Academic Symposium - Extra Credit
This year was my first time participating in the academic symposium, and it ended up being quite stressful. For some reason, I was signed up to present on the same topic twice. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, maybe I signed up twice myself. I had skimmed through the symposium schedule a couple of months ago but didn’t pay enough attention to realize I was scheduled to present twice: once at 9:00 AM and again at 2:15 PM.
Some of my friends had mentioned seeing my name listed multiple times on the schedule, but I never thought to double-check. Then, around 8:00 AM on the day of the symposium, a friend who had done research with the same professor texted me, asking if I was ready for the 9:00 AM presentation. As you can imagine, I was completely unaware that I was presenting so early. As soon as I read her message, I stopped rehearsing and quickly began preparing.
Because of the surprise, I didn’t get to rehearse my presentation as much as I had planned. Fortunately, my strong background knowledge on the topic helped me deliver a solid presentation.
My presentation topic was The United States and the Former Afghan Government’s Failure to Counter the Taliban. My research examined the complex and interconnected reasons behind the failure of both the U.S. and the Afghan National Police in combating the Taliban. I explored historical, political, and cultural factors to analyze the key challenges faced by U.S. policymakers and military leaders. The session provided insights into the Taliban’s resurgence, the role of the Afghan National Police, and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s failure to regain public trust, an essential element in effective counterinsurgency. I also addressed the humanitarian consequences of this prolonged conflict, particularly its devastating impact on Afghan civilians, and the lessons learned from two decades of unsuccessful intervention.
In addition to my own presentations, I attended the Global Fellows sessions, where I heard from Kaami about her senior capstone project on European colonialism and its enduring impact on Africa. Her research focused on the ongoing political and economic relationships between former colonies and colonizers. Her thesis argued that colonialism continues today in subtler forms, as Western nations maintain political and economic leverage over African countries to sustain global dominance.
I also attended Alondra’s presentation, titled The Legacy of Colonialism and Corruption on Women and Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This session was especially powerful for me, as I learned more about the current situation of women and children in the DRC. I learned that women and children are often abducted while simply walking to school, which deprives them of getting an education. Abducted women are forced into prostitution to produce more child soldiers. What stood out most was that Alondra only learned about the ongoing genocide in the DRC during her junior year of college. Once she became aware of it, she decided to dedicate her capstone project to understanding the conflict and shedding light on the atrocities.
From her presentation, I understood that the conflict in the DRC is unlikely to end anytime soon, largely because of the vested interests of other countries in its vast natural resources. For peace to be achieved, the international community must prioritize the well-being of the Congolese people over their own economic interests and support the DRC in building a stable and just society. (565 words)
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