Penn’s Government and Politics Association and the Philomathean Society co-hosted a public debate on Wednesday.
The Feb. 4 debate was moderated by a member of the Penn Polybian Society and focused on issues of American imperialism and foreign policy. Over 20 people spoke at the discussion-style event, which was planned to give students a forum to voice their opinions on the United States international relations.
GPA President and College sophomore Ferenc Brezo, who helped to plan the event, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that GPA aimed to “spark controversies.”
“We want to have real debate on campus,” Brezo added. “We want to create something that actually draws some real fascinating debate to Penn, and showcases two totally different sides of one case.”
Penn Polybian is a branch of GPA, and encourages its members to voice their opinions in a similar discussion style.
During the debate, Brezo explained that “the only rule” is “don’t speak over each other.”
The event featured five topics: U.S. intervention in Venezuela, proposed U.S. acquisition of Greenland, U.S-Iran tensions, protectionist trade policy in China, and imperialist rhetoric regarding Gaza and Colombia.
Penn Polybian consul and College and Engineering junior Anjali Reddy told the DP that she prepared to speak at the event by staying informed about political events.
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During the debate, Reddy expressed that “most situations, if not all situations, that the U.S. has intervened in have had bad outcomes.”
One of the debaters was Oscar Kaeli, a student at the University of Toronto, who had been invited to the event by a friend.
Kaeli, who had expressed that he was a “social conservative,” told the DP that hearing “different perspectives” at the event gave him "a better understanding of different people.”
After a large consensus from the debaters that the Trump administration’s foreign policy is unprecedented, Kaeli said he wanted to “push back” on that idea.
“There always is some precedent,” he added.
Philomathean Society’s moderator and College junior Ashwin Luksmanage told the DP that in the past, Philo — Penn’s oldest literary society — “had more of a focus on art and music,” but thatB he wanted to use his background in political economy to bring a wider array of organizations like GPA into their network.
Reddy, who has hosted such events in the past, said that the Wednesday event “skewed more toward discussion” than debate.
“At Penn, it’s really difficult to create difference of opinions in a small group of people,” she added, explaining that she was able to find such an environment at Polybian.
