On Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 10 a.m., the Political Science Department will be facilitating an event about the “Politics and Context in Afghanistan.” The event will be led by Dr. David McLennan and Dr. Jeff Martinson and held hybrid-style on Zoom and in Kresge Auditorium with a 50 person maximum. Registration is required to attend in-person and on Zoom.
When asked about what they hope students will gain from this event, Dr. McLennan said, “I hope the students get some perspective on Afghanistan as a country, but also the larger political context of the last 20 years since 9/11/01. The War on Terror definitely impacted the people of Afghanistan in very tragic ways, but it also impacted and continues to impact Muslims and non-Muslims around the world and in the U.S.”
Dr. Martinson was asked why he believes an event such as this is an important topic to be speaking on, to which he said, “Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or wounded in the war that started with the deadliest terrorist attack on the U.S. almost 20 years ago. People have a lot of feelings about that and it’s important to know the facts as well.”
Jennifer Glass, Assistant Director of the Office of International Programs (OIP) and the international student advisor, shared how Meredith students can get involved and ensure that Afghan students and alumnae feel supported as members of the Meredith community. She stated, “Event participants will be invited to write notes of support to our incredible Meredith alumnae from Afghanistan. This is an opportunity for our community to collectively pause, to collectively honor these women and their families and to collectively create and send a message that we hope will transform our care and concern into something that our alumnae can feel.” The OIP suggests connecting with the Meredith International Association (MIA) and the Refugee and Immigrant Club (RIC) if one is interested in getting involved after this informative event.
By Haileigh West, Contributing Writer