Hood Today

On Oct. 30, Hood College students, along with Maryland College students, had an opportunity to attend the Eleventh Annual Foreign Policy Conference in Baltimore. The three topics in focus were United States-China relations, United States' Middle East policy, and United States' International Economic Policy.

The speakers were on the conference were David Shear, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Michael Ratney, Spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs & Deputy Director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy; and William E. Craft, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Trade Policy and Programs, Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs.

The speaker on United States-China relations, Shear, pointed out that in the last few years, China experienced an enormous growth in the economic and military areas, as well as growth in the overall world influence.

One of the Hood College students that attended the conferences, Maria Smith, found interesting that the speaker "pointed out that China's reserve would not be nearly as large if they had the social safety net that we have here in the U.S."

Smith also admitted that Mr. Shear's closing remark was not related to China, but to his love for diplomacy and his hope that more people will pursue professions in diplomacy.

The speaker on United States Middle East Policy, Ratney, in Smith's words was "a real politician." He was talking about the issue in general without feeding his audience anything unheard until now.

The speaker on United States International Economic Policy, Craft, was an engaging speaker that got closer to his audience by adding interesting side comments during his presentation.

Craft gave examples of real life economics. For example, he said that 95% of the U.S.'s apparel is made abroad. Another remark was that today's economy is "it's all about small business, women, and micro lending... or we'll lose our jobs." When Craft finished his presentation, he took time to answer all the questions that audience had for him.

Smith admitted that at first she did not know what to expect from the conference, but that it ended up being informative and engaging experience. She looks forward to attending the conference again next year with a larger group of Hood students that are interested in the U.S. foreign policy.

Article Tools