At a conference that brings together about 150 students from 15 colleges and universities to represent countries in the European Union, Elizabethtown College students represented Demark. Each student played the role of a member of the Danish delegation, working together to bargain and negotiate with other colleges and universities to pass a legislation that fit everyone’s needs.
Eleven students enrolled in the European Simulation I class at E-town, aimed to amend a proposal on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United Stated and European Union, as they participated in The Mid-Atlantic European Union Simulation, a three-day role-playing exercise held in Washington D.C.
“The goal is to come out of parliament with the legislation that the person or country you are representing wanted,” said sophomore class member, Garrett Clark. “I really wanted to learn about something I didn’t know much about and this was really a great experience for me.”
During their trip to Washington, D.C., the class visited the Danish Embassy, where they met with Danish officials and were briefed for an hour on their views for Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. “They provided us with wonderful information that we couldn’t find in our research,” said Dr. Oya Dursun-Ozkanca, associate professor of political science and instructor of the class. “This experience was a nice complement to what we had already covered on the issues.”
The goal is to come out of parliament with the legislation that the person or country you are representing wanted”
At the simulation, Clark was privileged to receive the award for Best Member of the European Parliament. “It was a very impressive performance that he displayed during the simulation,” said Dursun-Ozkanca. Two other members of the class were elected into leadership positions at the simulation. Sophomore Brianna Wenger was elected as the secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the European Parliament and senior Justin Greiss was elected to serve as the vice chair of the International Trade Committee. Another class member, senior Ashley Edwards, was one of the five commissioners who wrote the draft for the simulation.
At the exercise, students got to experience first hand the challenges of policy making and the frustrations of negotiating. They were also able to get a better understanding of how the European Parliament works. “This was a wonderful learning experience for the students and they were able to pass the resolution at the end of the simulation,” said Dursun-Ozkanca.