LAFAYETTE TODAY
Becoming EU
“Once you saw everybody
getting into their roles, we were
no longer pretending to be the
European Union, we became it,” says Haunani Yap ’06, one of 16
Lafayette students who represented Polish officials in the annual
Mid-Atlantic EU Simulation in Washington, D.C. Twelve schools took part in the three-day event.
“We knew other schools would be attentive to us, because Poland is one of the biggest countries with one of the largest numbers of votes,” says Yap, an international affairs graduate who portrayed Danuta Hübner, EU commissioner for regional policy. “It was difficult
for us to learn about Poland’s new government because the election didn’t confirm the prime minister until just a week or so before we left for Washington.”
Adviser Katalin Fabian, assistant professor of government and law, challenged the group with the
selection of Poland. “It is one of
the new EU member countries from Central and Eastern Europe—it just joined in 2004—and it is a large country with a powerful voice,” she says. “I thought this would be an amazing learning opportunity.”
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