Hi 73 / Lo 49
|
Hi 73 / Lo 49 |
Student Publications
©1991-2007
Last modified:
Contact:
|
Volume 72, Issue 64,
Friday, November 17, 2006
News Attorney: college grads can shape world Speaker says though he--s seen positive
social change,
by CHELSEA ADAMS
A local attorney called on students Tuesday to use knowledge and success as forces to bring about social change -- something he--s been doing for more than three decades. Rufus Cormier, an attorney with Baker Botts LLP, graduated from Yale Law School in 1973 and has received awards for his support of humanitarian causes. His talk was part of a series sponsored by the UH chapter of the African American Honor Student Association. "When you leave the halls of this university, you are going to enter a world you have not shaped but where many crucial choices are going to weigh in," he said to a standing room-only crowd in The Honors College Commons. Though the world is rife with war, poverty, disease, economic strife and religious tension, Cormier said positive social change is still widely evident. "When I graduated from college in the 1970s, South Africa still lived under the heavy chains of apartheid," he said. "No African-Americans and few other minorities were CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or had served as secretary of state or attorney general of the United States as they do today." Cormier also addressed gender issues, saying women are increasingly playing more important roles in sports, space exploration and government. Cormier also said accommodations for the disabled have significantly improved. But he said though advances in medical science have led to miraculous results in disease treatments, they--ve also brought about complex ethical questions in areas like cloning, genetic research and access to medical care. "In Houston, we have the greatest medical center in the world, but with an over 35 percent uninsured rate," he said. More challenges lie in the political, social and ethical sciences, which Cormier said haven--t kept up with technology. "We are challenged to bring focus in those areas if we are to ensure that our technological innovations will have beneficial rather than destructive results," he said. Cormier also tackled issues concerning the "chasm between haves and have-nots in black America." Not only is there a growing dichotomy between the black and white worlds, there is also an increasing divergence within black America, he said. Cormier cited studies that show young black women are disproportionately affected by teenage pregnancy as compared to other races, nearly half of all black children live below the poverty line and half of all inner-city black men do not finish high school and are likely to spend time in prison by their 30s. "An astounding number of our youth has been lost to drugs and hopelessness, violence and early death," Cormier said. One-third of the black population has made impressive gains, but another third remains impoverished, poorly educated and disenchanted, he said. "We are all caught in a web of inescapable mutuality, tied to a single bough of destiny," he said. He also highlighted the importance of attitude, confidence and achieving dreams by setting goals and working hard. Learning to communicate effectively is essential for anything one chooses to do, Cormier said. College graduates have a special responsibility and should prepare well now so they are able to give back to their communities, because "not to care is unforgivable," he said. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
To contact the
To contact other members
of
 |