Daniel Atty

Daniel has a passion for Middle Eastern and Korean culture, language, and history, and hopes to use his academic concentrations to answer the hardest political questions people are either afraid to ask or unable to answer: ‘Is there a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?’ ‘Should Iraqi Kurdistan be its own state?’ ‘How do we get North Korea to denuclearize?’ ‘How should we define the relationship between the oil-rich, totalitarian regimes of the Middle East and an autocratic North Korea predicated on its political philosophy of Juche?’ The Eleanor Roosevelt College Comparative Politics and History double-major is interested in Middle Eastern issues due to his Chaldean heritage. When asked ‘Why politics?’, and especially ‘Why Korea?’ Daniel responded, “When I found out that ISIS burned down my father’s village in northern Iraq, all my questions were ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ The answers were always political.”

Later his questions moved on to, ‘What can I do about it?’ That answer, he said, came during a volunteer opportunity. “For a month-long high school project, I had the opportunity to volunteer for a humanitarian aid organization dedicated to rescuing and empowering persecuted religious minorities fleeing ISIS. When I later learned how the vice president of the organization persuaded the British Parliament to classify ISIS’ atrocities as genocide and crimes against humanity, I became convinced that politics can be a powerful force to protect religious minorities. As for Korea, suffice it to say, coming from an immigrant family myself, I know the pain of having family divided over international boundaries. That pain is very real for many Korean families today. That is why I am passionate about Korean and Middle Eastern culture, language, politics, and history.” Following graduation from UC San Diego, Daniel plans to enter law school, currently setting his sights on international law. “I hope to utilize my political and legal expertise to reshape and revitalize the unique triangular relationship between the West, the Middle East, and East Asia.”