Few students know a lot about Turkey. In fact, many would not be able to find the country on a map.
That’s one reason why the University of Nebraska Turkish Student Association is bringing Gerald Robbins to Lincoln.
Robbins, an associate scholar for the Foreign Policy Research Institute, will speak Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union about Turkey’s attempt to become a member of the European Union.
Leyla Masmaliyeva, vice president of TSA, saw a speech by Robbins at UNL a few years ago and loved it, she said.
“He did a really good job,” she said. “He knew things that only a person part of that culture (Turkey) would know.”
TSA applied for a grant from Pepsi to bring Rollins back. He chose the topic, Masmaliyeva said, because the EU is a big issue in Turkey right now.
Turkey officially became a candidate for full membership of the EU in 1999, but disputes with Greece over the island of Cyprus stalled discussions in 2006.
Turkish students generally seem in favor of the country joining the EU said Chuck Braithwaite, a research assistant professor with the Center of Great Plains Studies.
Braithwaite teaches COMM211, a class that video conferences with international students, including a class in Turkey.
“The majority of students who speak on the issue are in favor of joining – they view this as an opportunity to expand economic opportunities for Turkey,” Braithwaite said.
“However, they believe that the EU has more to gain by adding Turkey than Turkey has to gain by joining the EU. This is because the students see Turkey as a new leader in the world, especially in the eyes of other Muslim nations, so this would significantly benefit the EU.”
This misconception that Turkey needs the EU is why Braithwaite thinks bringing a speaker to UNL to talk about the issue is important.
“I think it’s very important that we have speakers like this at UNL,” he said. “We tend to get, in the United States, just the EU side ... we don’t hear enough of the Turkish perspective.”
Masmaliyeva agreed, and said TSA wants students to be interested in learning more about Turkey.
“We know everything about Turkey,” she said. “We want other people to hear about us.”
This speech isn’t the only thing TSA has planned to get the word out about Turkey.
They are planning on applying for grants to bring in more speakers and may host Turkish movie nights Masmaliyeva said,. They also hope to have an event on March 21, the Holiday of Spring in Turkey.
Masmaliyeva emphasized that a student doesn’t have to be Turkish to join the association and attend the events.
“We really honestly don’t want it to be all Turkey,” she said. “We want to share it with other people.”
jennagibson@dailynebraskan.com
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