International Studies Majors Participate in Model Arab League

Texas A&M Students represented Tunisia at the 2008 Model Arab League.

On April 4-5, nine International Studies (INTS) majors competed with other regional schools in the first Model Arab League (MAL) to be held in the southwest region. The University of St. Thomas hosted the event, which provided undergraduate students with an opportunity to discuss, debate, and draw up resolutions on matters of importance to the Arab World.

Model Arab League one of 14 nationwide

The Model Arab League began in the mid-90s under the sponsorship of the Bilateral U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce and the National Council of US-Arab Relations to encourage students to learn about the history, culture and politics of the 22 nations that comprise the Arab World. There are currently 14 Model Arab Leagues held throughout the country, and Texas is the only state to host more than one MAL. A second event was held in Dallas April 11-12, 2008.

Aggies represented Tunisia in competition

The Texas A&M University delegation represented the North African country of Tunisia in the deliberations. Dr. Salah Ayari, who came to Texas A&M in August to direct the Arabic and Asian Language Office, is a native of Tunisia and served as an advisor-coach to the delegation. The students thoroughly researched all aspects of Tunisian culture and its relationship to other countries in the region. Dr. Michael L. Greenwald, director of the International Studies degree program, also worked with the students and accompanied them to Houston.

Texas A&M garners “outstanding” and “honorable mention” recognition

At the MAL, delegations were assigned to five committees to assess regional problems and devise resolutions that may lead to solutions. The committees were: Joint Defense (which focused largely on Iran’s influence in the region); Social Problems (women’s rights and education issues); Environmental Concerns (water and soil pollution); the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; and Political Issues. A&M was named the outstanding “Political Issues” delegation by its peers and took Honorable Mention among the Environmental Concerns and Social Problems delegations. Overall, A&M received the Honorable Mention award, while Lamar University was named the Outstanding Delegation.

“We did well for our first time at an MAL,” said sophomore Victoria Link ’10, the chief delegate of the A&M team. “We’re eager to return next year, and we’d like A&M to host an MAL in the near future.”

In addition to. Link, members of the delegation were: Heather Alley; Jeffrey Frankens; Amy Horton; Mackenzie Philips; Andrew Robyler, Nick Scaljon; Megan Schwind; and Chelsea Young. Scaljon, a sergeant in the U.S. Marines with two deployments in Iraq, not only participated in the MAL, he drove to Austin and back Friday night to help the A&M Lacrosse team beat the University of Texas.