Two worlds collided and collaborated in a third floor classroom of Hill Hall just a day before the recent November elections.

Students from Professor of Political Science Herb Smith’s U.S. Campaigns and Elections class and Professor of Foreign Languages Mohamed Esa’s first-year seminar packed the classroom.

Five Muslim women from the tiny oil-rich nation of Qatar sat in front of the blackboard facing the McDaniel students.

The subject? Elections, the basis of democracy and a new reform to Qatar.

Qatar’s head of state, Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, sent the delegation, members of Qatar’s Permanent Elections Committee (PEC) , to the United States to learn how elections are planned and conducted on all levels of government and to see the polls firsthand on election day.

Qatar, which is not quite as big as Connecticut and juts into the Persian Gulf adjacent from Saudi Arabia, will elect early next year two-thirds of its consulting legislative council Majlis al-Shura for the first time since the early 1970s. The amir will appoint one-third of the members.

The Qatar delegation listened intently, through interpreters, as many of the students who worked as volunteers for a candidate explained why they were politically active.

“Elections are the lifeblood of democracy,” said Jason Stambaugh ’07. “I volunteered because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. But next time I would choose my candidates more wisely and I would be more informed.”

Bill Kaufman explained to the delegation how the candidate he’s working for has helped the people in his constituency negotiate through the federal bureaucracy.

“People know what he’s done for them,” Kaufman said, explaining that he expects voters to voice their appreciation at the polls.

Meanwhile, Jon Silverman ’07 told the delegation that volunteers often aren’t given enough credit or recognition for their hard work.

When the women from Qatar took the floor, the students were in for a surprise or two.

“The woman is the manager of the house – and the manager of her husband as well,” said Marriam Al Kuwari.

“Women participate in every field in Qatar,” said Johara Mubarakk Al Maadid.

Acknowledging the newness of the concept of elections to the people of Qatar, Hamda Al Sowaidi said one of the main goals of the PEC was to engage people in elections, to make them aware of their importance and to train potential candidates in campaigning. In 2006 the committee helped educate women, university students and others in the election process.