The University will be sending three students to Poland for a week this month to attend the annual Alliance of Universities for Democracy (AUDEM) conference at the Katowice School of Economics.
AUDEM, according to its’ Web site, is “a consortium of institutions of higher learning to enhance the role of education in promoting democratic institutions.” Along with speakers from various independent countries all over the world, three Sam Houston State University students will have the opportunity to be a part of the experienced panel at the conference this year.
The students who are making the journey are Amelia McGlone, a speech communications major, Armando Lopez, a political science major and Jamie Phillips, an international business major. With their experiences living in a democracy and attending a school that practices democratic values, the students will give a presentation to students and faculty from different countries about the workings of a democracy.
“The purpose of going is to show colleges in Eastern European that have recently became democracies how to live in and promote a democracy,” said McGlone, who has been to Poland before and speaks fluent Polish.
The presentation will be a collaboration of the efforts of McGlone, Lopez and Phillips. Armando Lopez, who is active in the SHSU Student Government Association, will be discussing how students can be politically active within their schools and government and how the student government system works. Jamie Phillips will be presenting ways to be active in a democratic community and McGlone will discuss volunteer programs that students can take part in.
“What do we do to keep a democracy alive? We vote and volunteer,” she said. “Its an integral part of democracy.”
Several organizations on campus, including Student Services and the Student Government Association, have donated money to send these three students out of the country to take an active part in the AUDEM conference for the first time.
The students leave Saturday for the conference, which will be held from Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 in Katowice, Poland. Besides presenting their views at the conference, the students will have the opportunity to appreciate the cultural aspect of Poland through several independent excursions.