Getting its start in 1964, Vanderbilt’s IMPACT Symposium has hosted some of the most influential speakers and individuals of its time. Speakers such as Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther Kind Jr. spoke here about issues pressing to them. Some year’s speakers tackle education, sexism, or international affairs, and in every case the event is a didactic one.
This year’s theme was Perceptions of (In)equality, and the speakers selected were Anne Deavere Smith, Eugene Robinson, Stephen A. Smith, and Rudy Giuliani. With a playwright, a journalist, a television personality and a politician, the evenings were rife with opinions.
On Monday, March 16, Anne Deavere Smith took to the intimate setting of Sarratt Cinema. Now a teacher at NYU, Smith has a background in exploratory works on hard-hitting concerns such as sex and race. Her presence in the discussion was to provide a woman and media-producer’s angle on inequality, both its presence and portrayal in her life and work.
Tuesday followed with Eugene Robinson and Stephen A. Smith. Robinson, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, reflected on his experience with intense inequality. He grew up in rural South Carolina and painted a vivid picture of a distant memory in which the police “massacred” some local members of the SNCC in his town. He noted that while there is still racism and inequality, it is so much better than it once was, and he sees improvements in life and the workplace.
Stephen A. Smith brought his TV personality to his speech. Loud and assertive, Smith questioned, “Who told you there was such a thing as inequality?” He honed in on the fact that you must make yourself valuable and sought after to achieve the goals you seek in life. “Fair doesn’t exist,” he said, “Fair is a place where you judge pigs.” He went on to speak about how he has made himself valuable, and he urged students to work hard.
Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor, started his discussion focusing on the importance of equality of opportunity and, to a certain extent, outcome. Giuliani noted that there will always be inequality, but we can do our best to lessen it. After addressing the need for educational opportunities and incentivizing employment for those on welfare, he went off in another direction. There were protestors in the auditorium bringing up the initiative “Black lives matter,” so in response the former mayor discussed his achievements in decreasing crime utilizing the police. The speech got off point towards the end, but his motions and words had much more conviction.
The response from students for each of the speakers has been mixed, but there is definitely enthusiasm for future speakers to come.