk, potentially including a $250,000 fine, restaurants hire couriers who are more willing to take the risk. Burak stated that, “One customer told me that his late-night drink started to taste better after it was banned.”

The real question regarding these bans is, will they change Turkey fundamentally? History reveals that this is not the first time Turkey faced a prohibition, or an underground alcohol trade.

When looking back at the Ottoman prohibition, the Turks innovated new and unique ways of circumventing bans, even in the face of capital punishment according to the International Business

Time.

Al Monitor gave the example of Raki, a traditional Turkish spirit that was popularized in the 18th century as it was colorless when dry, and therefore easy to hide and drink in secret. Raki highlights the resilience of the Turkish people when facing the difficulties of an oppressive governing body. As far as affecting citizens, Al Monitor reports that alcohol consumption is not on the rise in Turkey, and alcoholism is not a serious problem either.

Over the past five years, Turkey has encountered its biggest blowbacks in regards to cigarette smuggling and counterfeit drug sales.

Havocscope reports that

an organized crime ring in Turkey was intercepted by police for selling counterfeit drugs to patients in both Turkey and the United States. The crime syndicate sold fake cancer drugs to struggling patients for upwards of $700 while also being able to get some of their counterfeit goods into legitimate pharmacies.

Additionally, customs have seized nearly $2 billion worth of contraband tobacco in 2013.

The black market for cigarettes doesn’t appear to be vanishingany time soon with over quarter of Turkey being smokers according to the CDC. Contact Nicholas at nicholas.elden@student.shu.edu.

India

India’s attemps to ban tobacco have been stymied by the black market.

foreigners request Vikas’ service, he posts on social media promising monetary compensation for a single kidney. These posts are often disguised as a plea from a “distressed relative” in need of a quick procedure.

Vikas told Al Jazeera that he often posts as a woman because women are perceived to be more trustworthy. He also chooses English names as foreign organs cost more.

“When anybody calls I tell them she is my sister.”

Said Vikas.

The ideal donor is usu-

ally a healthy non-smoker, in their 20s or early 30s, and men are preferable as they can travel alone easier. Having a valid passport is not required as, if the match is good, all the documents, including passports, are arranged in a matter of days, said Vikas.

After trust is established, the potential donor is put through a series of health tests, including blood tests and tissue type tests. The broker then arranges to meet the donor, and safely delivers them to a hotel or guesthouse.

After the procedure, donors are typically able to return home within 18-25 days.

The purchase and sale of organs is illegal and punishable by prison time and fines up to Rs25 lakh, which is just under $40,000.

So if the procedure comes with so many risks, why do it? Simple—a majority of the donors are desperate for money.

The donors typically receive around 300,000 rupees, or $4,500, for their kidneys. It is nowhere near the amount

Courtesy of IANS

that brokers and doctors earn, but it is enough of a reason for the impoverished and debt-ridden who have no other way to make ends meet.

Comparatively, a US citizen could theoretically sell their kidney on the black market for a sum total of $262,000 according to Gizmodo. It is unsurprising that this is a market that preys on the poor, but that doesn’t make it any less unfortunate.

Contact Samantha at stevensa@shu.edu.

Black Market

By Felipe Bueno Staff Writer As Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reassures citizens that he will do everything in his power to secure financial resources, control of the economy and price stability continue to elude him.

The Economist reports that in the last year, Venezuela’s economy shrank by 19 percent, according to leaked reports from Venezuela’s central bank.

With hyperinflation at a rate of 800 percent, Venezuelan mafias began to create their own shadow currency exchange system

for a profit.

Venezuelanalysis reported that mafias have begun taking advantage of the slight differences in exchange rates by buying the Venezuelan bolívar at a low price and selling it at a higher price.

The bolívars are routinely smuggled across the country’s southern border into Colombia, where they are traded in Cúcuta and Bogotá at a higher official rate for U.S. dollars.

The currency then makes its way from Colombia back into Venezuela, and is sold for bolívars at a higher price, creating a profit.

March 2017 Page 7

Venezuela

The shadow economy of Venezuela has rampantly expanded beyond its own borders, with foreign citizens now hoarding the bolívar. BBC reported that police in Paraguay seized at least 25 tons of 100-bolívar notes stashed against the wall of a local arms dealer’s home. With the currency depreciating by the day, local police suspect that the arms dealer planned to print fake U.S. dollars on the bolívar’s paper. The process entails bleaching the markings off the bolívar, printing the dollar on top, and smuggling it back across to Venezuela to be

Courtesy of Hossein Zohrevand

Iranian President meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Saadabad

exchanged for bolívars.

Currency smuggling is common in countries with high inflation, limited foreign exchange reserves, and strict currency controls, all of which are present in Venezuela. The New York Times reported that the 100-bolívar note is now estimated to be worth only 2.8 American cents at the black market rate.

In order to combat this currency smuggling, Mr. Maduro has created eight currency exchange houses on the Colombian border in an attempt to regularize the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the domestic currency.

