It’s a motley bunch that does Government 2225. For those of you who are uninitiated, that’s International Security in the 21st century. Certainly one of my favourite subjects, not only for the subject matter but also the rip-roaring debates happening in tutorials.
Most students who enter the lecture halls tend to be your usual government types – beefy law students, young women in pencil skirts with horn-rimmed glasses, or skinny latte-sipping intellectuals with their berets askew (the last one’s me). Last week however, a girl with hair all colours of the rainbow passed around a leaflet calling for the banning of the new American studies centre that will be built on campus.
Let’s recap for those of you who aren’t aware of the back-story. This year the Australian American Association organised for a US Studies Centre to be set up at one of the more prestigious Australian universities. The ensuing competition resulted in a Sydney victory (yay, go us!) and the centre should be up and running soon. So that’s the story to date.
Back inside the lecture, the leaflet was passed around, effectively calling for the banning of the centre on the basis that it promoted American imperialism and war. Few people had signed the petition (in fact, it had little room to sign, but I was pleased to note that even that small space had not been filled).
Needless to say, I think the petition was wrong. I don’t understand how you can construe the establishment of a centre to study a country as advocacy for war. And I think it’s just evident of how some people let their ideals get ahead of the facts. One has to wonder whether the same people would be handing around a petition like this if a research centre was being established to study Iran or North Korea.
Regardless of my personal opinion however, I think it’s an interesting example of what uni life is like. It’s a great wash of ideas. Sometimes you’ll come across things that really challenge you, and sometimes you’ll agree. Either way, it will always encourage you to think and make up your own mind.