Oct. 1, 2002

Democracy Day Caps Week of Participation Events

McCain Address Audience of Student Editors and Presidents

A day-long leadership conference commemorating the anniversary of the signing of US Constitution capped the University’s events as part of National Civic Participation Week Sept 17.

The Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) hosted delegations of student body presidents and campus newspaper editors from colleges and universities from across the nation for “Democracy Day,” a conference that GSPM Dean Christopher Arterton hopes will become a fixture on campuses for years to come.

“The overall conception of ‘Democracy Day’ is a celebration of the achievements of the Founders,” said Arterton. “It is designed to appeal to student leaders who care about their community and are dedicated to spreading the ideals of civic participation.”

Leading off the day’s events was a front-runner analysis of the upcoming November elections with Bernadette Budde, senior vice president, Business Industry Political Action Committee; Mark Gersh, Washington director, The National Committee for an Effective Congress; Charlie Cook, editor and publisher, The Cook Report; and Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher, The Rothenberg Report.

The highlight of the day was an address by Sen. John McCain (R–AZ). A standing-room only crowd filled the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre to hear McCain’s remarks on topics such as Saddam Hussein’s regime and the threat posed by terrorism.

“My friends, let me give you a little dose of reality,” warned McCain. “As long as there are young men standing around street corners in the Middle East, without jobs, without hope, without a vote, without the ability to determine their own future, they will become terrorists. They will become committed to the destruction of our way of life.”

 

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