Students teleconference to discuss fair trade

When the topic was NAFTA, Alexandra Connell '07 could ask students at the University of Guadalajara about deepening economic inequality. When the topic was the World Trade Organization, Glen Weyl '07 could talk to the development minister of Cote d'Ivoire about market access for developing countries. Though the discussion ranged across continents, the University students who participated in last Friday's conference on global development never left their classroom in Robertson Hall, which was connected via satellite to simultaneous forums in Mexico, Africa and Washington, D.C.

The conference on global trade and development was the first of its kind at Princeton, according to Connell, the student coordinator of Princetonians for Informed Democracy, which cosponsored the event.

"This kind of teleconferencing had never been done before on campus," she said. "So it's great to be the first."

The event, which was also sponsored by the student group Princeton Against Protectionism, was timed to coincide with a high-profile event, last week's United Nations summit. But some of the students who attended said they were disappointed by the lack of turnout.

"It's a shame not more students came out," Yuhang Wang '09 said. "It really would have been beneficial for every participant if our really diverse campus had been adequately represented."

Wang said she thought her unusual perspective — shaped by 14 years of residence in China — allowed her to move the discussion of Chinese trade policy beyond "false generalities."

When the Cote d'Ivoirean development minister suggested that China had gained an unparalleled level of influence among developing nations, Wang stood up to offer her own take.

"They are working very hard to work with developing nations," she said of the Chinese, citing their efforts to establish trading rules and regulations in addition to those established by industrialized nations.

Student participants from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service then took the conversation in a different direction, suggesting that Americans are both wary and cautiously optimistic about the integration of China into the world market.

According to Connell, the student coordinator of Princetonians for Informed Democracy, the satellite-linked event was the first of its kind at the University.

The conference was coordinated with an ongoing series of town-hall meetings spearheaded by Americans for Informed Democracy, a nonprofit group that seeks to spread awareness of international affairs in the United States, according to its website.

Weyl, who is the president of Princeton Against Protectionism and also writes for The Daily Princetonian, partly attributed the disappointing turnout to an early starting time. In order to accommodate participants from multiple time zones, the conference ran from 9 to 11 a.m.

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"The timing was off," Weyl said. "But these things usually don't get superb attendance among Princeton students — getting even 30 people would have been a surprise."

Though Connell said she thought the small group size facilitated a comfortable discussion, she voiced disappointment about the lack of interest among University students.

"It definitely was not a publicity issue but a Princeton student body issue," she said, noting that the organizers had promoted the event in introductory economics classes and on point.princeton.edu.

Even so, Connell said, she felt grateful to have taken part in a discussion with so many varied perspectives.

"It was still valuable to make those connections," she said.