MMC Team Receives “Top Ranks” at Yale International Policy Competition
Dr. Andreas Hernandez and MMC's 2018 Policy Competitors
Marymount Manhattan College students, Allan Marcus (PHR), Shealyn McFadden (International Business), and Allison McInerney (PHR/Philosophy) quickly became experts in the conflict over the South China Sea after being tasked to propose policy solutions for the 2018 Yale International Policy competition. The students worked furiously from 1pm on Saturday until the deadline for the submission of their policy brief and presentation at 11:59pm that night. Preparing and practicing their presentation lasted into the early morning hours for their moment in front of judges at 11am Sunday.
Dr. Andreas Hernandez, Chair of the International Studies program here at MMC, oversaw the logistics and attended the competition with MMC’s team. “The great strength of their presentation was ‘originality’ - for which they received the top ranking,” he reported after the competition ended. “The students proposed a constellation of policy interventions to promote economic and military sovereignty of US allies in East and Southeast Asia, while setting an agreement for no further expansions of military buildup on the islands of the South China Sea. At the center of their plan was an East and Southeast Asian Green Marshall plan to promote economic development and transition to non-carbon energy sources - to be paid for through taxation of oil revenues from the South China Sea.”
The group also received the top ranking for their presentation. The team earned high or fair marks in all the other rankings, and were challenged to take their excellent ideas and tighten them conceptually while providing more evidence for their efficacy.
After watching our impressive students compete, Dr. Hernandez is inspired to run a new course next fall called “Policymaking: Global Issues” that will be training for the annual Yale competition, as well as several in-class competitions to be judged by NYC-based policy experts. The course will critically examine historic and contemporary policy interventions from around the world, alternated with policy simulations following the Yale model.
Congratulations to Allan, Shealyn, and Allison!!
Published: October 15, 2018
