WAUKESHA,Wis.

CarrollUniversitypoliticalsciencestudentsweregiventheuniqueopportunityto
participateinaMiddleEastConflictsimulationatthegraduatecenteronSaturday,November23.Pax
Ludens,aninternationalcompanyfromtheNetherlandsthathelpstrainorganizationsandindividualsto
betterdealwithforeignaffairs,hostedthisevent.
Participatingstudents,atthestartofthesemesterpickedtheirtopthreecountriesthattheywouldbe
interestedinrepresentingandfromthere,politicalscienceprofessorDr.KellyOReillyandPaxLudens
coordinatorMichaelGlodcompiledtheteams.Thiswasjustthebeginningthoughofaveryextensive
undertaking.Forthenextcouplemonths,thestudentsworkedtobetterunderstandtheircountryand
character.Theywereexpectedtocollectacertainamountofsourceseachweekaswellaswritethree
papersthroughoutthesemester.
Withinthegame,andthroughworkshopsandtheirclasses,thestudentslearnedabouttheimportanceof
diplomacy.Criticalthinkingwasamajorpartofthesimulationinthatthestudentsweretocooperatewith
othercountries,andformtactfulrealisticsolutionstoeveryproblemtheyencountered.Ifacountryin
actualitywouldnotsolveaprobleminthewaythatthegiventeamsuggests,thestudentsweredeniedand
toldtofindanother,morerealisticsolution.
Gamedaybeganearly;studentswereexpectedtohavepreparedaspeechfortheopeningceremony,
whichbeganpromptlyat8:30a.m.Inthisspeech,eachcountrytalkedabouttheirstanceoncertainissues
likenucleartechnology,boarderconflictandterrorism.TheywerethengivenascenariowrittenbyPax
Ludens,basedoffofrealeventsandhad45minutestopreparetheirplanofaction.
At10:30a.m.thegamebegan.Studentsdispersedintotheircountries(variousroomswithinthe
graduatecenter)andusingacomputerprogram,setupmeetingswithothercountriestofurthertheir
politicalagenda.Throughouttheday,asalliancesandenemiesweremade,studentswerefacedwith
problemsinthemedia,fromthecontrolteamandothercountriesthatwerenotrepresentedinthe
simulation.
Throughitallthough,thestudentscameoutknowingmorethaneverbefore.PoliticalSciencestudent,
JordanGrygerasaid,Idefinitelylearnedhowtoeffectivelycommunicateandnegotiatetoreachahigher
goal.
KevinDykstra,anotherparticipant,alsofoundthatitwasalearningexperience,butmaybenotas
positiveofoneasGrygera.IhonestlyfeelbadaboutsomeofthestuffIlearned.Justthenastinessof
peoplearoundmeastheywentaroundlyingandtakingthingsfromeveryonewaskindofdisgusting.I
feelreallybadaboutthis,butIlearnedthatyouneedtobereallydishonestandkindofpolitelycruelin
ordertogetwhatyouwant.
AlthoughDr.OReillybelieveshisstudentsdidverywell,itshardbecauseasmanyofthemfound
out,andwerefrustratedbythefactthattheresnosolution.Theresreallynoendandthatcanbe
frustratingforstudentsbecausetothem,theresalwaysandend.Whetheritsapaperorexam,theres

alwaysaconclusionandwhatweweretryingtoshowistherereallywasntasolutiontoletthem
realizethatoftenwithpoliticalleaderstheydontgettoachievetheiragendas.
Whethertheexperiencewasapositiveoneornot,itisundeniablethatthestudentshaveabetter
understandingofhowforeignpolicyandconflictworks.ThisisexactlywhatPaxLudensstrivesforin
theirsimulations.CoordinatorsMichaelGlodandSammyWhenutriedtoreallychallengethestudents.
Wewantedthistobeasrealisticaspossible.Itsourgoaltomakeitdifficult,becausesituationslikethis
intherealworldare,saidWhenu.
PaxLudenshasdonethissimulationmanytimesintheNetherlandswithuniversitiesandother
organizationsbutCarrollisthefirstorganizationthattheyhavedonethiswithintheUnitedStates,
makingthisabrandnewexperienceforboththestudentsatCarrollandthePaxLudenscompany.
Inreferencetothesuccessofthesimulation,OReillysaid,Ithinkthestudentstookitseriously,they
werereallyengagedandIthinkfromalltheindicationsIhavethepeopleatPaxLudenssaidtheythought
ourstudentsdidjustaswellasanythattheyhaddealtwithinthepast.Afterseeingthesuccessofthe
simulation,Dr.OReillyislookingtocontinueandexpandwiththeprogram.
Inthefuture,Dr.OReillyhopestodothesimulationbiannually.Partofbeingabletodosoisgetting
enoughstudentstoparticipatetomakethesimulationmoredynamicandstimulating.Openingtheevent
uptootherfieldsofstudyisalsoanideathatOReillyishopingtoinclude,Onenaturalone,whichsome
studentsgotthechancetosee,wouldbecommunications.
CarrollUniversityhasalwaysmaintainedaglobalandculturalawarenessandasitgrowsandbecomes
morediverseintheprogramsitoffers,itwillsurelybeinterestingtoseePaxLudensbecomeamore
prominentfeatureinvariousdisciplines.Sofar,itappearstobeaprogressiveadditiontothepolitical
sciencedepartmentandaninfluentialexperiencefortheparticipants.Grygeraisthankfulforwhatithas
taughther,ThiswasanexperienceIwillneverforgetandithelpedmehoneandgainskillsthatIwill
usefromnowon.
FormoreinformationaboutPaxLudensandtheirsimulations,youcanvisittheirwebsite:
http://www.paxludens.org.