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L. - \Where You Read It First Monday, Aprils 7,1997 Volume XXXIV, Number 49 UN Ambassador Bill Richardson to speak at Commencement by JOHNO’KEEFE While at Tufts, Richardson was active in Daily Editorial Board many extracurricular activities, serving as America’s ambassador to the United captain of the baseball team and president Nations, Bill Richardson,will give the main of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. address atthe University’s 14 1st commence- “TheClassof 1997 isextremely fortunate ment in May, making this the third year in a to have a major player on the world stage as row an alumnus has given the graduation its commencementspeaker,” President John speech and the third time Richardson has DiBiaggio said. “And we are, of course, spoken on campus in the last two years. extremely proud that an alumnus of this Richardson, however, was not the institution is making such extraordinary University’s first choice to give the speech. contributions to the global community.” In February, Richardsontold areporter that Another diplomat, aNobel Prize-winner, theuniversity was awarding him an honor- and a former state senator are among the TSCP aims to bring the community together through an on-going dialogue. ary degree, but a Tufts spokeswoman said speakers at the degree-awarding ceremo- the ambassador was not slated to speak at nies for the University’s graduate schools, that time. Richardson apparently accepted which follow the main commencement cer- onversations Project the invitation to speak after an unnamed emony. person declined the offer last month. Richard Holbrooke,the chief negotiator The ambassador is no stranger to com- at the Bosnia Dayton Peace Accords and a mencement exercises at Tufts, having re- former US ambassador to Germany, will celebrates annivessarvd ceived a bachelor’s degree in 1970 and a address the graduates ofthe Fletcher School byELZ4BETI-IOYEBODE their ethnicity. People start at that point. master’sdegreefiomthe Fletcher School of ofLaw and Diplomacy and receive an hon- Contributing Writer ‘This is who1 am,this is where I came from.’ Law and Diplomacy in 197 1. Richardson orary doctor of laws degree. The Tufts and Somerville Conversations And hopehlly they will find thatthey share also was the guest speaker at Fletcher’s Dr. Peter C. Doherty, who received the Project (TSCP) is celebrating its first anni- the same feelings about their backgrounds, graduationceremony last year. The Univer- 1996 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work versary. their neighborhoods, or their families.” sity will award Richardson his third Tufts studying the human immune system, will What originally began four years ago as Although there are no age restrictions diploma, an honorary doctor of laws de- a faculty summer reading group on ethnic on participants, so far, none have been gree, on May 18. see RICHARDSON. page 13 studies, has expanded into what Maria younger than college age. Past participants In 1995, the University also honored Christi describes as, “a dialogue between includeSomerville mayor Michael Capuano, Richardson with the first Light on the Hill communitiesthat lives up to Tufts’ mission members of the Somerville police depart- award, which recognizes outstanding statement.”Christi, the administratorofthe ment, and many Tufts students, faculty, achievement by a Tufts graduate. Tufts Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and staff. After serving as a congressman for 14 and c3-chair ofI‘SCP,praises the project as Coleman welcomed repeat participiuits years, the 49-year-old New Mexico Demo- an “overwhelming success.” saying, “[The conversation group] is some- crat was picked by President Clinton in Participantsin TSCPmeetin groups of 10 thing that by its very nature is new every December to succeed Madeleine Albright to 15 people for two-hour sessions each time.” in the UN post. week. New groups are formed every four To allow for as many different voices As a congressman, Richardson devel- weeks. Each group is guided by two trained from the community as possible to be heard, oped a reputation as a globe-trotting am- leaders who act as moderators for the dis- TSCP now makes translatorsandbabysitters bassador, regularly flying off to hot spots cussion. available to people who might otherwise on unofficial diplomatic missions and ne- Overthe four-week conversation,groups have been encumbered by a language bar- gotiating with some of the nation’s most meetatthesametime,inthesamelocale,and rier or by family constraints. notorious enemies, including Fidel Castro with the same participants so that groups Coleman says, “It’s been part of our and Saddam Hussein. become strong units. “Building trust is es- mission toget people from every category.” His efforts have led to the freeing of sential so that the conversation becomes Although the heads ofthe TSCP want to hostages in Iraq, Burma, North Korea, Sudan, more and more productive,” said Rachel promote the themes of ethnic identity and and Cuba. More recently, Richardson Coleman, the project coordinator for TSCP, the immigrant experience,they do not wish helped