The Foreign Affairs Symposium (FAS) has released its lineup for the Spring 2013 season on February 1. The theme is “From the Front Line to the Bottom Line.” The annual spring symposium, a student-run speaker series featuring guests of global significance, is focused on encouraging analytical thinking within the school community by means of discussion about international issues including economics, equality and national security.
According to the current chairs of FAS, which include juniors Natalie Boyse, Henry Chen and Sarah Horton and sophomore Ben Kupferberg, who is a News & Features Editor on The News-Letter, the planned speakers for this spring are more renowned than they have been in the past.
On the program are various experts and professionals in the field of global business and politics. Stanley McChrystal, Former Commander of the U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan, will kick off the spring series on February 27.
“This year’s staff did an incredible job in putting together an awesome lineup, and quite frankly it is the best one yet. What we were able to accomplish would not have been possible without the support and connections our organization has developed thanks to the hard work of past staffs,” Chen wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
“After noticing that General McChrystal had a book coming out (My Share of the Task, released in January), he caught our attention. Given the relevance of his experiences and the fact that he was based out of the area, we thought he would be an exciting leadoff speaker,” Chen wrote.
Following McChrystal are Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of Too Big to Fail, on March 7; L Paul Bremer III, Former Presidential Envoy to Iraq, on April 3; Elizabeth Cheney, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, on April 9; Frank Jannuzi, Deputy Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, on April 17; and Jerry Greenfield, Founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, on April 23.
Collectively, the FAS chairs voiced their pride in the wide variety of speakers on the calendar.
“I think that the strength in this year’s lineup is the diversity of speakers,” Horton wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “We are trying to appeal to students from a variety of majors and interests.”
Boyse shared a similar opinion regarding the speakers slated for the next few months.
“I think that the lineup that we put-together this year is unique because it is drawing from a variety of experts that are shaping current domestic and global policy,” Boyse wrote. “Our speakers are diverse. We have brought together politicians, a general and an entrepreneur. As a result, we are hoping to attract students that haven’t come to our events in the past.”
She also expanded on efforts of the FAS to target a broader audience and greet its guests with a larger showing.
“I am personally looking forward to our event with Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s, which we are co-sponsoring with the HOP,” Boyse wrote. “I love Ben & Jerry’s and can’t wait to hear about how Jerry built Ben & Jerry’s into a major international company. And I also know that the event will be popular with students because we are going to be handing out free ice cream!”
“I am excited to hear about Jerry Greenfield’s message of running a socially responsible business,” Horton wrote. “It will be interesting to hear how Ben & Jerry’s unique business model has been so successful while supporting philanthropy and the local community.”
While the chairs admit that the process of acquiring interesting and impressive speakers can be tedious, it is clear in the lineup that their persistence has paid off.
“Every year, we start off with a pretty ambitious list of speakers that we would like to host. We start out by sending a lot of emails and looking for connections and mutual contacts,” Horton wrote. “All of the staff members play an important role in drafting letters to potential speakers.”
Chen explained the difficulty with which each speaker becomes part of the FAS lineup, making evident the fulfillment felt by the entire staff at the completion of the search.
“The process of getting speakers for FAS is largely one of trial and error. This year, we came in with a list of speakers we wanted, but things don’t always work out. A big part of organizing the symposium is being able to adapt and overcome these challenges and make the best out of any situation,” Chen wrote. “Although the rejections are always heartbreaking, you learn to move on and find a way to make everything work out. While this process may sound tedious, what makes being part of the symposium truly exciting is the thrill of the hunt.”
Besides scheduling esteemed speakers for the symposium, the FAS chairs hope to extend the speaker series’ influence beyond Hopkins.
“This year we hope to have a greater attendance by Baltimore community members,” Horton wrote. “These events are free and open to the public; they are a great way for Hopkins students to connect with and hear the opinions of local residents.”
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