Students praise former secretary's speech

Thundering cheers echoed off the walls of Irvine Auditorium last night after the lively speech given by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Students came in droves to hear Albright's speech, which filled Irvine with a capacity crowd of 1,100. Many students said they were pleasantly surprised that Albright was as charming and charismatic as she was capable and educated. "I was really impressed," College sophomore Melanie Kefalidis said. "She was funny, articulate and she talked about some really important topics." "She had a genuine interest in us as students," Kefalidis added. "It seemed as if she felt she could influence us in some way, that it wasn't pointless to talk to us." Explaining that "college should not be boring, first of all because it costs too much," Albright went on to joke that "I won't say it's the best time of your lives because that might depress some of you." But the students who attended last night's speech were certainly not depressed with what they saw and heard. "It went really well," College sophomore and Connaissance member Miya Rahamim said. "It met all expectations. She was funny, interesting, and informative." College junior and International Relations and Spanish major Lisa Schreter, who is interested in possibly working for the government one day, came to the event because "it pertained to what I study and... it gave me a perspective of someone on the inside. "I didn't expect her to be as open and entertaining as she was," Schreter said. " I was also impressed with her ability as a person to respect her morals while still representing the interests of the U.S. government." "As a female embarking in a business and political world that seems male dominant, it was refreshing to see the image of a strong woman who has accomplished so much," Schreter said. "It was interesting to see how she used her background to try and make a difference with people who went through the same things that she did," added College junior and political science major Lea Tatelman. College junior Aaliyah Richman, who was interested in learning Albright's views on the current situation in China, was "totally fulfilled" by Albright's discussion on a wide array of foreign policy issues, including relations with China, the Middle East, Russia, the Baltics, and Cuba. "She was an excellent speaker," said Richman, who is an international relations major. "She had the audience engaged for the entire speech." "I liked how positive she was about America, how welcoming America was to her family," said Kefalidis. "She made a really strong point that democracy can and should exist everywhere, and that she would do anything in her power to make sure that a Holocaust couldn't happen again."

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