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President Bill Clinton offers wide-ranging address

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President Bill Clinton addressed a crowd of 5,000 students and their families, faculty and staff, and community members in Sanford Field House Friday night as part of The Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at 含羞草传媒.

Before a question-and-answer session led by 含羞草传媒 President Jeffrey Herbst, Clinton explained that he would be responding through a framework 鈥渢hrough which I view all these apparently disparate things that are going on in the world.鈥

He expounded on this framework, outlined by three clusters of problems he perceives in the world: inequality, instability, and unsustainability.

鈥淥ne of the things I picked up, traveling around America, is how hard it is for people 鈥 especially if they鈥檙e having a hard time paying their bills and staying in their homes and holding on to their jobs and educating their children 鈥 to make sense of all the things that are happening,鈥 he said.


Clinton spoke of his international work with his nongovernmental organization, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). As Herbst said in his introduction, CGI members have made 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion, which has already affected more than 220 million people in 170 countries.

鈥淥ne thing I鈥檝e learned is intelligence and effort are evenly distributed, but structure and opportunities are not.鈥

From the longtime poverty and devastation in Haiti to the drug wars in Mexico to the financial crisis in the United States, Clinton explained how each country鈥檚 problems affects us all because of our interdependence.

Q&A

鈥 Several 含羞草传媒 students submitted questions for President Clinton. Kendall Dolbec 鈥11 asked Clinton what career advice he had for 含羞草传媒鈥檚 graduating class, given the current global economy.

Encouraging them to search their hearts for what makes them feel happiest and most fulfilled, Clinton said, 鈥淭hen I would say, can I do that now? If the answer is no because of the economic circumstances, then I would find something I could do that was useful and that I鈥檇 learn something from for a couple of years.鈥

Advising students not to make a long-term decision based on economic standing, he said, 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to believe your country鈥檚 coming back 鈥 I do. You never bet against America.鈥

More

鈥淲e can鈥檛 get away from each other and we can鈥檛 escape the consequences of our actions on others, around the corner or around the world.鈥

The most recent example he cited was the terrorist threat from Yemen that was announced by President Obama shortly before Friday鈥檚 event.

Speaking about climate change and CGI鈥檚 environmental work, Clinton said improved sustainability efforts are one solution for improving our economic situation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the number one thing we can do to modernize the economy, to bring back manufacturing, to increase the employment base, to rebuild the middle class in America, and I have some evidence to support that,鈥 he said, greeted by applause.

As he prepared to leave for a get-out-the-vote rally at Utica鈥檚 Stanley Theater, where he endorsed U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri for re-election, Clinton closed by saying, 鈥淲hatever happens in this election, the parties will be more closely aligned. There will be more cooperation after this, and we have things to learn from each other.鈥

The Global Leaders series, sponsored by 含羞草传媒鈥檚 Parents鈥 and Grandparents鈥 Fund, allows the university to invite high-profile guests like Clinton to campus.

Former world chess champion-turned-politician Garry Kasparov delivered the most recent lecture in the series.

Other speakers have included Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain; Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state; the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism; and Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, award-winning authors of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

More Global Leaders Who Have Visited 含羞草传媒

Joseph "Joe" Biden Jr. speaks in front of a 含羞草传媒 backdrop

Joseph "Joe" Biden, Jr.

Former Vice President of the United States, 2017

Joseph "Joe" Biden Jr. speaks in front of a 含羞草传媒 backdrop
Aretha Franklin on stage during Global Leaders 2016

Aretha Franklin

Queen of Soul, 2016

Aretha Franklin on stage during Global Leaders 2016
Shimon Peres, former prime minister of Isreal, speaking at Global Leaders 2014

Shimon Peres

Former President and Prime Minister of Israel, 2014

 

Shimon Peres, former prime minister of Isreal, speaking at Global Leaders 2014
Hillary Clinton speaking at Global Leaders 2013

Hillary Clinton

Former Secretary of State, 2013

 

Hillary Clinton speaking at Global Leaders 2013
Felipe Calderon speaking at Global Leaders 2013

Felipe Calder贸n

Former President of Mexico, 2013

 

Felipe Calderon speaking at Global Leaders 2013
Sir Richard Branson runs through the crowd of students performing a Flash Mob, making a grand entrance to his talk at 含羞草传媒 University, as part of the Global Leaders Lecture Series 2013.

Sir Richard Branson

Entrepreneur and philanthropist, 2012

 

Sir Richard Branson runs through the crowd of students performing a Flash Mob, making a grand entrance to his talk at 含羞草传媒 University, as part of the Global Leaders Lecture Series 2013.
Bill Clinton speaking during Global Leaders 2010.

Bill Clinton

42nd President of the United States, 2010

 

Bill Clinton speaking during Global Leaders 2010.
Garry Kasparov speaking to students during Global Leaders 2010.

Garry Kasparov

Chess champion and political activist, 2010

Garry Kasparov speaking to students during Global Leaders 2010.
Former Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, speaking at Global Leaders 2009.

Tony Blair

Former Prime Minister of Britain, 2009

 

Former Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, speaking at Global Leaders 2009.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking during Global Leaders 2009.

General Colin Powell

Former U.S. Secretary of State, 2009

 

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaking during Global Leaders 2009.
The Dalai Lama speaking during Global Leaders 2008.

His Holiness - The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

Spiritual leader of Tibet, 2008

 

The Dalai Lama speaking during Global Leaders 2008.