International students give varied views

By Ryan Groshong

Six Santa Clara students gave their own global perspectives on U.S. foreign policy and current events when they led a panel discussion before a full crowd last Thursday night in the Sobrato Commons.

The panel was made up of exchange students from Sweden, Australia and France, as well as one Santa Clara student who had studied abroad in Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand and another who represented the U.S.

The event was sponsored by International Programs, the Political Science Honors Program and the International Club.

Dennis Gordon, director of international programs, said that the event was inspired by the diversity of international students that are currently on campus.

"These are really thoughtful, interesting young people," he said. "Students listen to us professors talk all the time, they ought to listen to their peers because they have an interesting perspective."

Students from nearby Lincoln High School made up a significant amount of the event's audience.

Each panelist spoke about his or her country's history and stance on current global policy issues. A Q-and-A session followed.

The first speaker was Frida Nordlund, an industrial engineering student from Lund University and Lund Technical Institute in Sweden.

Nordlund began by giving a brief overview of Sweden's constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy system. She went on to describe Sweden's history and long-standing policy of neutrality in war, as well as national opposition to the war in Iraq.

Next, Rory Sinclair McDonnell, an exchange student from Australian Catholic University in Brisbane who won over the crowd with his accent and wit, spoke about Australia's history and current policies domestically and internationally.

One major domestic difference between Australia and the United States is the prevalence of guns. According to McDonnell, personal ownership of guns is outlawed in Australia. He believed that in America, guns and gun ownership seemed to contribute to a culture of fear.

McDonnell also said that even though Australia was a member of the "coalition of the willing" in the war in Iraq, many Australians were far more worried about a possible nuclear threat from North Korea, given Australia's geographic proximity to North Korea and largely unprotected coastline.

Following McDonnell was Michael Nugent, a member of Santa Clara's Political Science Honor Society who has studied abroad in Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand.

Nugent talked about his experiences in Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, and the anti-American sentiment that exists there.

Nugent drew gasps from some in the audience when he described seeing posters portraying President Bush's face, the American flag, and a swastika.

He went on to say however, that the anti-American sentiment he encountered was directed at specific individuals, not against Americans as a whole.

After that, Kevin McCarthy, a Santa Clara economics major who was born in Ireland, has lived in Egypt and Iraq, and grew up in France before coming to Santa Clara for college.

McCarthy spoke about France's role internationally, and American misconceptions regarding France and French people.

"A lot of people think there's an anti-American movement in France," he said. "I don't like that word- it's against American corporations setting up in France, not against the people."

He also said that like the U.S., France has experience with terrorist acts as well, although their policies may differ on how to deal with terrorism.

"They know that the issues aren't always straightforward, you can't always just use brute force," he said.

The final speaker was Daniel Parames, Santa Clara student and President of the Santa Clara Political Science Student Association.

Parames offered an American perspective on global issues, and what he described as America's active approach to foreign policy, most notably regarding terrorism and the war in Iraq.

"We are at the forefront of a global movement to eradicate terrorism," he said.

He also said that while recent democratic elections in Iraq and Afghanistan bring optimism to the war on terror, U.S. relations with Europe have been strained in recent years.

America's economic partnership, security strategy, and foreign policy with Europe have all been diminished by the war on terror, he said.

Also participating in the discussion was Aurelien Beugniez, an international exchange student from Catholic University in Lille, France.

During the question and answer session, one audience member asked for an international perspective on a local issue: how the election of Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was viewed in other countries.

Nugent said that while he was traveling in New Zealand, if nothing else Schwarzenegger was a conversation starter.

"So many people would approach me and say, 'Do you realize that the terminator is running your state?' " he said.

Many people in Australia viewed the election humorously, said McDonnell.

"In Australia we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread," he said.

For many people in Sweden, however, the election reinforced an image of America as a "land of possibilities," according to Nordlund.

"This is the state or country where everything is possible. You can come from anywhere and be anything," she said.

According to Gordon, it is likely that this international discussion will become an annual event and expand to include students from a greater variety of nations and majors at Santa Clara.

* Contact Ryan Groshong at (408) 554-4546 or rgroshong@scu.edu.