The newly renamed Society for International Studies at BYU held a holiday-themed trivia night on Dec. 4 as a part of their efforts to create a social community for international relations majors.
The Society for International Studies was previously known as Sigma Iota Rho, which is now an honor society connected with the society. The society changed its name at the beginning of Fall Semester 2024 in an effort to more accurately represent the purpose of the student organization and create a less exclusive image.
The organization is still in the process of adjusting all marketing and advertising to match the new name. While the transition is still active, the society has seen an increase in participation.
The Society for International Studies is the official club for BYU international relations and one of its main purposes is to provide a space for students to find community in the major.
Alyssa Trent, president of the society, recognized it is sometimes a challenge to connect within the major. She pointed out that international relations is a major split between departments with course requirements from a wide variety of disciplines.
Trent said she feels the responsibility that comes with bringing together hundreds of international relations students to foster that sense of community in the club.
“As the president, I think it's also about making sure that I do my best to provide and create that environment to have a good community and just trying to do my best to serve the Kennedy Center majors or otherwise students who are interested in the club,” Trent said.
The society has hosted multiple social events as well as lectures, clubs nights, awards dinners and social events. According to Scott Cooper, faculty advisor of the society and international relations program coordinator, the society tries to sponsor social as well as academic and intellectually stimulating events.
Cooper brought attention to the work that the leadership of the society has done to create spaces for community development.
“We have a group of five officers right now that are doing really cool things, and they do most of the work without me,” Cooper said. “They should get most of the credit for the events and activities because they're doing all the work.”
Six teams participated in the trivia night held to close out the semester, competing for Christmas-themed prizes. They answered holiday themed questions about countries around the world and shared holiday treats.
Mark Ensign, a BYU international relations major and participant in the society, enjoyed his time at the event.
“I've noticed as I come to events like this I've been able to talk with people in my classes and I’ve been able to make more connections that extend beyond the classroom,” Ensign said. “Seeing them at an event where you’re eating food or doing trivia, it's just a lot easier to connect with them.”
Cooper acknowledged the goals and purposes that these events represent within the society.
“To help people provide those social human connections that are necessary. That's really what we want most,” Cooper said. “For people to be able to find people.”
The student organization is open to any student interested in international relations, even if they are outside of the international relations major. Trent recognized the value that learning about international subjects can offer to everyone.
“Taking the time to learn about international relations, to learn about other places and people, is valuable because it helps broaden your perspectives and it helps everybody to come together and be more understanding of each other,” Trent said. “It's like fostering community, but across borders and boundaries.”
Cooper also drew attention to BYU’s unique quality of international interest in the student body.
“BYU is one of the best places in the world to study international stuff,” Cooper said. “We are just blessed with a huge amount of resources, and that's driven certainly by the Church (of Jesus Christ) and its international interests, but also by the students and their international interests.”
The organization encourages anyone interested in learning more about international relations or topics to participate in events and discover if the club is for them.
“There's all kinds of ways that the club can serve you as a student,” Trent said. “All that it's going to provide them is an opportunity to meet other people, to meet people who are interested in the same things, and you never know, it could open doors to different things in your future.”
Students can learn more about the Society for International Studies here.