Avery Owens | Staff Writer
One Baylor organization creates a space for students to discuss politics and foreign affairs.
The Baylor chapter of the national organization, The Alexander Hamilton Society (AHS), was founded in 2019. The organization presents students with opportunities to engage in politics and think critically about the world’s policy systems.
Oronoco, Minn. Senior Sophia Fulton serves as the chapter’s Marketing Officer. She said she hopes to work on foreign policy one day and she finds that this organization is educational for her future endeavors.
“The Alexander Hamilton Society really exists to equip young adults to become better at discussing foreign policy issues respectfully and looking at different sides of the issue,” Fulton said. “One of the big focuses for AHS is hearing about issues from both sides and learning how to interact with people respectfully on both sides of the aisle politically, typically relating to foreign policy. This is really something that we need in the United States right now with hyper-partisanship.”
The primary way that the organization functions is by facilitating opportunities for speakers to talk at Baylor. Previous speakers have been a CNN Military Analyst, a member of the CIA Director’s Historical Review Panel and a Georgetown Professor.
“Last year we had my favorite one, Peter Mansoor, who was a professor at UT. He spoke on the muddled Middle East and the future of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and what’s going on there today,” Fulton said.
Tulsa, Okla. sophomore Ty Rossow is the current Secretary of the chapter. He said AHS also gives him the opportunity to pursue his interests in foreign policy. Rossow pays dues to the national chapter of AHS, which expands opportunities for him.
“I have been able to do things such as attending exclusive talks that are offered by the national chapter. For example, one I was able to do was with the former president of the World Bank—it was a really exciting talk,” Rossow said. “Right now, I’m currently working on getting a paper published through the national chapter’s undergraduate journal. There are lots of opportunities available to students that are engaged with the national chapter.”
Members of the society traditionally have an interest in pursuing politics; however, membership is open to anyone who is interested in joining.
For updates on upcoming speakers and for more information about the society, the chapter’s Instagram page keeps students informed and up to date on what is going on with the Baylor chapter of AHS.
“We are definitely geared towards students like me who are interested in the policy world, but it’s open for any students,” Fulton said. “I think having it open for any student is a really good opportunity for students who are, for example, in the business school who maybe don’t get to interact with foreign policy topics a lot.”
