Department of State Reopens Diplomacy Lab after Review

By: Itzel Vela

The Diplomacy Lab is a program where universities and colleges can apply to do undergraduate research projects focusing on foreign policy challenges for the U.S. Department of State. Wright College is unique because it is the only community college in Illinois offering a Diplomacy lab. 

The Department of State paused its participation in the Diplomacy Lab partnership on Jan. 20. “In coordination with the Department leadership, we will continue to evaluate the partnership and its alignment with the America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State,” explained an email sent to all Diplomacy Lab Coordinators.

After almost two months of silence, Wilbur Wright College received permission to resume the Diplomacy Lab program on Mar. 14.

Professor Merry Mayer, the program's coordinator, said, “I was very sad about it… very disheartened. I do hope it comes back, but it won’t. This one State Department person [told] us about how every president puts the Secretary of State to put their stamp on things so… [they] could have adapted this program to meet Trump’s agenda.”

Every semester, the Department of State offers a menu of over 100 projects they didn’t have time to do independently. Mayer said, “It was a great project, an opportunity for students to work with the State Department. It gave [the students] something extra to put on their applications.”

Wright’s Diplomacy Lab flyer announces North Korea as a Spring 2025 project. (Photo Credit: Itzel Vela)

For the spring 2025 project, Mayer is working alongside the North Korea Freedom Coalition, a group with a mission to raise awareness of human rights violations in North Korea.

“We’re working with them now, and they had a meeting [that] told us about different things to bring awareness to, this incredible thing that I didn’t even know about," Mayer said.

The coalition shared different issues with Mayer’s classes to which they can bring awareness. China doesn't “have as many women as they have men altogether. What North Korea has been doing to make money is selling its women to Chinese men. So you’re sold basically into slavery, to some man you don't know,” Mayer said. 

Mayer’s independent study group students working on the program share their thoughts. “These diplomacy labs really open you up to these new opportunities, especially when you meet with these government officials and their visions of coming together to help one another! So, hearing that this program is back is just a relief. It gives us that little redirection back that we want,” express Graci Komperda, a study group member.

During a Friday Zoom session, the independent study group discussed their contribution to the cause: drawings that showcase the violent nature of the regime and a podcast that shares the stories of North Korean defectors, using visual aids to catch the attention of social media users. 

“Yeah, I was super disappointed. I didn’t really expect them to cut the program. I'm glad it’s back on, and I hope it’s here to last,” another group member, Fiona Clark added.