Political Science Students Win Awards at National Conference

ESMOAS is an academic parliamentary debate program that brings together the nation's best and brightest college students to debate the issues facing the nations in North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean that are members of the Organization of America States (OAS). Student teams represent delegations from those nations and must prepare, debate and approve resolutions and respond to hypothetical crises regarding the respective foreign policies.

Angelo State sent 12 students to the conference, and they split into two teams representing Brazil and Peru. For their committee work in the Executive Secretariat for Integrated Development, Isabela Casillas of San Angelo earned a Recognized Resolution Award, and Garrett Bryson of Glen Rose earned a Recognized Delegate Award as the delegate who best embodied the spirit of diplomacy and cooperation, while also exhibiting effective diplomatic and negotiating skills.

ASU Team Peru (L-R): Zachary Rodriguez, Pierce Law, Alan Verastegui, Lisa Solis, Garrett Bryson and Seth HubbellAlso representing ASU at the conference were:

• Ajhani Aguillon of San Angelo
• Mattvey Carter of Georgetown
• Seth Hubbell of Fort Worth
• Pierce Law of Seguin
• Andy Martinez of San Angelo
• Rogelio Montemayor of Del Rio
• Zachary Rodriguez of Lubbock
• Lisa Solis of San Angelo
• Alan Verastegui of San Angelo
• Gwendalynn Watkins of San Angelo

Dr. Matthew Gritter, chair of the Department of Political Science and Philosophy, is the faculty sponsor for Angelo State's ESMOAS team.

Dr. Matthew Gritter"I am immensely proud of the students' hard work preparing for and participating in the ESMOAS," Gritter said. "They prepared written materials, learned complex procedures and debated well against other students from universities around Texas and Mexico. They did a great job representing Angelo State, and it's always great to be successful and win awards."

The OAS was established in 1948 and is the premier regional forum for political discussion, policy analysis and decision-making in Western Hemisphere affairs. Its membership consists of the majority of the independent states of the Americas. More details are available at oas.org.