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After nearly three months of immersion in the culture of another country, students of Luxembourg's Miami University Dolibois Center (MUDEC) sat down with those of Université du Luxembourg Nov. 14 for the second annual "disputatio" event.
Aimed at dissolving social barriers through cross-cultural dialogue, the disputatio presented students with current and controversial issues in a roundtable setting. This year's discussion focused on protection of privacy, while last year students discussed democracy.
More than 20 Miami students studying at MUDEC attended with students and professors from countries including Luxembourg, Holland and Germany, all of whom attend the Université du Luxembourg.
The evening commenced with a lecture by Gérard Lommel, president of the National Commission for Protection of Data in Luxembourg. Lommel outlined common privacy infringements - a potential employer inquiring your political stance or a store tracking your purchases for sales statistics - and emphasized the importance of understanding individual rights.
"There is a fear that technological possibilities could undermine a respect for the privacy of human beings," Lommel said. "Where there is no privacy, there is no dignity."
Lommel cited several ways in which personal data that is collected can be quite beneficial. For example, stores and supermarkets tracking consumer habits are better able to cater to their customers.
Camera surveillance assists in minimizing crime.
"Still," Lommel said, "it remains a matter of finding the right balance - enforcement of law and enforcement of human rights. That is our challenge."
Later, arranged in smaller, more intimate groups, students built upon Lommel's seminar, comparing governments, levels of privacy and social taboos.
Patrick Spence, an Ohio State University senior studying at MUDEC, was surprised by the conclusions from his group's discussion, which centered on banking matters and public exposure of pedophiles.
"Above all, I learned that - somewhat shockingly - Europeans have much more privacy than Americans," Spence said. "(The Europeans) were shocked to hear that Americans have complete access to all public files, and that banks keep detailed credit records that span each client's entire history."
Spence went on to say that European students were stunned by American Web sites that display names, addresses and photographs of pedophiles.
"Many Americans were advocating the system because it keeps communities, and parents specifically, aware of these criminals' locations," Spence said. But, he explained, most Europeans found such exposure to be humiliating, promoting social exclusion that would only heighten risk for future crime.
Within the groups, the dynamic was generally one of respect and open minds. And while some clash was to be expected, certain students, such as junior Miami psychology student Mary Callison, struggled to find any common ground.
"I entered the discussion trying to be very open," Callison said, whose group discussion quickly turned to the topic of September 11, at which time several Europeans accused Americans of being overly confident and overly sensitive about terrorism.
"I quickly realized that it wasn't about me, it was about my country's administration," Callison said. "It made me more defensive of my government than I've ever been in my life. I actually found myself compromising certain beliefs of mine in order to defend my country as a whole."
Still, for most students, the disputatio yielded an educational, if not positive, experience. "I think it was a good thing," Callison said. "I think it's always good for Americans - anyone of any culture - to know how other people perceive them."