The regime’s desperation, however, has led to a more drastic measure. As Numis Master reported, Venezuela has officially removed the 100-bolívar note from circulation and has implemented bank notes with denominations of 500, 1000, all the way to 20,000 bolívars. According to the New York Times, the newly implemented 500-bolívar is worth about $5.60 in US dollars.

Russia

Brain drain is a pressing issue in Russia.

By Daniel D’Amico Staff Writer Black market dealings in Russia are estimated to be about $49.04 billion in value, and this is especially prominent in the education system. Many achieve success and influence by taking advantage of the system to get titles and positions that they did not earn.

In 2015, Sergei Naryshkin, chief of staff in Putin’s administration, was exposed as a plagiarist. More than half the

material of his dissertation that earned him a doctoral degree was taken from other sources. Naryshkin was suspected of paying someone to write his thesis for him. Despite what would become a scandal in other countries, Sergei went back to doing his job as if nothing had ever happened.

Those accused of fraud often include politicians, judges, prosecutors, police officials, and heads of universities. More specifically, there have been accusations of plagiarism

Courtesy of Mark Nesop

against the minister of culture, the governor of St. Petersburg, and the head of the country’s top federal investigating authority.

The types of things provided range from dissertations to monographs to fake academic journal entries. Dissertation writing firms usually hide under the false names and seek out clients by showing them why they need a certain degree.

They offer dissertations for about 100,000 rubles, or $1,500. There are also

book length monographs as well as bibliographies of fake journal articles for around $25,000. This also includes the bribing of dissertation boards to get their dissertations approved.

Andrei Rostovtsev, a physicist and co-founder of Dissernet, developed the software to facilitate the discovery of plaigarism use. In an article in Slate, he explains it further ashe software chooses papers from the library of defended theses and cross references it with other documents to see if there are similarities. If there are, it flags the paper and then volunteers check it by hand.

The Slate article highlights how Dissernet’s main focus is restoring the idea of reputation in Russian society. Their efforts have led to the discovery of 5,600 suspected plagiarists and convincing reports on about 1,300 of them. They have also found that one in nine members of the State Duma paid others to write their dissertations.

In fact, four percent of

Though the implementation of new currency is an attempt to stabilize the economy, it has three potentially negative effects. First, introducing higher denominations of bills has been a horrendous method of monetary policy in the past. In Zimbabwe for example, inflation rose to an estimated 40 million percent after it introduced the $100 Trillion dollar bank note, which was only worth 40 cents in the U.S. Despite Venezuela not being anywhere near those levels of inflation, it is exhibiting characteristics similar to the Zimbabwean inflationary spiral.

Second, after Mr. Maduro had announced his decision to no longer accept the 100-bolívar, Venezuelans rushed to the banks in an attempt to exchange bills, reported The New York Times. Banks were unable to complete the transactions, as they ran out of larger bills with which to exchange.

One bank, which only received 500-bolívar bills, had run out by 2 PM. In response to the lack of

new currency, desperate citizens turned to looting and rioting. Mr. Maduro was forced to change his stance and allow the 100-bolívar note to remain in place, much to the dismay of those who had already burned the 100-bolívar after believing it to be worthless.

And lastly, despite being a momentary way to halt the shadow economy, it is by no means an end-all solution. While mafias will have a harder time taking advantage of the differences in exchange rates, the reforms have no way of preventing the creation of counterfeit bolívars. Because the old 100-bolívar notes are now worthless, and are therefore easier to acquire, mafias will have a simpler time creating more counterfeit dollars.

The now almost worthless notes can be bleached and laundered for U.S. dollars much easier, introducing more currency, and further progressing the country’s inflationary spiral.

Contact Felipe at felipe.bueno@student.shu.edu.

dissertations in the country were plagiarized and around 20-30 percent were purchased on the black market.

Igor Igoshin, a Duma member who earned an economics degree by changing a paper on the chocolate industry into one on the meat industry, was one such plagiarist exposed by Dissernet.

Another was Yuri Tsurapkin who submitted a medical article on breast cancer. This was taken from a paper on stomach cancer as well as a study of cancer in dogs and rats.

Even President Vladimir Putin was accused in 2006 of plagiarizing some of his thesis in economics, but it changed nothing about his reputation or how his presidency ran more generally. Another case in which the plagiarist went on largely unscathed is with the culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky. He was accused of being a fraud due to a number of errors in his dissertation. The review of his work was at first delayed, and then put on hold completely.

In 2012, the head of a prestigious academy in Moscow, Andrei Andrianov, faked various publications and printed nonexistent academic journals.

The Russian Ministry of Education and Science formed a commission to look into the problem.

Ultimately, they closed the Moscow State Pedagogical University that approved his degree. There were also about 800 other dissertation boards that they either closed or froze.

In article in Phys.org, geneticist Svetlana Borinskaya states, “Russia is losing brains,” referring to the migration of young qualified students to foreign universities. These black market dealings have led to a decrease in qualified workers in a variety of fields. While government action has been helpful, Dissernet along with other third party groups are picking up the slack as far as raising awareness about the plagiarisms is concerned.

Contact Danny at daniel.damico@student.shu.edu.

