"Our future is a big question mark"

Today Davidson College hosted a video conference between approximately fifty students at Davidson and about 25 students from the University of Baghdad.
Similar events took place at Davidson in 2003; one conference was held right before the invasion of Iraq and one was held soon afterward. Several Davidson students who attended the first two conversations came today as well.
The event was moderated and hosted by James Zogby of the Arab American Institute. He did an excellent job; it is not easy to deal with satellite lag, take questions, and steer discussion all at once. Satellite lag was perhaps the biggest issue; there were 4 satellite hops (Washington to London to Abu Dhabi to Baghdad).
We convened at 8 A.M. because of security concerns for the Iraqi students. Indeed, they did not even meet on campus, but went instead to a hotel. Several students spoke to the uncertainty of each day and the danger in simply getting to university. Besides having their lives in danger, many students said they did not always have electricity or running water.
As can be easily surmised, the main topics of discussion were the current occupation of U.S. troops in Iraq, the stability and effectiveness of the new government, and continuing civil strife. Most students seemed unhappy with the troops in Iraq, but wanted them to stay and help them fix the problems. They were happy to have Saddam gone and for the election, but mostly they seemed angry at continuing fighting and problems that were not assuaged by the presence of troops. Most seemed unhappy with the current government and thought that it was not effective.

I found this event unsettling. A lot of media outlets I’ve observed seem to say “Yes, there is violence, but in general the Iraqi people are glad we helped deliver them from Saddam.” The impression I got today was much more negative and almost pessimistic. I was delighted to attend, because of my interest in politics, but it was more sobering than I had expected.

Press Release
Article about first conference

Tony Snow, Class of '77, Visits Davidson College

Today Davidson had the privilege of hearing Tony Snow speak on the topic of liberal arts education and the importance of critical writing and thinking skills. The lecture was not planned well in advance; rather, Mr. Snow was in town this weekend for alumni events and he graciously agreed to speak to students briefly.

He gave a few brief remarks on the importance of brevity in thought and writing, but then spent the rest of the hour answering questions. Question-and-answer sessions tend to make me nervous; I’m always afraid that someone will ask a dumb question or worse, attack the speaker. Fortunately, only one student fell into the latter category. His question—one of those that last five minutes before getting to the point—seemed designed to trip up Mr. Snow and criticize some of his past action. Despite the student repeated efforts to engage Mr. Snow in his bizarre dialogue, Mr. Snow simply refused to fall for the bait.

The most surprising and pleasing element of his talk was the humorous aspect. “When people stop laughing at politicians, that’s a problem,” he said. Responding to a question about his opinion of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, and satirical commentary, he reminded the crowd of students that laughing at yourself and at others is important and not something to avoid.

Questions ranged from asking Mr. Snow his opinion on Fox News, to how he would explain the White House’s perceived “lack off transparency.” He answered each question with style and articulation. Though I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to ask a question—I was afraid I would speak too quickly and that he wouldn’t understand—I did at last. I asked what relevance a liberal arts education had today, in light of new technologies, especially blogging. He responded about blogs first, adding more humor, but then becoming serious in his note that blogging democratized the media—now everyman and everywoman who can access the web can share an opinion. Then he addressed the liberal arts education, giving his insight that college teaches you to learn; he said he’s in the “world’s longest grad school.” I love the concept of life-long learning, and thus found his position valuable.

Overall, Tony Snow’s lecture inspired me to be more articulate in both my speech and my writing. His notes on brevity reminded me of Strunk & White’s admonition: Omit Needless Words (also one of my father’s favourite aphorisms). It was a wonderful opportunity to hear him speak and also highly entertaining.