Students from the College of William and Mary in partnership with ONE hosted their congressman, Rob Wittman at a ONE Town Hall in Williamsburg, VA yesterday to discuss global poverty and American foreign policy. The event drew many interested community members as well as students, faculty and staff from the College who were as anxious to show their first district representative their knowledge and involvment in the issues as they were excited to learn about his plans in the 111th Congress.

Rotaract, a university-level Rotary club, first partnered with ONE on this event after a great in district meeting with the Congressman in Yorktown. The panel discussion was also cosponsored by AIDSTanzania, Students Helping Honduras, and William and Mary Medical Relief, all of which are international service trips led by William and Mary students to provide housing, education, and medical resources to developing communities abroad. Professor Michael Tierney, who leads Project-Level Aid (PLAID) at the College, an interdisciplinary program dedicated to offering detailed, accessible information on the flow of international aid, moderated the panel discussion.

Congressman Rob Wittman eloquently spoke about the need to prevent military intervention by promoting development and sustainable economies in poor countries. As a member of the Armed Services Comittee, he is especially invested in alternatives to the use of military force and employed the three Ds stool analogy emphasizing the need to increase funding for development in addition to diplomatic efforts.

Matthew Bartlett, ONE Senior Manager of Field Training and Development, enthusiastically relayed anecdotes to the crowd about ONE champions from both sides of the aisle, such as Senator John McCain and President Obama, emphazing the fact that the issues discussed are not partisan and can only be effectively addressed through bipartisan collaboration. It’s evident in the state of Virginia; this town hall with Williamsburg’s Republican congressman was the second of its kind in Virginia. Less than one week prior, Congressman Glenn Nye, a Democrat from just an hour further down the peninsula, participated in a similar panel discussion at Old Dominion University.

Christian Peratsakis, a senior at the College, represented the students on the panel and spoke to their involvement in international development issues through service, research, and advocacy. The Congressman congratulated the students on their activism and encouraged them to continue their efforts here and abroad as “ambassadors” of the United States.

We thank Congressman Wittman for his eloquence and his advocacy and 1st district ONE members look forward to a continued dialogue on these issues!

-Lauren Conn