Opinion

March 2017 Page 8

Diplomacy Senators Must Represent Our Values The Editorial Board As the School of Diplomacy’s newspaper of record, The Diplomatic Envoy does not take lightly the responsibility of providing our community with balanced, well-researched information. We are proud that our staff is diverse both in background and in perspective. And so as not to discourage this diversity of viewpoints, the paper’s leadership has so far abstained from expressing our collective opinion through editorials.

The Editorial Board cannot, in good conscience, stay silent now.

We applaud the Sen-

ate of the Student Government Association for drafting and passing a resolution rejecting President Trump’s discriminatory ban on immigration, and for pressing the university to protect immigrant students. Sadly, the abstention of our senators, Michael Roma and Matthew Schaller, was a misrepresentation of the School of Diplomacy.

As a professional school of international relations, we hold the United Nations in high regard and believe in the organization’s most cherished values: multilateralism, diversity, and inclusion. Altogether, 25 countries are represented by our faculty and student

body, many of whom are immigrants, the children of immigrants, and international students.

Most important, the Editorial Board believes that the School of Diplomacy we love and serve is a community that not only stands for the basic human rights of all, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, or religion, but also stands up when those rights are threatened.

Therefore we expect our elected senators to faithfully represent the School of Diplomacy’s values to the university.

In a statement to the Envoy, Senator Roma said he abstained to protect his current and future federal employment, and

to obey the Hatch Act of 1939, which prohibits “engaging in some forms of political activity.” According to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the Hatch Act places restrictions on political activity “directed at the success or failure of a partisan group or candidate in a partisan election.” The SGA resolution, which expressed disapproval of a federal policy and was largely directed at the university administration, was a nonpartisan student initiative wholly unrelated to a partisan election, leaving Senator Roma with no conflict of interest.

The abstention of both Senators Roma and Schaller placed political

bias and ambition over the values of our community. The senators should have taken a cue from the letter sent on November 11, 2016, by the Dean and the faculty reassuring students that the School will continue to welcome individuals of all backgrounds and “uphold our proud tradition of diversity and inclusion.”

But what more can we expect from two senators who have failed to attend a single D.U.L.C.E. meeting or the Diplomacy Town Hall this year? Previous Business senators worked with their dean to acquire more seating in Jubilee Hall lounges. Senators from the College of

Arts and Sciences represented their classmates on the committee that selected their new dean.

Yet our Diplomacy senators rarely, if ever, attend the monthly meetings that would allow them to know and understand their constituents.

It now falls on Diplomacy students to rectify this situation and elect candidates in the upcoming SGA elections who will fairly and accurately represent our community — candidates who know that our values and interests are worth more than a line on their résumés.

Contact the editors at thediplomaticenvoy@gmail.com.

For Europe and Asia,There’s a New Sheriff in Town

By Francesca Reglado Managing Editor

Three words summarize John Mearsheimer’s landmark realist tome, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics: Anarchy begets hegemony. I have thought about this frequently in the turbulent three months since November 8, 2016.

For those who have never been treated to Mearsheimer’s bleak, no-nonsense prose, he argues that because the international order is an anarchic system in which no centralized authority exists to enforce peace and justice, states must utilize self-help against the uncertainty of other states’ intentions. The best way to do that is to amass as much relative power as possible – that is, to become a hegemon.

If anarchy begets hegemony, then to keep the global peace, the international order requires an adult in the room, a role

the president of the United States now seems incapable of filling. Luckily for everyone else, China and Germany are ready and willing to audition.

While other world leaders (i.e., Theresa May and Shinzo Abe) are treading carefully around the volatile new president, Xi Jinping has already figured out how to extract what he wants from the United States: ignoring a petulant child effectively compels him to relent.

According to The New York Times, offended by Trump’s phone call with the president of Taiwan, Xi refused to speak with Trump until the latter promised to uphold the One China policy.

In addition, Xi was handed a golden opportunity when Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The United States had much to gain from the agreement with 11 countries that produce about 40 percent

of global trade, according to The Washington Post, while excluding the large competitive economies of the European Union and China. Disappointed TPP states may now look to China and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership proposal, which would create a free trade zone encompassing the 10 ASEAN nations and six trading partners, including Japan, South Korea, and India. A free trade zone would be the ultimate opening for China to make amends with neighbors that have historically viewed it as hostile.

The United States should also be concerned that China may push ahead in a new profitable venture where America was expected to lead. If the space race was the pissing match of the Cold War, clean energy innovation is the name of the game today.

In 2016, Chinese firms made a record-breaking $32 billion investment in

international clean energy projects, in addition to a $103-billion domestic investment, according to Climate Change News.

