CAP Foreign Policy Congress

Assignment/Activity Title—            Foreign Policy Congress                                                                          Year—2014

Skill—            Writing, researching, public speaking                                                                                     Portfolio Category—Critical Reasoning

           

This assignment allowed me to again utilize my research skills, but much more than that, it allowed me to define my public speaking skills and debating skills.  I was very excited to tackle foreign policy Congress because I was quite disappointed by my performance in domestic policy Congress.  As a MOCWA for domestic policy, I was charged with researching one topic in great detail and persuading legislators on that one topic.  Because of this requirement, I was unable to attain more than my previously held general understanding of the issues up for debate.  My actual issue never really came up and I found myself falling behind my fellow legislators in debating the issues.  I was determined not to let that happen again for foreign policy.  I jumped into the issues immediately after they were introduced and collected the most up-to-date information available on the topics.  My position papers were extremely detailed and I prepared my arguments thoroughly the days before Congress began.  Like for debates, I spent a few hours researching the issues as if I were going to take the opposite side and then did research to combat those points.  During lobbying day, I tested out my arguments against the opposing MOCWAS to search for holes, which is, in my opinion, the most effective way to prepare for a debate. 

While I enjoyed the preparation process, the real fun came when we were in session.  I believe that I articulated my views strongly and clearly.  I was able to engage in several colloquys with other legislators, which isn’t really supposed to happen in Congress, but it allowed me to intellectually sort through the issues we were discussing in a more productive way than speaking for a few minutes and then proceeding to wait for a long before being able to speak again.  Before, for me to be able to speak authoritatively on a substantive issue I would have to write detailed notes on my argument or else I would fumble on my words and get my arguments mixed up.  This occurred during domestic policy Congress.  However, during this Congress, I had achieved such a mastery of the issues involved that I would merely write down a bulleted list of different facets of the issue and run through them.  I was also able to think on the spot, creating ways to connect my argument to other legislators.  One example of this was when I pointed out how France was our only strong ally that supported military intervention in Syria.  I think that my colleagues, realizing the lameness of France, came around to my point of view.

The most intellectually challenging part of the experience (really all of my time in CAP) was debating Matt on the issues in front of us.  Matt is very smart and disagrees with me on almost every issue worth disagreement.  His arguments were well crafted, and he is able to easily persuade other students.  When arguing with him, I had to think on the spot to counter every argument he made.  It was a difficult challenge, but it was incredibly fun.  As a passionate contrarian, there is nothing I enjoy like a debate, and Congress allowed me to face a powerful dissenting voice.  This experience solidified my research skills and improved my ability to master an issue, speak well publicly, and think on my feet.