lay the foundation for the return of and a former participant in the group. to limit the discussions to just those issues. former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Christi feels it to be an imperative that “Anything can andwill comeup,”Coleman Aristide and met with Aung San Suu Kyi, members of the groups find things they said. the Nobel Prize-winning political activist have incommon. “Atthefmtmeetingpeople who has campaigned against human rights Dai/y file photo are asked to bring things that represent see TSCP, page 13 abuses in Burma. Bill Richardson Tufts grad, Times I 1997 EPIIC Symposium correspondent to speak about Threats o American democracvd campaign finance byGREGORY GErmAN This acrimonious exchange demonstrated a common thread Daily Editorial Board which wove through the whole debate -the view of many that Are all politicians really corrupt? Tufts happens when four New England-area professors, a civility has left the political forum. At times, the panelists looked graduate and New York Times Legal Af- former Democratic presidential candidate, and thepopu- back to atime when a liberal arts education ensured that a student fairs CorrespondentStephen Labatonwill list founder ofthe Aliiance for Democracy get together to debate would learn two very important things. “Civility and manners,” address this question, as well as issues of whether the American political system is in crisis? Brown University history professor Gordon Wood said, “are campaign fmance, influencepeddling, and By and large, they tend to agree on one thing: there is too great essential to a healthy society.” a White under siege at a forum House a dichotomy of power in American society, based on social and Wood was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his book, The Radical- today at 1 1:30 a.m. in Eaton 206. economic inequities. ism of the American Revolution. When Dukakis took up the topic Labaton (LA ’83), who was an AP Indeed, when the EPIIC symposium panel entitled, “Democ- of a civil society, however, he chose to argue that politics might stringer and editor at The Observer while racy in Crisis? Civil Society and Politics in the not have a place in that society, because of the at Tu%, wilI be the featured speaker in a United States” met early on Saturday morning, adversarial nature ofthe electoral process. “We forum entitled“Scanda1in Washington: A spirited arguments arose only when the often- should not get carried away with nostalgia,” he Journalist’s Perspective,” sponsored by combative audience members were invited to said, in response to Wood’s argument that a theOfficeofCommunication.Heisagradu- pose questions to the orators. When one such 1950seducation included the art ofproper man- ate of Duke Law School, and has been a observer lambasted the fund-raising techniques of the Demo- ners. “Our forefathers believed in civility, but they didn’t practice Washington legal affairs correspondent cratic Party, former Mass. Governor Michael Dukakis spoke up to it,” Dukakis said. for the Times since 1990. defend his party, stating that it best represents working and Dukakismentionedthat American politics,by its very history, According to the Program Coordinator middle-class Americans. has been a very uncivil practice. Citing the disenfranchisementof of the Experimental College Susan “We have raised the minimum wage,” argued Dukakis, who blacks, women, and propertylessmen which had existed from the Eisenhauer,“This is an opportunity for any currently serves as a political science professor on the faculties signingofthe Declaration of Independence,he said,“The history student interested in journalism, govern- of both Northeastern University and UCLA. of America has been a constant struggle in not only expanding the ment,or politicsto hearhow one person has In response to this assertion, an audience member interrupted tenets of virtue, but in living it.” noved from Medford to the center of the the three-term former governor to assert from his seat, “Not iottest political stories in Washington.” enough.” see DUKAKIS, page 9 --Lauren Heist lage two Monday, April 7,1997 - THETUFTS DAILY THETUFTS DAILY@ P.O. Box 18, Medford, MA. 02153 (617) 627-3090; Fax: (617) 627-3910, [email protected] Online: http://www.jumbohub.com/tuftsdaily Dan Tobin University should be responsible Editor-in-Chief TheuniversityVision Statementincludes a the environment. Managing Editor: Karen Epstein commitment to promoting “active citizmpar- The creation of an advisory committee as Associate Editors: Bill Copeland, Gregory Geiman, Amy &met ticipation,” and being “amodel for society at proposed by SCIRT is not aradical idea -- NEWSEditors: Pete Sanborn, Lauren Heist many other colleges anduniversities,such Assistant Editor: John OKeefe large.” The current University policy of ab- as staining on all shareholder resolutions is anti- Yale and Johns Hopkins, have similarcom- VIEWPOINTSEditors: Jason Cohen, Alex Shalom thetical to those commitments. In an attempt mittees, some of which have existed for FEATURESEditors: Laura Bemheim, Annie Risbridger, Katie House Assistant Editor: Merredith Portsmore to correct this, the Student Coalition for In- decades.