"The Clinton Presidency: The First Year," and "South Africa: Forging a Democratic Union" are among the topics to be discussed when the Great Decisions Program reconvenes for the spring 1994 semester at Southeast Missouri State University.

Great Decisions is a national program sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association, a non-partisan organization in Washington, D.C., which seeks to promote understanding of American foreign policy choices. Each year, the organization selects topics to be discussed at sites across the country.

At the end of the program, participants complete "opinion ballots" on American foreign policy issues, which, in turn, are forwarded to the State Department, members of Congress, and the White House, said Frank Nickell, coordinator of the program at Southeast and director of the Center for Regional History.

Nine topics are scheduled to be discussed this semester, beginning with a program slated for Feb. 3 titled "The Clinton Presidency: The First Year." The program is slated for 2-4 p.m. in the University Center Missouriana Room.

Each session will focus on current trends and issues, and Southeast faculty members will lead discussions of U.S. foreign policy options.

"This is an opportunity for people to study and discuss foreign policy in the midst of the greatest period of transition and change in history," Nickell said. "This is a year when there ought to be vigorous debate on foreign policy.

"There is a lot of uncertainty about what American foreign policy ought to be today. To wrestle with the question of what to do in areas like Yugoslavia is really tough," he said.

Titles and dates of subsequent programs are: "Conflict in Yugoslavia" Feb. 10; "South Africa: Forging a Democratic Union, Feb. 17; "Ex-Soviet Bloc's Environmental Crisis," Feb. 24; "Trade with the Pacific Rim," March 3; "Defense: Redefining U.S. Needs and Priorities," March 17; "Argentina, Brazil, Chile: Democracy and Markets," March 24; "Islam and Politics: Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia," March 31; and "New World Order? U.S. in Search of a Role," April 7.

The programs are open to the public. Participants pay only for a $10 discussion booklet. For further information on the Great Decisions Program, call the Center for Regional History at Southeast at (314) 651-2555.