When the American delegation at last week's United Nation's World Conference Against Racism walked out of the conference in Durban, South Africa, many in the United States viewed the conference as a failure.
But according to one former Penn student who attended the conference, Americans following the event in newspapers and on television may not have gotten the full picture.
Kate Heuisler, a 2001 College graduate who represented a non-government organization at the conference, said that beneath explosive issues -- such as slavery reparations and the ongoing conflict in Israel -- a great deal was accomplished toward ending racism that went unnoticed by international press.
The conference met for member countries to recognize racism within their borders, ultimately culminating in a keystone statement by the end of the conference. The U.S. delegation, however, withdrew last Monday in protest over the initial wording of the statement, which U.S. officials said equated zionism -- the movement to establish an independent Jewish state -- with racism.
And back at Penn, members of the University community responded to the week's events with a range of praise and criticism.
Critics of the conference point to the fact that debate over the more controversial issues overshadowed the stated intent of the conference.
Political Science Professor Henry Teune attributed this to poor organization and planning of the conference.
"Obviously they didn't do what they should have done, and it kind of flew apart," he said of the conference's organizers.
But Heuisler asserted that, independent of the debate over the final declaration, efforts made by non-government groups representing smaller nations at the conference covered extensive ground.
"The conference was all about the fight against ignorance, discrimination and apathy," Heuisler said.
"So many of these groups have never before been heard at an international forum of this sort. They wanted to fight together," she added.
The United States' decision to walk out on Sept. 3 caused a stir at the conference.
"The majority of the conference was horrified and disappointed, but not surprised," Heuisler said.
Penn students were similarly disappointed by the action taken by the United States, which was joined by Israel.
Omar Al-Wir, president of the Penn Arab Students Society, said that while he did not think it was accurate to describe Israel as a racist state, he was disappointed with the United States' decision to leave the conference.
"It makes it look like there are two sides forming, the U.S. and Israel on one side and the rest of the world on the other side," said Al Wir, a College senior.
"I think that's a very dangerous perception to have, especially now with the escalation of the violence," he added.
Other students defended the decision to pull out of the conference.
"I think they were right to walk out, but I think it's a shame they were forced to walk out," said Shimon Brooks, a College sophomore and member of PennPAC, Penn's branch of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Teune also defended the decision, saying that staying may have done more damage.
"The U.S. would have liked to be there, but it got out of hand," Teune said. "If you dignify the thing by sitting around there then you would have demeaned all the conferences that preceded it."
Some students were disturbed by the fact that the United States chose to send a low-level official to the conference, pointing to the important role Secretary of State Colin Powell could have played at the conference as the first African-American to hold his position.
Several members of the European Union threatened to leave the conference after the U.S. and Israel walked out, but did not. Still, the European Union received some harsh criticism throughout the week for their refusal to formally apologize for their use of slavery.
While some European countries, like Germany, did offer an apology to the African nations from whom they had historically bought slaves, other countries said they feared the lawsuits that such a statement might bring.
Delegates worked late Friday night to complete the declaration that was the goal of the conference.
The final version recognized slavery as a crime against humanity and removed inflammatory wording about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
