The Ivy Council and the Harvard University Undergraduate Council invited three students of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) to attend the tenth Ivy Policy Conference this April.

　　The three students of SISU Student's Union are QiuBijun a senior student fromSchool of German Studies; Peng Dinghan, a junior student from School of European and Latin American Studies; and Lu Zungui, a sophomore student from School of Asian and African Studies.

　　The Ivy Council with eight university members is the most important student organizations in the United States. It aims to discuss issues on society, academics, politics and culture related to students and finally arrived at a feasible Policy scheme.

　　The tenth Ivy Policy Conference, the theme of which is “Organize for Social Change”, included four discussion topics, “mental health”, “sexual violence”, “civil liberties” and “sustainable use of campus resources”.

　　The Ivy council usually invites representatives from universities which did not join the council to attend Ivy Policy Conference, including MIT, Duke University, and Stanford University. SISU was the first Chinese university to be invited for the conference, which is a continuing event after the visit of Ivy Council delegation of to SISU in December 2015.

　　Chinese voice shines at policy conference

　　The 2017 policy meeting officially opened at Columbia University's Barnard College on the morning of April 15. After Mary c. Boyce making an opening speech, Suzanne Goldberg and Joseph c. Levin gave the keynote on issues of gender discrimination and fairness and justice and equal rights. After the brief opening ceremony, all the delegates went to four thematic forums, divided into eight groups to discuss specific topics. Three delegates of SISU were involved in two panel discussions on civil liberties.

　　During the group discussion, the delegates put their focus on the topic “freedom of speech”. And Lu Zungui and QiuBijun used some examples to present their views on the issue.

　　At lunch, QiuBijun had a discussion with Zhan Okuda-Lim on mental health education. Lu Zungui and Febin Bellamy shared the difference of ways taken between U.S. and China on student rights protection.

　　After another round of brainstorming, each sub-forum representatives started a "war exercise", a Policy Competition at 4 p.m. The three groups of Peng Dinghan, Lu Zungui and QiuBijun made the policy competition on different themes.

　　In the evening, the organizer held a dinner at John Jay Hall in Columbia University and three representatives of SISU experienced a social American dinner.

　　On the morning of April 16, all the chief directors of the Ivy Council shared their policies and put forward some questions on four major issues. And the representatives asked some questions that they concerned. Later at the closing ceremony, the last two honored guests Vishavjit Singhand Dr.Stephillip M. Satow delivered professional speeches from the point of freedom and mental health of the young.

　　After the closing ceremony, the three representatives respectively presented memorial booklet of SISU, the 2016 annual report of SISU and SISU Facts and Figures to the chief students directors of the Ivy Council. They appreciated the participation of SISU hoping for more communications in future.

　　Stories in Boston

　　After a brief break in New York, SISU’s delegation went to Harvard University for an academic visit where they were warmly welcomed. By the accompany of Yen, the former chairman of Ivy Council and Harvard Students Union, the delegation visited the Harvard Yard and studied the history and anecdote of Harvard.

　　At noon, the delegation had a meeting with those present directors of Harvard Undergraduate Council. 48 committee members of Harvard University discussed current situations of their Undergraduate Council or Students Union. Qiu Bijun made an introduction of the construction of SISU Students Union and then they made a deeper communication about their different operation systems and managements towards Undergraduate Council and Students Union.

　　Later the delegation audited a seminar about climate. A professor systematically analyzed the connection between High and low temperature warning measures and mortality and cure rate caused by climate problems.

　　After the seminar, the delegation went to Kennedy School of Government to audit a lecture about the Health care reform in the United States. The speaker's elaboration and the collision between speaker and audience make delegations systematically learned about the health care system in the United States, and also further the understanding the delegation for U.S policy formulation, class opening, accommodation an colloquy.

　　The next day, the delegation visited a special exhibition hall which exhibited the information files of oversea Chinese students studied during 1877-1931 in MIT.

　　Later on, they visited Massachusetts State Senate and learned the origin of American Revolutionary War.

　　SISU’s delegation help the world more clearly hear China’s voice at the Ivy Policy Conference in New York. In Boston, they were immersed in American history in person. In such a collision of culture and thoughts, the two sides’ representatives gained a deeper understanding of the national conditions of each other.

　　Through this 7-days academic visit, SISU representatives and the directors of Ivy Council developed a good relationship and comprehension of each other. Both sides maintained that reciprocal visits are a better way for students in American and China to communicating and broadening international horizons. And they highly agreed to develop regular exchanging visiting programs and rich the forms of communication.