The Conference on World Affairs this year has presented the Boulder and CU communities with various issues relating to war and power that currently face the United States.
One panel that focused on this type of discussions held a session in room 235 of the UMC on the Apr. 4 between 4:30 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. About 150 people attended this session of discussion with panelists Tricia DeGennaro, Lorelei Kelly, Jay Parker and Gordon Adams.
The talk centered on what the public needs to know about U.S power and how to exercise it. Speakers were given about 15 to 20 minutes to present their opinions. The discussion primarily focused around current issues such as the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Gordon Adams was the first speaker to discuss this issue and he said that the U.S. relied heavily on military power.
“There is an over reliance on military power,” Adams said. “We equate power to the number of soldiers and weapons we have and there is an under investment of diplomatic and foreign representatives.”
The second speaker, Lorelei Kelly, agreed mostly with Adams’ points and stressed the importance of civilian safety.
“Civilian protection is one of the key issues that has to be addressed when we are engaged in the wars in the Middle East,” Kelly said. “The issue of security has to address the safety of the people and new combinations of policies and resources needs to be created for this.”
The discussion lasted almost an hour and a half and ended with a question and answer session among the audience.
Sophomore international affairs and women and gender studies double-major, Meagan Maddock, 19, was one of the students from CU who attended this session.
“I came to watch this panel of speakers generally because it pertains to my major and also I will be getting extra credit points for it,” Maddock said.
Nadia Florez, a 20-year-old junior and economics major said she had similar reasons for being at the discussion.
“I have a decent interest in general politics as well as current issues going on and figured that this talk would be beneficial,” Florez said.
There were also people in attendance who are not from the local community.
Ed Powell from Reno, Nevada said he traveled to Boulder to attend this year’s Conference on World Affairs.
“I came again this year because I saw Gordon Adams and Tricia DeGennaro speak at last year’s conference,” Powell said. “They were great last year and proves again how astoundingly informed they are this year after this talk.”
‘From Berlin to Cairo: What U.S. Must Grasp About It’s Power’ was one of the many talks to happen on opening day at this year’s Conference on World Affairs.
The conference will last through Friday with many other speakers and topics.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Adelina Shee at Adelina.shee@colorado.edu
