Courtesy of Sophie Hauselman
The International Affairs (IA) symposium is the oldest student run symposium in the United States. This year’s 63rd annual symposium will be held April 7-9 in the Council Chambers. The symposium’s theme, “Justice or Security: Rethinking Global Priorities,” will guide its exploration of international relations and conflicts in today’s era of geopolitical change.
Co-chairs of the IA symposium, Aljoša Lovrić ’26 and Santiago Gonzalez Longhino ’25 expressed their aims for this year.
“My goal is to bring views that would otherwise go unheard on our campus … the symposium is kind of a bridge, trying to connect views that sometimes are put in contrast, sometimes oversimplified, and sometimes judged too soon,” Longhino said.
The IA symposium brings two speakers of contrasting views or backgrounds together to participate in a moderated debate about international conflicts and solutions for peace. Lovrić emphasized that the debate structure allows respectful conflict to take place on the stage.
“The objective of the debates themselves are to present two contrasting views to the audience,” Lovrić said. “And through maximizing this conflict, we’re presenting two different viewpoints to the audience and then letting them figure out on their own what of the two perspectives they align with.”
Lovrić explained the organizational structure of the symposium by comparing it to the three branches of government.
He likened the symposium’s steering committee to the legislative branch, with duties such as deciding the size of the speakers’ presentations and debates, the debate questions and the order of the schedules.
He compared his and Longhino’s role as co-chairs of the symposium to the executive branch. They execute the will of the committee while handling background logistics of scheduling speakers and facilitating dialogue within the committee.
Lovrić ended this analogy by likening faculty advisor and IA Professor Bob Mandel to the judicial branch, running the financial side of things and “shooting down the crazy ideas,” Lovrić said.
Lovrić and Longhino both served on the steering committee last year. Lovrić expressed the difficulties that came with taking on a new role.
“Transitioning from the person that’s bringing up ideas to the person that’s trying to stay impartial, it was a challenging shift,” Lovrić said. “Facilitating dialogue in a way which retains respectful communication between everybody can sometimes be a challenge.”
Longhino emphasized the initial challenge of balancing the co-chairs’ passions and interests with the whole of the steering committee’s.
“Trying to navigate the steering committee’s interest with my own interests, it looks easier than it is … but I actually really enjoy it now,” Longhino said.
The symposium will have five debates over the three days it is running, with an afternoon and evening debate the first two days, and a final afternoon debate the third day. The keynote speaker, Ambassador Michael McFaul, will be presenting the evening of April 7.
McFaul is best known for serving in the Obama administration for five years. He acted as the US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. He is now a professor at Stanford University and an international affairs analyst for NBC News.
“I think our keynote couldn’t be more relevant with the state of the world,” Longhino said. “Far too often, you talk about things happening around the world from a theoretical standpoint. You try to apply readings, you try to apply theories from a very detached point of view, and what I think the symposium does is ground those conversations through people that have experienced foreign policy and international relations as part of their job.”
Lovrić also expressed his excitement for Reverend Susan Hayward. Hayward is a human rights activist as well as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Hayward has worked with many organizations in her humanitarian efforts including the US State Department and the United Nations. She will be participating in the debate surrounding the question “What is the best way to achieve long term peace?” Lovrić stated he was looking forward to Hayward’s religious background and valuable perspective.
“For me, the favorite part of any debate is when the audience questions themselves,” Lovrić said. “You as an audience member, regardless of your experience and background in international affairs and education level, get to ask one of these experts whatever questions you want.”
Lovrić also commented on the symposium’s unique ability to not only bring prestigious speakers to campus, but make them approachable as well.
“Regardless of who you are or what you believe in, to interact with these super knowledgeable people, experts on the topic, and get accessible expert advice and answers to your questions is the most valuable part,” he said.
Longhino commented on the difficult parts of planning the symposium and booking speakers.
“The world of international relations is very busy … one of the most challenging components this year has been navigating the busy schedules of some of the speakers.”
Lovrić expressed his ambitions to host speakers with bigger and better names, and the limitations he experienced.
“There are reputational limitations, the fact that we are Lewis & Clark and not Yale or Harvard or MIT, and there are a lot of financial constraints. Some of these speakers demand ludicrous fees for a two-hour presentation, so you get that reality check.”
Despite the bumps along the road, Lovrić and Longhino encourage students and the public to attend the IA symposium debates and are excited for what they have planned.
“We still managed to produce something we’re very happy about, even though it wasn’t smooth sailing the whole way … I’m very excited for what we have cooking up for the community,” Lovrić said.
Last year, the IA symposium drew controversy over the presence of John Bolton, a Republican official and former National Security Advisor to Trump. Bolton’s debate was interrupted multiple times by boos from audience members and negative voices from the crowd. In August of 2024, the school updated its protest policy to prohibit “IMPEDING a person’s speech or presentation by heckling or inappropriate outbursts” and “BLOCKING the ability of audience members to see or hear a speaker.” The updated protest policy states that “Speakers are entitled to communicate their message to the audience, and the audience is entitled to hear the message and see the speaker.”
Despite the looming presence of last year’s controversy over speakers, this year’s committee continued to invite speakers with contrasting views, some which may not be popular with the zeitgeist of the students and community of LC. Lovrić emphasized the importance of listening to opposing perspectives.
“I want to encourage people to come with an open mind and listen to the opposing perspectives, even if you disagree,” Lovrić said. “I think it’s important to listen to the other side to understand why they’re thinking in the way they are.”
The great opportunity to get involved that the IA symposium brings to campus and all LC students was expressed by Longhino.
“What really makes the symposium a special opportunity is that as students, we do not have a lot of opportunities to listen to really different or a wide variety of ideas,” Longhino said. “The symposium, in three days, manages to do what sometimes takes years to hear and learn. Given the current political climate, if there’s something that I think we’ve all learned is that we all need to participate and be involved in politics, and one way to do that is to get informed and learn from everyone, and the symposium presents a unique opportunity to do that.”
About the Author