In contrast, the United States spent only $44.1 billion on domestic clean energy projects last year, and prospects for further investment are dwindling under the Trump administration. Many of China’s investments were made in developing countries, giving China a third of the global market share for hydropower, solar energy, and wind power, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

On the other side of the world, Germany, the de facto leader of the European Union, also stands to gain from an American retrenchment. For proof that the German Chancellor can be the adult in the room, witness Angela Merkel’s shuttle diplomacy at the height of the Ukraine crisis. Merkel may face a hearty challenge in the federal elec-

tion later this year, but fortunately for the EU, recent polls reported by Reuters favor one of its own: Martin Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament. Moreover, Germany would by default win the competition for influence in the EU if the French election favors Marine Le Pen, a candidate in the vein of Trump who has promised a referendum on France’s membership in the EU. Possibly triggered by Trump’s posturing on NATO, Germany’s foreign minister indicated this month that the country would commit to gradually meet the NATO military spending threshold of 2 percent of GDP. Two percent of the GDP of Europe’s largest economy is not a pittance, and according to Politico, meeting the NATO threshold would also elevate Germany as Europe’s largest military power, easily overtaking Russia, the United Kingdom, and France.

The windfall of political, economic, and military power would drive Europe under Germany’s umbrella in the face of an unreliable United States and a resurgent Russia, and compel Asia to pursue the previously unpalatable prospect of trusting China. What sphere of influence would the United States have left?

Trump has either insulted or ignored the developing nations of Latin America, and The New York Times reports that his team seemed skeptical of the value of foreign aid in Africa – both regions, by the way, where China has reaped goodwill by sowing significant contributions in aid and infrastructure.

Trump may be putting America first, but it is easy to be first when you are all alone.

Contact Cheska at regalafr@shu.edu.

Opinion

March 2017 Page 9

Politics Aside, U.S. Must Unify in Response to Iran’s Bad Faith

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of State

A high-level meeting on the Iran Nuclear Deal.

By Aidan Dion Staff Writer

Both the United States and the United Nations understand Iran’s very real threat to the Middle East and to the world. In 2015, Iran and the U.S. signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, written to prevent Iran from creating ballistic missiles with warhead-bearing capabilities and to halt

nuclear weapons development. However, the deal faced strong opposition from Israel, number one on Iran’s hitlist. Israel claimed that the deal would not stop Iran in the long-run and would open conventional arms deals to Iran.

Throughout the 2016 campaign trail, Democrats and Hillary Clinton hailed the deal as a success that would bring peace the region. in January, Iran launched a mis-

sile test that called into question the honesty of the volatile country.

On January 30, Iran launched a midrange ballistic missile with the capacity to reach Israel. U.N. Resolution 2231 was meant to prevent Iran from testing missiles that could carry a nuclear warhead. Iran claimed the missile was intentionally made too small to carry a warhead and functioned solely for defensive capabilities.

U.S. intelligence communities are calling the peace claim a boldfaced lie, since the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made the bold prediction that Israel will not exist in 25 years.

In addition, the tested missile had the phrase “Israel must be destroyed.”

Although none of these displays violate the Iran Nuclear Deal, it shows that Iran is in no way making strives for peace.

The deal with the U.S. was merely a 12-month delay to the production of a nuclear weapon. Iran also has a shady history of building secret uranium enrichment facilities in mountain caves, such as the Fordow enrichment plant, made into a research center once discovered.

The past few weeks have shown very little signs of hope in the quest for peace in the Middle East. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, called on President Trump to raise sanctions

after Iran’s missile test.

Trump responded with sanctions directed at 25 people involved in constructing the missile and supporting the Revolutionary Guard.

Our options for dealing with Iran without sanctions or threats are dwindling. The idea that Iran can have nuclear power solely for peaceful purposes is now naïve and dangerous, and wariness and suspicion must remain in place for the foreseeable future. The U.S. should not consider peace talks with Iran until they are no longer a proponent of state-sponsored terrorism.

Moreover, the International Atomic Energy Agency, established to ensure that nuclear material is used solely for benign energy projects, should strictly discourage the world’s willingness to allow even the smallest amounts of uranium into Iran. If Iran does achieve nuclear weapons and the ability to use them, there

may emerge a standoff similar to that of the Cuban Missile Crisis, except we will find Trump at the helm instead of the level-headed Kennedy.

Trump has repeatedly claimed to be pro-Israel – now it is time to see if he can translate that into action.

It is time to put aside all politics, domestic or foreign. Liberals and conservatives are irrelevant.

It does not matter if you are pro-Israel or pro-Iran.

When Iran has the ability to deliver a nuclear weapon, petty politics will mean nothing. When faced with the very real threat of nuclear war, we need to be on the same page. A nuclear strike will extinguish the lives of tens of thousands of people. It is not about who can hold power anymore. Smart policy is required for peace, now more than ever.

Contact Aidan at aidan.dion@student.shu.edu.

Goodwill Between North Korea and China Will Not Last

By Anthony Tokarz Staff Writer North Korea’s missile test on February 12 brought the country back into the international spotlight — right where the hermit state’s leader, the eccentric Kim Jongun, wants it. As the editors of Slate note, Kim most likely hopes to develop the nation’s nuclear weapons program to stir fear worldwide and to deter attacks by North Korea’s foes. North Korean leadership has feared a U.S. or an Allied invasion since the Korean Armistice Agreement, which calls for a yet-tobe settled “final peaceable solution” and the formal conclusion of hostilities.

