New student group examines the nuclear threat in the 21st century

A new Stanford student organization wants to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons to the international community. The Stanford Nonproliferation Activism Project, or SNAP, recently held its inaugural event, which convened a panel of students, activists, and nuclear, policy and defense experts to examine the nuclear threat in the 21st century. The symposium marked the group’s emergence on campus and came just days before the United States announced a possible withdrawal from a decades-old nuclear treaty with Russia.

“We are all here because we care about the future of our world and want to know what we can do,” said Jonah Glick-Unterman, ’20, speaking to more than 100 attendees from across campus and the Bay Area at Paul Brest Hall last week.

Glick-Unterman, who is a former president of the Class of 2020, led a panel discussion that featured former U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Siegfried S. Hecker, and Philip Yun, chief operating officer of Ploughshares Fund. During the two-hour event, each shared his thoughts on the risk that nuclear weapons pose to the global community, security challenges and what students can do to address the threat.

“We will soon inherit over 16,000 nuclear weapons around the world without the technical or historical knowledge of how to manage them. We must learn about them so that we can dismantle them.”

—Jonah Glick-Unterman, ’20

“The likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe occurring today is greater than it was during the Cold War,” said Perry. That judgment, he added, is shared by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which maintains the so-called “doomsday clock” that estimates annually how close the world is to a global catastrophe, metaphorically represented by midnight. Last January, the scientists reset the clock for 2 minutes to destruction.

“That’s as close to midnight as it’s been in decades,” he said, adding that the global community has only been there twice before. “That was during the very darkest days of the Cold War,” said Perry.

The panel also discussed what Stanford students can do to help address the threat. Perry encouraged students to get involved with organizations like the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, D.C., or support it by reading its publications. “The first thing students can do is get educated and understand this,” he said.

That’s where SNAP comes in. The group hopes to continue the work of experts like Perry, Hecker and Yun by furthering conversations about the dangers of nuclear proliferation. But Glick-Unterman and the other SNAP leaders acknowledge that the issue doesn’t ring as loud for young people today as it did several decades ago.

“My generation is not the generation that grew up with ‘duck and cover’ drills. We were not raised at a time when the world stood on the cusp of total war,” said Glick-Unterman. “Nevertheless, we will soon inherit over 16,000 nuclear weapons around the world without the technical or historical knowledge of how to manage them. We must learn about them so that we can dismantle them.”

Nuclear proliferation, he said, is just as relevant today it was during the Cold War era. Just this week, the White House announced intentions to withdraw the U.S. from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, a nearly 30-year agreement to halt development of mid-range missiles. Glick-Unterman called the news immensely worrying for the global nonproliferation and disarmament movements, which have fostered major accomplishments over the last 50 years, including dismantling nuclear weapons and thwarting attempts to acquire them.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry in conversation with Jonah Glick-Unterman, ’20, at the inaugural SNAP event. (Image credit: Elliot Serbin)

And while it may seem that only a select few government and military officials hold the power to decide how to approach nuclear weapons, Glick-Unterman said the rest of us can have an impact. “History teaches us that an educated and impassioned coalition can make a difference.”

Last spring, SNAP conducted a survey to determine what Stanford students believed about nuclear weapons. When asked whether the Stanford community was directly threatened by nuclear weapons, 43 percent said yes. Respondents also reported wanting to destigmatize conversations around nuclear weapons into one that incorporates education and discussion outside of the White House.

“Stanford students have access to the best nuclear courses and faculty in the country. We have a real opportunity to take the reins and make an important contribution to the world,” said Glick-Unterman. “Stanford’s nuclear experts are devoted teachers and mentors, and advisors at places like the Haas Center for Public Service are committed to helping students find internships and jobs in public service, including nuclear policy.”

SNAP’s organizers hope to expand the community of undergraduates interested in nuclear proliferation and disarmament through educational programs, such as lunches with nuclear experts on campus, trips to nonprofits in San Francisco and networking opportunities with students and professors from other universities. The group also hopes to introduce its members to policymakers from Congress, the U.S. State Department and other agencies.

For more information about SNAP, visit the group’s website or Facebook page.