The UC Berkeley Foreign Affairs Club provides a forum
for discussion of issues to interest to everyone, regardless of
political persuasion. "The key thing is we're non-partisan," President and founder Garrett Culhane said.
Club member Richard Sterling said the club is a forum to "share our
thoughts on matters of international import and interest." "We're politically motivated people," Vice President Matthew Tully said.
Students comprising a variety of majors and political persuasions add
to the club's goal of fostering awareness of global issues, Culhane
said. "With a wider variety of backgrounds we get a more complete picture," he said.
Culhane said the club was formed last spring and has grown from about
12 members at its inception to 25 at its most recent meeting.
Before arriving here at Berkeley we thought there would be so many
clubs, it would be impossible to decide which one to join," Culhane
said of the members. "However, we couldn't find anything, so we
started one on our own." "The Foreign Affairs Club is
for people who are tired of diatribes from either the left or the
right. We provide a forum for the discussion of viable solutions to
regional conflicts," Tully said. Sterling said all
political leanings are represented, although he added, "I don't think
there's ever been a political argument." Several club members have traveled abroad gaining first-hand knowledge of foreign affairs.
Tully and Culhane said they have worked as photojournalists, Tully in
California and Culhane in Africa, and have recently visited Nicaragua. Sterling said he served with the Navy in Vietnam.
"Having had exposure to combat, I'm interested in the causes, conduct
and resolution of international conflict," he said.
Club Secretary Ezra Yarhi describes himself as "a political junkie…I
need other people to discuss global affairs with." Meetings are held twice a month to discuss an arranged topic.
The meetings consist of "putting the topic on the table, looking at it
objectively and coming away with a better understanding," Culhane said.
Though Culhane is a senior, he said he feels confident that the club
will continue to grow in scope after he graduates. In
fact, he sees members continuing to work toward fostering awareness in
foreign affairs beyond college. He hopes "we'll see some of these
people in think tanks down the road," he said.