Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE): a 2012 recap

January 9, 2012 0:01:58
Kaltura Video

A brief recap: 2012 all-school Integrated Policy Exercise about U.S.-Mexico border policy. January, 2012.

Transcript:

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ª My name is Adline [assumed spelling], and I'm running for integrated policy exercise for the fourth school this year.  
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ª Trade with Mexico, invest in renewable energy, public health crisis, and environmental degradation all spiral out from law enforcement decisions about whether they should be targeting illegal migrants or the domestic vigilantes who are terrorizing them.  The IP is really a lot of fun to teach.  It's one of the most creative classes in our curriculum.  It's entirely different from the regular classes we teach.  Two of the new things we tried to do with the IP this year sets students up with real life organizations that they were representing through conference calls.
ª It was, I think, closely mapped to the real world of how many different groups are interested in this issue, how many people get involved, and how complex the policy really becomes.
ª You have to come up with solutions at the same time that other crises are happening around you.  So the IP really gives students a chance to see what working in a dynamic policy environment looks like.
ª You can have an experience just working with other [inaudible] at the school, but you completely engage in the simulation.
ª It's one of those experiences that a lot of students, at least hopefully, will look back upon and say, oh, yeah, here I am working for whatever agency, helping to make a congressional testimony.  Well, I did it once when I was in IPE.  Experiences like that are, I think, what I think makes it worth it and attractive.
ª For us to actually make things happen through the IPE and be able to create the solution and for a challenge, that's definitely putting ourselves to use.  I would rather do that than watch somebody else from the sidelines.