This reality contributes to the deep insecurity of the North Korean state that compels Kim to eliminate both real and perceived rivals in a bid to consolidate power.

The assassination of Kim’s estranged brother, the Disneyland-loving Kim Jong-nam, in Malaysia has proven the dictator’s paranoia. According to The New York Times, the assassination

could not have occurred without the explicit order of the current dictator.

Taken together, both the missile test and the assassination speak to the emergence of some novel pattern of North Korean behavior; however, observers need only concern themselves with wondering why this is happening, and how long it will last.

The foremost explanation is that China, North Korea’s only ally, has loosened the nation’s leash to see how world leaders, especially the new U.S. president, would react. President Xi Jinping of China has cultivated a cool relationship with Kim Jong-un, though the two have yet to meet or speak directly.

Meanwhile, the flow of goods — mostly food, fuel, military equipment, and select luxury goods for the nation’s military elites — across the Chinese border into North Korea has persisted without obstruction. Several Chinese banks manage the assets of the North Korean military class, and Chinese farms and firms rely on their southern neighbor for a stable

flow of trade. The Chinese government controls North Korea by regulating the flow of these resources — North Korea’s obedience is met with increased aid and trade, and recalcitrance with deprivation.

However, China remains mindful that cutting off commerce could create a humanitarian crisis, forcing millions of North Korean refugees to flee to China, or the collapse of the regime altogether. The latter scenario would undermine all of China’s regional interests, as it would allow the U.S. and its allies to either seize control of North Korean territory and saddle right up to the Chinese border, or, worse, allow the U.S. and its allies to redeploy forces to strategic bases in Japan and around the South China Sea. In essence, China, already insecure about Western incursion into its territory, manipulates the insecurity of the Kim Jong-Un regime to keep the U.S. and its allies at bay. North Korea’s unique isolation from the global economy, institutions, and mainstream diplomatic

channels allows it to lead provocation campaigns at low political and economic cost. It hopes to sow insecurity among its foes, especially within the new U.S. administration.

By testing another nuclear warhead-equipped missile and promising the prompt development of intercontinental-range missiles, Kim Jong-Un hopes to raise his profile in the West among his powerful foes. His order to assassinate his half-brother complements this provocation by signaling to his weaker regional foes that his power extends well into their territory. These nations now

await the response of the United States in order to align their policies.

So how should the world respond? The National Interest has long reported on South Koreans’ disinclination toward war with their northern neighbor, and the U.S. should not risk its people and treasure to confront North Korea’s nuclear military alongside the Chinese military. A U.S.-China conflict in the region could only precipitate a cold war or nuclear confrontation. Instead, the U.S. and its allies should convene, especially those closest to North Korea and China, and

impose heavy sanctions against every Chinese firm and institution that does business with North Korea. This will send two clear messages: the United States’ Asian allies have an important role to play in safeguarding the security of their region, and the U.S. will only continue to raise the cost of Chinese cooperation with North Korea. This will either force North Korea to retreat, or perhaps even treat Kim Jong-Un to a taste of his brother’s last breaths.

Contact Anthony at anthony.tokarz@student.shu.edu.

Courtesy of Voice of America

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un with a Chinese Communist Party official.

Opinion

March 2017 Page 10

Iran Is Putting Global Currency at Risk by Discarding Dollar

By Isla Lamont Staff Writer

In official statements, Iran is rumored to be abandoning the use of the U.S. dollar. The decision was announced January 29 by the Central Bank of Iran governor Valiollah Seif. The change will become effective on March 21, the start of the new fiscal year.

As a disclaimer, I say “rumored” because Forbes is the only reputable news source reporting the event, unless you’re partial to right wing blogs whose angles are all about jet fuel and steel beams. According to Forbes contributor on Middle Eastern economics, Dominic Dudley, the announcement was aired in Iran and reported by a local English-language newspaper, the Financial Tribune.

Conspiracy theories are already in the works, with many suggesting that the move will spark U.S. forces to interfere

once again with the Iranian government under the cloak of economic liberation. The most common theory for the abandonment is that it is a retaliation against President Trump for his executive order banning immigration from seven Middle Eastern countries including Iran, before the executive order was overturned by federal judge James Robart. The Iranian government has since vowed to take “reciprocal measures” and stop issuing visas to U.S. citizens.

Whether speculation, fact, or a combination of the two, the entire scenario exposes the danger of sticky international relations and its effects on the U.S. economy. It may be obvious how imposing unilateral tariffs or striking international trade deals have economic impacts, but what I’ve found to be less understood is the power of currencies.

It is common for countries with relatively weak currencies to use

a globally accepted currency for international trade. For example, the Rial is the official Iranian currency, which currently trades for 0.00003085 to 1 USD. The dollar is relatively one of the strongest currencies in the world and considered the top supernational currency.

It is backed by the perceived trustworthiness of a country, or more simply put, its reliability for paying back its debts; a dollar is only a piece of paper until a state believes it is worth something.

