Powell to speak on Kennan '25, receive award

Secretary of State Colin Powell will speak in Richardson Auditorium at 10 a.m. this morning about "The New Security Environment," kicking off a daylong conference honoring the centennial birthday of diplomat George Kennan '25.

"I'm really excited to see if I can personally talk with the guy," said Jeanny Park '07, who will attend a reception for Powell before the Richardson speech.

"I really respect him, but there are some decisions the administration made that I'm not in accordance with, and I want to actually ask him about how he felt about it," she said.

About 2000 students, faculty and staff entered a lottery held earlier this month to win tickets to see Powell. Of the 885 seats in Richardson Hall, 250 were reserved for conference participants, said conference organizer Daniel Linke.

Coinciding with Powell's visit, student and community groups are planning demonstrations focusing on the secretary's role in the war in Iraq.

"People from all over the political spectrum and all sorts of backgrounds are simply furious because they don't like being lied to and they can't trust their government anymore," said Danilo Mandic '07, a member of the Princeton Peace Network.

Powell has come under particular criticism for his speech to the U.N. Security Council in February 2003, in which he argued that Iraq posed a global security threat.

Members of PPN will distribute flyers with the slogan "Powell lies, people die" to those entering Alexander Hall, and the Committee to End the Occupation of Iraq is organizing a protest on Nassau Street starting at 9:30 a.m.

Area peace activists, including Jeremy Tully, said there might be a demonstration or an "action within the event" today. But PPN's Mandic said nobody in that organization got tickets to the event.

Public Safety was asked about these statements late last night. Sgt. Kenneth Samuel said he would bring them up at Public Safety's morning meeting today.

Following Powell's remarks, Rishi Jaitly '04 will present him with the inaugural Crystal Tiger Award, which was conceived by two members of the Class of 2000 as a way to "honor an individual who's had a transformative impact on our lives," according to an email sent to the student body by Jaitly.

As part of the award, Powell will attend an informal reception prior to his speech with about 60 undergraduates preselected by lottery.

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A three-student committee made the decision to give the award to Powell based on his lifelong record of service, explained Jaitly, who chaired the group.

"Members of our generation in particular identify with Secretary Powell," he said. "When we were coming of age, he was the symbol of courage, humility and service . . . and, more than anything, integrity and honesty."

However, not all undergraduates are pleased with Powell's selection for the award.

Mandic said he was outraged that Powell was being given the Crystal Tiger Award on behalf of the entire student body. "He certainly did have an impact on our lives," he said, "by systematically lying and deceiving us and by being one of the leaders of a massive propaganda campaign."

The award attempts to bring an accomplished individual to campus to spend time with undergraduates, Jaitly said.

"We anticipate that in future years, recipients will come here primarily to engage with students," he added.

To encourage participation in the day's activities, the Crystal Tiger Award committee has arranged for the lecture to be shown on the 100-level television in Frist Campus Center, where Panera will provide free breakfast. The event will also be simulcast in Frist 302 and McCosh 10 and 50.

Powell's visit is also kicking off the George F. Kennan Centennial Conference, which will include panel discussions with distinguished scholars and ambassadors exploring Kennan's legacy.

The conference was organized by the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.

The conference was originally open to 250 registrants, but demand was so high that all of the events were moved to larger venues. More than 500 participants are expected, including alumni and academics as well as Kennan's friends and family.