Stetson Cupola 1986-14-2

i Stetson... and All That Jazz February 21 - 23 The Stetson University Alumni Newspaper Vol. 14 No. 2 (USPS 990-560) Winter 1986 Haig speaks to law graduates Nina O'Keefe May, 74, met with President Ronald Reagan before her trip to the Geneva Summit. The Geneva Summit: Through the eyes of a Stetson graduate The following is excerpted from Nina May's recollections of the Geneva Summit and the issues surrounding it. It seems so long ago that I sat by the Stetson fountain sketching the campaign banners hanging from campus trees. For me they were symbols of excitement and activism, although I was content to capture them for the time on pieces of paper. How did I travel from pad and pencil to the uncertain world of politics; a journey that stopped in Geneva, Switzerland for the Summit between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. It probably began in the atmosphere of open dialogue and introspection that Stetson provided during my years on campus. The VietNam war shifted my focus to world events and their impact on the future of mankind. For years, news stories of Soviet aggression left me with no real understanding of why these things were occurring. I began to discover what was really happening for myself. If I could not travel to the country, I would interview those who had. I would make every effort to meet the refugees, the displaced families, the freedom fighters, the victims of oppression. Their stories were very similar: unstable government, internal fighting supported by external forces with their own motivation, mock elections, if that, and the ushering in of a newer, more brutal dictatorship. At the Geneva Summit, at one of the many press conferences the Soviet leaders held, they refused to answer questions on human rights violations. A woman who had just been released from a Soviet prison after serving 11 years for her activity as a human rights activist, asked a simple question about her family that is hot allowed to leave Russia and join her. They threatened to have her arrested if she did not sit down. A few of us had to remind them that questions like that are allowed in the free world, and arrest is not an alternative to answering. It is difficult to become involved with "world affairs" without gaining a working knowledge of military strategy, fire power, and offensive and defensive weapons. It is also difficult to live in the world and not realize that nuclear weapons exist. We are reminded of that daily by commercials, books, pleas for unilateral or bilateral disarmament, marches, debates and speeches. The bottom line is that we all agree nuclear war is not an option we are willing to live with. And the naivete of unilateral disarmament or even a nuclear freeze defies logic. As I began to learn more about the "arms race" from both sides, I realized the concept of a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was, to me, the most logical answer to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction. The1 ABM Treaty, which was the implementation of that doctrine, even allowed for the research of space defensive systems. Please see SUMMIT, Page 7 Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former secretary of state under Ronald Reagan, was presented an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the College of Law fall commencement Dec. 21. "Stetson is pleased that General Haig would bring the commencement message at the law school," said Dr. Pope A. Duncan. "He is a distinquished American and we are grateful to count him a degree holder from Stetson University." Haig was nominated for the position of secretary of state following Reagan's election Nov. 4, 1980 and served from January 1981 until July 1982. Haig served in the Pentagon from 1962 to 1965. In 1969, he was assigned senior military advisor to the assistant to the president for national security affairs, then Dr. Henry Kissinger. He was promoted to full general in 1972. During his four years in the White House, Haig made 14 trips to Southeast Asia as the personal emissary of former president Richard Nixon. Haig negotiated the Vietnam cease-fire and the return of the U.S. prisoners of war. He also coordinated - preparations for Nixon's visit to China. Haig was named White House chief to staff for Nixon and served there until 1974 when former president Gerald Ford recalled him to active duty as commander in General Alexander Haig chief, U.S. European Command. He resigned this post in June 1979. Currently, Haig is president of Worldwide Associates, Inc., which provides consulting services on domestic and international issues. Stetson No. 4 Peers give Stetson high marks Stetson University ranks fourth in its class, among 158 colleges and universities in Southern and Border states, according to a survey of college presidents released by U.S. News & World Report U.S. News polled college presidents and asked them to pick the top five undergraduate schools similar to their own, according to size and academic offerings, considering strength of curriculum, quality of teaching, relationship between faculty and students and the atmosphere for learning. Nine categories of schools were selected, using guidelines provided by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The categories are: national universities, comprehensive institutions, smaller com prehensive institutions, national liberal arts colleges and regional liberal arts colleges. In the category of comprehensive institutions in the South and Border states, Stetson ranked fourth among 158 colleges. Stetson ranked ninth nationwide in this category among 438 colleges with 14.8 percent of the presidents responding listing Stetson in the top five. "I'm very pleased the rating comes from our peers," said Dr. Pope A. Duncan. "It's not somebody sitting out there who knows absolutely nothing about higher education that is making the judgments." The full survey of 90 top-ranked colleges and universities appears in the November 25 issue of U.S. News & World Report as part of a 12-page feature on American higher education. Make your plans for Homecoming... See pages 4 and 5