It is also important to understand that the currency exchange market is a self-fulfilling prophecy: If enough investors believe that a country has a poor or unreliable economy, they will pull investment in that currency. Markets reflect the investors’ movements and cycles accordingly.

This explanation is an oversimplification of a very complex market, but my point is that if the U.S. dollar gets dropped

by other countries, then the dollar’s entire value will weaken. Goods will become more expensive to buy, and the U.S. will receive less for our already deficient amount of exports. GDP shrinkage will almost undoubtedly follow, meaning that large outstanding debts to China and others will repay less than what its dollar attempts to purchase.

Iran dropping the dollar is not a problem in

itself – it is a negligible trading partner, thanks to decades of U.S.-imposed sanctions. The issue lies in precedence and the slippery slope of monetary replacement. As soon as the snowball effect begins, it could wreak havoc on the American economy.

Standard & Poor already downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA, the highest possible, to AA+ in 2016, sending shockwaves through the

Inside the Tehran Stock Exchange.

foreign exchange market.

Policies implemented by the U.S. are important to every citizen, but even more important is that in our current political climate, something as simple as a nasty tweet or criticism from our POTUS could have long-reaching consequences, especially if done repeatedly. .

Contact Isla at rachel.lamont@student.shu.edu.

Courtesy of The Financial Tribune

Is Civil Society a Threat to Sovereignty?

President Xi Jinping of China.

By Vincent Maresca Staff Writer Strengthened civil society in the 21st century poses a challenge to the norms of sovereignty. Although not every state targets academia, non-governmental institutions (NGOs) and nonprofit organizations are riddled with controversy.

While some NGOs help change the behavior of nation-states for the bet-

ter, others seem to pursue disruptive tactics such as regime change, traditionally associated with military coup d’états.

Some of the prominent NGOs involved are the Open Society Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy. Their activity occurs mostly in countries in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, where instability and perpetual conflict remain a common occurrence.

Courtesy of Voice of America

In Russia, billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation funded pro-democratic initiatives and caused outcry from the government. According to the Washington Times, the Russian Prosecutor General’s office banned two of Soros’ organizations, the Open Society Foundations and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation, after an investigation found them to be a “threat to the foundations

of the Russian constitutional system and security of the state.”

In other countries of Eastern Europe, Soros’ NGOs interfered in the domestic policies of Ukraine, Hungary, and Macedonia. The New American reports that Soros’ International Renaissance Foundation funded the Euromaidan protests, which led to the ousting of President Victor Yanukovich.

According to an RT News interview, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporter Sophie Shevardnadze that Soros’ NGOs “helped illegal immigrants to get into Hungary.” He further states that Soros “would like this government to fail … because he doesn’t like our approach, doesn’t like our policies.”

Finally, the Macedonian news website Republika reported that politician Nikola Srbov launched an initiative to investigate the Open Society Foundation. He accuses the organization of monopolizing civil society and stamping out any disagreeing opinions.

Finally, in the Middle

East, other NGOs are involved in similar acts of undermining sovereignty.

According to the Global Policy Forum, Egyptian prosecutors cracked down on “pro-democracy” NGOs in early 2012, “accusing them of failing to register with the government and financing the April 6 protest movement with illicit funds in a manner that detracts from the sovereignty of the Egyptian state.”

Egypt installed a travel ban on former Transportation Secretary’s son Sam LaHood, a member of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a U.S.-funded NGO. By March of the same year, LaHood and some NGOs left the country.

The article further mentions that “state-sponsored organizations,” not NGOs such as the IRI and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), receive funding from the National Endowment of Democracy (NED) for promoting growth of political parties, free economies, and free elections. Thus, these organizations, masked as NGOs, meddle in the political and economic pro-

cess of foreign states.

Having examined these cases, does civil society do anything positive? Certainly, NGOs are very effective in advancing causes while at the same time maintaining a degree of independence from other actors. For instance, the World Youth Alliance (WYA) promotes the dignity of human life in areas such as the U.N. and the European Union.

In addition, many of the countries subject to regime change have functional institutions and still maintain their NGOs who work at the grassroots and domestic level.

For instance, Hungary has a variety of groups addressing issues such as health care, political participation, education, and consumerism.

The problem with civil society as it exists is that special interests groups control most of the NGOs, the academia, and other organizations.

In such cases, individuals should become the main actors in shaping the policies of civil society. .

Contact Vincent at vincent.maresca@student.shu.edu.

Diplomacy News

March 2017 Page 11

Moller Leads Student Trip to West Point Counterterrorism Center

By Allegra Berg Staff Writer Eleven undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Diplomacy the opportunity to visit the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to learn about the work of the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC). The excursion on February 14 was arranged by Dr. Sara Bjerg Moller, associate professor of international security.

“One of the many strengths of the Diplomacy School are the extensive professional contacts our faculty have,” Dr. Moller said. “In this case, I was able to call on one of those contacts and arrange for the Director of the CTC to give our students a private briefing.” She added that she hopes to make it an annual opportunity for students going forward.

