Following in the footsteps of its namesake, the Alexander Hamilton Society gathers students to debate foreign policy topics on ASU's campus.
Political science sophomore Shay Khatiri, the club’s president, said the organization, named after U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, focuses on creating a space to debate at the University.
“Its mission is to bring foreign policy, national security and economic debate to college campuses … and to raise awareness in foreign-policy issues among students and to conclude a nonpartisan consensus on foreign policy and where US foreign policy should head towards,” Khatiri said.
The club hosts debates on a variety of topics, such as “Containment or Engagement; What To Do With China?" and has featured several leaders from the foreign policy industry, such as Michael Rubin, who will visit this semester.
Ruben wrote “Dancing With the Devil” and will debate whether creating a dialect with countries such as North Korea and Iran is a good idea, Khatiri said.
One upcoming debate is on Feb. 9 and will be about a solution to the Syrian Civil War. It will feature Danielle Pletka, a former senior member of the Senate foreign policy committee, and Andy Gordon, a professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
The society at ASU is actually a chapter that’s a part of a larger national organization, which political science and journalism junior Jacob Faber, the club’s vice president, said helps student networking.
“There’s already a set network from which we can get speakers to come and do our events," Faber said. "It’s also reaching out to as many people as we can. Most of the speakers we’ve reached out to are really willing to come out and speak and debate and deliberate over these topics."
However, Faber said there are more than just debates uniting the club.
“I’d also go further into the substance of what we’re debating because I think, at least with the people that have started this at ASU, the connection we all share is an enthusiasm and passion for human rights at the end of the day” he said.
Economics and philosophy junior Noah Briggs, the club’s secretary, said the club has also been helpful for his own personal goals.
“Politics has always interested me personally, which is part of what I want to do once I graduate. The club helps me hone my knowledge of foreign affairs and my own arguments,“ Briggs said.
Briggs also hopes that the club keeps expanding and that they can continue to bring "cool speakers so that ASU students have a chance to engage in larger intellectual discussion.”
Editor's Note: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this article misidentified the name of the foreign policy leader who will visit ASU this semester.
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Reach the reporter at avcabral@asu.edu or follow @angeligagaa on Twitter.
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