This week I’d like to highlight one of the awesome clubs we have on campus here at UCLA. The club is called the International Affairs Student Association, run by students from diverse majors and backgrounds including Sociology, Political Science, Global Studies and many more. The clubs mission statement is as follows:

“We seek to grow and learn from each other by providing a space in which students can freely discuss international issues with their peers outside of the classroom. We cover various subjects every week in our current events section and presentation section that seek to provide our members with more information on topics that they may not be familiar with yet.”

Founded in Fall 2013, the club has put on many interesting and informative events on and off campus for students to attend! For example, most recently, IASA curated an event to discuss the current events taking place in Ayotzinapa, Mexico and Mexico’s political state in general. IASA invited UCLA History professor Maria Vazquez to come and speak to students about the missing students in Ayotzinapa and how Mexico’s political structure and apparent corruption is being influenced by the United States. She highlighted the negative influences of the drug cartels and how the US drug market has been affecting Mexico. The students were able to openly discuss this issue in a question and answer session after the event.

It’s great to recognize the intellect and political awareness of students at UCLA! We are a university that values open discussion and freedom of thought. Everyone has a voice at UCLA that is both appreciated and challenged in and outside of the classroom.