West Point is approximately an hour and fifteen minutes north of Seton Hall. Upon arrival, students needed to clear the Visitor Control Center to

gain entry, then were escorted by a contact of Dr. Moller’s to the building housing the CTC, where they were shown to the briefing room used by senior members of the U.S. military and national security apparatus and given a briefing by Lt. Col. Bryan C. Price, the director of the CTC and an academy professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy.

After describing the mission and organizational structure of the Center, Lieutenant Colonel Price opened the floor to a lively discussion with students, who learned about the many internship and other opportunities available through the CTC. Many said they planned to take advantages of these in the future.

The CTC was established on February 20, 2003, thanks to the vision and generous support of private donors. As a privately funded institution, the CTC is unique due to its financial independence and its location in

an educational institution, which allows it to “serve as a focal point and an independent voice on terrorism and counterterrorism strategy within the government as well as the academic community.”

Many students were surprised to learn that the CTC is an independent and privately funded research entity. “I expected the CTC to be a strictly military organization that focused on tactical measures to actively combat terrorism,” said Sophie Thon, a freshman.

The Center’s work revolves around its threefold mission of teaching, advising, and doing research. Trinushka Perera, a graduate student who hails from Sri Lanka, said she was surprised to learn that Sri Lanka’s history with terrorism was part of the teaching curriculum at West Point. Last summer, faculty and cadets even visited Sri Lanka to study the conclusion of its decades-long civil war.

“Living in terrorism and its fear for 18 years of my life,” Perera said, “and

seeing someone witnessing it from the outside is very different, I must say.”

“The Academy gave a lot to me and I want to give back,” Lt. Col. Price said about his personal goals as director of the Center. According to him, the CTC strives to “be the national and international leader of policy-relevant terrorism research.”

The emphasis on policy relevant research was why Dr. Moller chose to visit the CTC. “Learning doesn’t just happen inside the classroom,” she said.

“This trip reinforces that idea and helps students link theory and practice.

The CTC is an institution that conducts rigorous policy relevant research, so in many ways it is the perfect place for our students to see how the two interact.”

After the briefing, students grabbed lunch at the West Point Club with Dr. Erica Borghard, the director of the Grand Strategy Program at the Academy.

Dr. Borghard discussed her work on cybersecurity and grand strategy, as well

Photos courtesy of Ruben Gutierrez

Graduate and undergraduate students from the School of Diplomacy visited the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, with Dr. Sara Bjerg Moller, fifth from left, and the Center’s director, Lt. Col. Bryan C. Price, right.

as the cadet classroom experience.

Students left West Point curious for more information and freshly motivated to learn more about terrorism research and the counterterrorism field in general. “I was en-

couraged by the reach of the CTC and its work,” said Thon. ”After this visit, I am more optimistic about my future role in combating terrorism.”

Contact Allegra at allegra.berg@student.shu.edu.

DULCE Corner: UDSA to Hold Town Hall for Diplo Senator Candidates

By Leah Cerilli Staff Writer February’s Diplomacy United Leadership and Communication Exchange (DULCE) meeting focused on the importance of professionalism and student leadership.

Dean Bartoli and the School of Diplomacy have been consulting with the Stillman School of Business Leadership Development Program to provide students with effective leadership experience. Dean Andrea Bartoli said good leadership cannot be learned in the classroom and is best taught through experience. He also suggested that leadership classes be offered to Diplomacy students, particularly those with executive board positions. He hopes that student organizations will be run like professional organizations, teaching skills applicable to jobs and internships.

Dean Bartoli also emphasized the importance of good leadership skills within organizations that are undergoing leadership transitions, such as SHUNA, UDSA, and The Diplomatic Envoy. Representatives from UDSA and The Diplomatic Envoy offered suggestions on how they were handling their respective leadership transitions, such as starting the training process early and training current and future leaders side-by-side.

Next, Associate Dean Ursula Sanjamino and Kyle Younger, director of professional services, spoke about the impor-

tance of sending RSVPs in the School of Diplomacy and in the professional world. They noticed that although students often RSVP that they are coming to an event, they ultimately do not attend.

Doing so defeats the purpose of RSVP, firstly because resources for these events are often limited and costly, which is why it is important to the School of Diplomacy to have an accurate number. Secondly, whenever spots are limited, spots are wasted if students who RSVP do not show up. Dean Sanjamino and Director Younger requested that students be cognizant and break this habit.

Dean Bartoli discussed the upcoming event on the diplomacy of Pope Francis. Archbishop Bernardito C. Auza, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, who spoke on March 1. It was his first public event at Seton Hall, along with Joseph Cardinal Tobin, the newly installed Archbishop of Newark.

Matthew Minor, a representative from UDSA, announced a town hall for candidates running to be the School of Diplomacy’s senators to the Student Government Association. Students will get the opportunity to meet the candidates and discuss their plans for the position. The exact date will be determined when the list of candidates becomes public. Noelle Sorich will moderate the discussion.

Contact Leah at leah.cerilli@student.shu.edu.

