Albright addresses diplomacy

With a mix of humor and charm, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright shared an insider's view of American foreign policy last night at Irvine Auditorium. The sold-out event, which drew a packed crowd of 1,100 to Irvine, was sponsored by Social Planning and Events Committee's Connaissance and the Provost's Spotlight Series. Albright, the highest-ranking female public servant in history, opened her speech by recognizing the 125th anniversary of admitting women at Penn. As the first-ever female secretary of state, she emphasized breaking down gender barriers and made it a theme throughout her speech. "When I became secretary, I was determined that I would not let my gender stand in the way of doing what my predecessors had done," Albright said. "I made a pledge that I would bring efforts to lift the lives of women and girls into the mainstream of American foreign politics," she added. Former President Bill Clinton appointed Albright as the 64th secretary of state in 1996. Prior to that, Albright served as the U. S. Representative to the United Nations and as the president of the Center for National Policy. Albright also described in detail her own attitude regarding the role of the United States in foreign affairs, saying that America must learn from the lessons of history and maintain an active presence in the world. "Above all, we must never again play the role of ostrich, with head buried in the sand," Albright said. "America is an eagle, and we must not be afraid to use our strength in the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons." The speech was interrupted several times by enthusiastic applause from the audience. Albright went on to describe how these convictions came into play during her time in office, citing the American decision to join the military campaign in Kosovo. She identified respect for the individual as the basis for democracy and stressed the potential impact of each individual's involvement in shaping the future of this country. "It's not my intention tonight to put the weight of the world upon your shoulders, but I do hope that each of you will use the knowledge that you have gained here at U. Penn to be more than a consumer of liberty, but also a defender and an enricher of it," she said. Following her remarks, which ran close to an hour, Albright took part in a question-and-answer session with the audience. Most asked Albright to comment on the United States' relations with particular nations, including China, Cuba, Israel, Russia, India and Iraq. Event organizers heralded the night as a success, saying that Albright's anecdotal and humorous speaking style seemed to generate an overwhelmingly positive response among the audience. "Her speech was wonderful, there was an incredible amount of substance there, she answered a lot of questions in depth and added a nice dose of humor to it," Co-chairman of Connaissance and College Senior Nishchay Maskay said after the event.

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