Conference on World Affairs

This week is the 60th annual Conference on World Affairs held on the Boulder campus. The conference holds several panels each day with esteemed participants who discuss a large variety of global issues, from politics to celebrities and music. Roger Ebert is the one participant who holds the record for 37 consecutive years attending the conference.

I decided to check out some of the panels for myself and see what they were like. This morning I attended a panel entitled Republicans: It's my party and I'll cry if I want to. The discussion was moderated by former Colorado congressman and CU grad Bob Beauprez. The participants in the discussion were included the president of Strategic Advantage International, Daniel Odescalchi, an editor for the New York Post, Robert George, and Washington policymaker, Mike Franc. The discussion centered on the upcoming election. Odescalchi cited opinion polls that backed his prediction that Republican presidential candidate John McCain will win the presidency. The panelists also took questions from the audience. One audience member asked the panel to speculate who they think will be John McCain's running mate. Mike Franc projected that Condelezza Rice will be McCain's vice president if elected; but Odescalchi and George quickly disputed that idea.

Later in the day, I also attended a discussion called Iraq: We'll Pull Out in Time. Honest. The panel allowed for very intense discussion of the state of our troops from Septemeber 11th to today. Director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C, Sanho Tree, answered students' questions about the damage the war is causing on Iraqi families.

If you've missed the panels so far this week, don't worry. There are still dozens going on for Thursday and Friday, all during the day. To find the schedule of discussions and to find out what panelists are participating simply visit www. colorado.edu/cwa