International figures grace Rice with presence

By Staff Editorial     9/24/09 7:00pm

Over the last week, Rice has been graced by the presence of a pair of highly-respected diplomats: Edrian Idrissov, Kazakhstan Ambassador to the United States, and Swashpawan Singh, former ambassador for India to the United Nations (see stories, pages 4 and 7). Meanwhile, it was announced that Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, would be the commencement speaker at the 2010 commencement (see story, page 1).Even though the endowment may have dropped by double-digit percentages (see story, page 1), it is nice to see that Rice can still attract the kind of envoys and world leaders that make our university as prestigious as we've been led to believe. And yet that prestige was not on full show for Idrissov and Singh, who both spoke in college commons. Lacking the pomp and showmanship of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy - and all the perceived intimidation that students may feel when they gape at the building's imposing beauty - the ambassadors were instead treated to the dining facilities for the university's students.

And it seems like it was a flying success. As such, we would recommend the continuance of this lecture series. Not only does it appear that students are more likely to attend, but we are also confident that those invited to speak are less concerned with their venue than with the expansion of their message. The more ears they can reach, the broader their message, and the greater the impact they can create.

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