Johns Hopkins just announced its 2013 Foreign Affairs Symposium, and — as always — it’s a doozy: Stanley McChrystal (don’t ask him about that Rolling Stone article); L. Paul Bremer (ask him about his post-Iraq career as a painter); and Jerry Greenfield, founder of Ben & Jerry’s (ask him for some free Coffee Heath Bar Crunch pints and then send them my way), among others.
Plenty of fancy colleges bring plenty of fancy speakers to Baltimore, but I’ve always been a fan of the Symposium for being (a) free; (b) open to the public; and (c) organized by students. Four Hopkins undergrads majoring in international studies — one sophomore and three juniors — are heading up this year’s symposium.
“As our modern society goes through a series of technological and economic innovations, the mission of the Foreign Affairs Symposium is to generate discussion between undergraduates and prominent leaders,” said sophomore Ben Kupferberg. “With speakers such as General McChrystal, who just released his memoir, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, who has been a very influential figure in the financial industry, the symposium will address current issues, and hopefully will attract a wide variety of students.” See, he’s already learned how to give a soundbite!
Check out the full schedule here. All events take place at 8 p.m. on the Homewood campus, but be sure to get there early — these are (understandably) popular events.
