Athens, Ga. – Two University of Georgia students, Patrick Bentley and Clare Hatfield, have been accepted as 2006-2007 Undergraduate Fellows with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. They will participate in an undergraduate fellowship program that teaches students about terrorist threats directed at America and allied democracies around the world.
As FDD Fellows, Bentley and Hatfield will travel to Tel Aviv in July for an intensive academic program offering opportunities to hear from diplomats, politicians and military officials from Israel, India, Jordan, Turkey and the United States. They will focus on issues relating to the terrorist threats to democracies around the world, as well as study the varied methods democracies are employing to fight the war on terrorism. In addition to the trip to Israel, Bentley and Hatfield will travel to Washington D.C in January to learn more about America’s leadership role in the war on terrorism.
For the duration of the program, the Fellows will serve as anti-terrorism/pro-democracy activists on their respective campuses. To that end, every Fellow will conduct a 9/11 memorial event in addition to other events to help educate the citizenry about the threat of terrorism.
“The program gives its participants unbelievable access to various high-level intelligence and government officials from around the world and in particular the Middle East,” said Steve Shellman, assistant professor of international affairs and director of the Summer Workshop on Teaching about Terrorism which is also supported by FDD. “The University of Georgia should be proud to have its amazing students affiliated with such an esteemed program focused on global security and the fight against global terrorism.”
Hatfield and Bentley are currently pursuing degrees in international affairs in UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs. After graduation, both students plan on attending law school.
“I am honored to participate in this fellowship with such an illustrious group of students,” Bentley said. “I look forward to learning more about terrorism and America’s leading role in the war against it. We have much to learn before we can combat this phenomenon properly.”
FDD is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington D.C. that seeks to educate Americans about the terrorist threat to democracies worldwide. For more information on FDD, visit www.defenddemocracy.org.
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