Over four decades ago, protesters including myself held Northwestern in part responsible for the Vietnam War by the presence of the U.S. Military on campus. When I think back to all the errors we made while opposing the war (and there were plenty) nothing stands out as much as our misplaced and across-the-board hostility to those people in the military. Our churlishness resulted in a cultural gap that further alienated troops on the ground from those of us who thought we were protesting on their behalf by trying to end the war.

This open hostility seemed to recede over time but now, sadly it has returned to this campus with regards to the (now passed) appointment of Ambassador and former Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry to the Buffett Institute. Next week, Mr. Eikenberry is coming to campus to speak on the Military-Political Gulf in America, a topic about which he is most expert having challenged the U.S. Army directly whilst he was ambassador to Afghanistan.

As one of my students said last week, “Eikenberry brings a perspective Northwestern students badly need to know.” I wholly agree with her. I am encouraging our community to come hear him speak on the 31st, see what he is about and what kind of ideas he has on a subject about which all of us should be both interested and knowledgeable as it impacts our lives constantly. And attendance at this talk does not require agreement but only open ears and minds which I trust, as a community NU has. I will be at this talk and hope we have a huge turnout.

Jeff Rice, Weinberg ‘72
Weinberg college adviser and senior lecturer in African Studies