In anticipation of what was made out to be the biggest event to happen on campus all semester, I bolted out of field hockey practice last Thursday, shed my mesh shorts and cleats in favor of regular clothes and sprinted to the Gantcher Center with my precious blue ticket in hand. Usually, I take a shower before my 7 o'clock class so that my classmates don't have to be subjected to the lingering smell of my goalie equipment, but this was a big deal. This was Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the mastermind behind Operation Desert Storm, the most successful American military campaign since the D-Day invasion in 1944. This was going to be incredible.
Despite my arriving 45 minutes after the scheduled 4:30 start, I was right on time. President DiBiaggio had just begun introducing the afternoon's featured speaker. Eagerly settling down in my white plastic chair in the last row, I took out some paper and a pen to jot down notes. After all, this man was the head of the military for four years and he's scheduled to speak about the current situation in the Middle East. The combination of such political and military expertise and a significant, relevant, specific topic should make for a thought-provoking speech. Or so I thought.
If you couldn't attend the event last Thursday because you had class, don't worry. For all of you who did not begin lining up outside the Info Booth at 8 am on Monday morning and thus found yourself without a ticket to the event of the year, fear not. I will now share with all you deprived souls the wisdom that was bestowed upon the crowd by General Powell:
Colin Powell grew up in the South Bronx; Colin Powell has more awards than you or I or anyone else could possibly fathom; Colin Powell dutifully served his country in the armed forces for 35 years; Colin Powell was an important player in the US's Cold War victory over the USSR; Colin Powell now serves on the board of several philanthropic organizations; There is currently violence in the Middle East; Peace would be better than the aforementioned violence.
Although it is probably useless to request a refund of the $75,000 paid to General Powell for sharing these enlightening revelations, I would like to ask for a refund of the 45 minutes of my life that was spent listening to this less than enthralling lecture. Foolish me for letting myself be persuaded to believe that one of the 20th century's most influential men would bother himself to actually say something of substance on a topic on which he undoubtedly has a certain amount of expertise.
Perhaps the general did not want to say anything controversial publicly about a politically heated topic five days before a presidential election. If such is the case, why bother advertising a lecture on the current situation in the Middle East? Why not rename the lecture, "Vagaries and Self-Congratulations: An Over-Priced, Useless Lecture By Colin Powell?" In fact, why bother coming at all? Surely one of the leaders of the free world could put a Thursday afternoon to better use. If I wanted to hear an empty, vague, non-specific, dumbed-down speech, I could turn on a television news broadcast or listen to either major presidential candidate talk about nothing in front of a cheering, made-for-television group of supporters.
But let me give credit where credit is due. The Tufts community of faculty, staff, administrators and students - past, present and future - owes a debt of gratitude to the Fares family and to the hundreds of other people who worked to bring a high-profile name to campus. Soon enough, all that will be remembered was that General Colin Powell spoke at Tufts University, formerly a relatively little-known liberals arts college in suburban Boston. To be honest, General Powell is a dynamic and engaging speaker. It's rare that one has the opportunity to see such a gifted orator in person. Similarly, it's rare that I find myself regretting attending a speech given by one of the key players in instrumenting the end of the Cold War.
So what did I learn from General Colin Powell's lecture, "Management of Crisis and Change: The Middle East"? That I could have better used my time by taking a shower after field hockey practice.
Dena Sloan is a senior majoring in International Relations and French.
