Vote Big Red

Walking Backwards

 

By Corey Earles
Sun Staff Writer

 

Election Day is over, but this column sadly goes to print before the results are completely tallied. However, according to the most recent polls, we should have at least a few Cornellians representing the Big Red in Congress. In the House of Representatives, incumbents Robert E. Andrews JD ’82 (D-N.J.) and Bob Filner ’63 Ph.D. ’73 (D-Calif.) were favored to win, although the race of incumbent Mark Kirk ’81 (R-Ill.) was considered “too close to call.” Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.), who earned a Labor Studies Program Certification from Cornell in 1980, was ahead in her reelection campaign. In the open-seat races, Gabrielle Giffords MRP ’96 (D-Ariz.) was predicted to win, while a loss was expected for Jay Fawcett MBA ’85 (D-Col). The only Cornellian running for the Senate of which I’m aware is Libertarian candidate Bruce Guthrie ’87, who has made a valiant effort to be elected as Washington State’s representative.

 

But if there’s one elected office that Cornellians can’t win, it’s president of the United States. Alas, Cornell joins the ranks of Dartmouth and Brown as the only Ivy League institutions to have never educated a U.S. president (although the University of Pennsylvania almost makes the list since William Henry Harrison dropped out before earning a degree). On the other hand, Harvard University claims seven presidents, Yale educated a total of five (including the most recent three), Princeton has three and two were from Columbia. But why haven’t there been any Cornellians to fill the position of Commander-in-Chief?

 

Admittedly, we have had our share of heads of state. Who could forget Mario Menocal 1888, president of Cuba from 1913 to 1921? Despite his distinguished education, his presidential practices were not especially popular. When he “won” his reelection in 1916, the number of votes counted was higher than the number of people actually eligible to vote, and at least 50 deaths were attributed to election violence. In World War I, it was Menocal who declared war on Germany the day after the United States did the same, using the conflict as an excuse to give himself near dictatorial powers. Although he stepped down to support his successor to the presidency, he ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1924, attempted a failed revolution in 1931, fled to the United States, returned to Cuba and then ran for president again in 1936. At least he was persistent. Menocal also has the distinction of hosting the first United States fraternity convention held off the American continent. In 1920, he invited his brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon to Havana for the national convention, giving each attendee a box of fine Cuban cigars.

 

Then there’s Jamshid Amuzegar Ph.D. ’51, who briefly served as prime minister of Iran from 1977 to 1978. Leading a life almost as exciting as Menocal’s, Amuzegar had previously been kidnapped at an OPEC meeting by the notorious Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Amuzegar picked the wrong time to be president, as a series of political reshufflings led to his removal from office by Shah Pahlavi. With the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini and revolution in 1979, the primary Iranian government positions became Supreme Leader and president; the position of prime minister was removed completely in 1989.

 

The most recent Cornellian head of state is Lee Teng-hui Ph.D. ’68, who was president of the Republic of China, also known as Taiwan, from 1988 to 2000. Controversial for his support of Taiwanese independence, Lee last visited his alma mater in 2001, triggering protests by Chinese students who accused him of using Cornell to advance his political propaganda. He had previously visited campus while still in office in 1995, causing a serious rift in U.S. relations with the People’s Republic of China. Cornell’s recent collaborations and agreements with Chinese universities hopefully show that both countries have moved beyond any hard feelings.

 

In the United States, a few brave Cornellians have attempted to dream of the U.S. presidency. Cornell’s first success story was Joseph Foraker, who graduated with the University’s very first class in 1869. After a career as 37th governor of Ohio, he sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1908 but was defeated by William Howard Taft, also from Ohio. Interestingly, another candidate for the nomination was Charles Evans Hughes, Cornell University law professor in the 1890s and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1930 to 1941. Years later, Edmund Muskie LL.B. ’39, former governor of Maine, considered a run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972. A series of campaign attacks destroyed his momentum, although he later went on to become Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter and receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Most recently, in 1996 and 2000, Alan Keyes campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination, failing both times. Keyes briefly attended Cornell during the tumultuous late 1960s before transferring to Harvard. Perhaps his political success would have been better had he stayed on The Hill, as he lost Senate races in 1988, 1992 and 2004.

 

Will we see Big Red in the White House in 2008? 2012? Doubtful. But I’d like to see at least one Cornellian as our country’s chief executive in my lifetime. Jimmy Smits MFA ’82 as President Matt Santos on The West Wing doesn’t count. Let’s aim for a Cornellian president by 2040. I’m looking at you, campus leaders and government majors. Or perhaps we should turn to the College of Engineering since both Menocal of Cuba and Amuzegar of Iran were engineers? Instead of studying in Duffield Hall at 4 a.m., start campaigning. Cornell 2040. Vote Big Red for the Red, White and Blue.