March 2017 Page 12

Diplomacy News

Sorich, McMichen Appointed as U.N. Youth Observers

By Leah Cerilli Associate Editor

The School of Diplomacy’s Morgan McMichen and Noelle Sorich are currently serving as UN Youth Representatives. Their job is to represent and to network on behalf of the School of Diplomacy as well as Seton Hall’s Center for UN Studies and Global Governance. Youth Representatives are responsible for attending Department of Public Information and Non-Governmental Organization briefings at the UN and writing content about them for the Center’s blog, Permanent Observer.

The School of Diplomacy is able to appoint Youth Observers each semester because of its unique status with the UN. It is treated as an equivalent of an NGO. This gives the School a close and special relationship with the UN. McMichen stated that all of Seton Hall’s Youth Observers get together once a week to decide who will attend and cover what meeting. She stated that their goal is to cover as many different events as possible “as we aspire to produce insightful information for other students, faculty, and the general public.” Sorich added that the representatives work very hard to ensure that all of the meetings open for them to attend are covered in order to be a reliable source for UN-related news and happenings, as well as represent the School of Diplomacy in the most complete and accurate way possible.

When asked about the most important qualities needed to succeed as a Youth Representative, Sorich emphasized the independence and adaptability needed to succeed in the position. The UN’s schedule changes often and on short notice, and it can be stressful to navigate where and when Representatives are supposed to be at a given time. Representatives are often alone when making decisions and navigating the UN, which can be daunting, especially with the pressure of both representing themselves as individuals and on behalf of the School of Diplo-

Photos courtesy of Noelle Sorich and Morgan McMichen

Sophomore Noelle Sorich and graduate student Morgan McMichen show off their U.N. grounds passes.

macy. She recommended taking chances and talking to others at the UN whenever possible, in order to maximize the chances of successfully networking, or at the very least learning something new.

McMichen said that the most important qualities in a Youth Representative are a knowledge and passion of the UN Charter. She also discussed the importance of good reading, writing, and communication skills.

She believes “to represent is to express and to designate, both of which require a strong foundation in communication.”

Sorich’s experiences seemed to echo this idea.

She serves as Vice President of Seton Hall’s United Nations Association, as well as Vice President of Seton Hall’s chapter of the USA United Nations

Association. Such experience dictates Sorich’s knowledge and passion for the UN’s work. She also said that the experience is giving her valuable communication and writing skills for writing short policy memos.

McMichen believes the most important experience preparing her for this position was her reign as Miss Czech-Slovak Queen for 2014-2015.

Within this position, she was responsible for “acting as a cultural ambassador representing the Czech and Slovak populations in the US.” Her duties included “meeting with prominent figures such as ambassadors and consuls, educating others on the Czech and Slovak heritage, traveling to festivals and pageants to speak and be a judge, mentoring women eager to represent

their heritage as state and national queens, as well as being a professional public figure and role model.”

She credits this experience as giving her the ability and confidence to serve as a representative.

One of the most striking experiences Sorich has had thus far as a UN Youth Representative was picking up her grounds pass. The woman in charge of that particular office was assisting three other people at the time, and switched between different languages as she helped each person. “She changed between languages so seamlessly and it was so cool to know that you were in a place where communication barriers were at least a little bit smaller between people of the world,” Sorich stated. She added that her favorite part of the po-

sition is being able to go the UN Headquarters and say that she works there, as she had been dreaming of attending events there for years.

Sorich added that she was also thankful that the Youth Representatives are granted grounds passes, which allows them to access events regularly without having to obtain a visitors pass each time.

McMichen echoed this, saying she is “prideful to walk the grounds of the UN, sporting my UN badge.”

McMichen described her a recent exciting experience, which happened at a forum entitled Women and Girls in Science: The Impact of the Media. The power was out in the conference room where the forum was supposed to take place, so it was moved to the Gen-

eral Assembly. Normally, only those who are member-state delegates or participants in the official UN tour are able to enter the General Assembly, so it was a special moment and photo op for her. She was also able to meet and take a picture with Iraqi Princess Nisreen al-Hashemite while attending the forum.

Both Sorich and McMichen had advice for students looking to get involved with the Youth Representatives. Sorich encouraged following the Permanent Observer blog in order to stay update on events happening at the UN. She said students should pay particular attention when events are advertised, because most are open to the public as long as an RSVP is received on time. McMichen encouraged any diplomacy student passionate about the UN to apply for a Youth Representative position, as spots open up every semester. She credits the experience as any student of diplomacy who is passionate about the UN to apply for it. She cites her experience as “an amazing opportunity to network, get involved on committees and with NGO’s, to become familiar with the grounds.”

For students not interested in becoming a UN Youth Representative, but interested in learning more about their work, McMichen encouraged reading the Permanent Observer to read briefings of events and learn how to attend the ones that are open to the public. Students can also write for the Permanent Observer if they wish.

McMichen said that they encourage guest writers, and that it is a great way to impress professors and potential employers.

Additionally, she recommended interested students follow the Youth Representative’s Twitter account @shu_un_studies and retweet or reply to any posts t o interact with the Representatives. She also encouraged students to provide their thoughts and feedback on the program.

Contact Leah at leah.cerilli@student.shu.edu.