A select number of Gables students participated in a National Security Council (NSC) Simulation at FIU with other Miami-Dade County high schools arranged by AP Human Geography teacher Stephanie Cosgrove. The simulation mimicked the nation’s method of rating countries on a scale of how much of a failed state said country is in. The students then had to relate the countries situation back into its effect, and threat, to the United States.

“The Program in National Security Studies simulation at FIU is an incredible way for our students to study the changing dynamics of world affairs and the emerging global threats that affect our foreign policy and national security,” Cosgrove said.

The simulation focused on South America; each student was assigned a country (ranging from Colombia to Cuba)  and focal job for the country (like an economic analyst, social analyst or head analyst). As a group, the students analyzed and weighed a variety of factors and placed each aspect onto a scale from 1-10. Then, they averaged the scores to arrive at theit country’s final score. The final score could be higher, meaning a more failed state, or lower meaning a less failed, more stable state. The final and crucial step was utilizing the score to decide the threat the country placed on the United States.

“I thought it was a really good experience getting to see what a National Security Conference could be like and learning about what it like in all these places around South America and the Caribbean, I found out many interesting things I didn’t know about those countries,” sophomore Alexandra Andrade said.

The all-day field trip allowed the students to fully immerse themselves in the workings of the NSC. They were able to see firsthand, the way the council applies knowledge and decides a countries stability. After all the students had reached their conclusions and presented their findings, they negotiated as a whole whether the students predictions were correctly projected. The FIU teachers and students who arranged the stimulation provided the high schoolers with the official scale and rating which the NSC have complied and compare their results.