A Grinnell College graduate and retired U.S. ambassador speaks tonight (Friday) at Drake University in Des Moines. George Moose is also a member of “Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change.” This is normally the kind of group that does not seek the spotlight, or take issue with the policies of a particular administration, but he says doing it shows how deeply they’re concerned about the direction of US foreign policy. Moose will also be a speaker at an Iowa conference on September eleventh, at which he and others will look at the administration policies that led to the US going to war in Iraq. Moose says we’re less safe and secure as a nation because of those policies. Moose, who served as US ambassador to the European Office of the United Nations, says the current leadership of this country took some good steps following the terrorist attacks nearly three years ago. He says some of the administration’s actions were “appropriate and justified,” like going after the taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. But Moose says other actions that followed have many diplomatic and military veterans concerned. The decision to go to war in Iraq, which he says even many senior administration officials call a war of choice and not of necessity, has let the country “take our eye off the ball,” and focus on the wrong war. Now, he says, we’re “bogged down in Iraq” with no exit strategy and terrorists around the world intent on doing us harm. Moose, who got his undergraduate degree and an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College, says the bitterness that accompanies this campaign year is stifling open discussion. Moose says it’s made it more difficult to question and challenge policies of the administration, and result is depriving the American people from the kind of open debate that would let them make a clear choice on what’s in the country’s best interests. The ambassador’s speech at Drake is free and open to the public. The Saturday forum at Des Moines botanical center is sponsored by “Physicians for Social Responsibility” the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, the Drake Center for Global Citizenship, American Friends Service Committee and Iowa United Nations Association.
Enrollment numbers out for state universities
Administrators at the three state-supported universities will tell you they’re each unique in their own way, and that’s reflected somewhat in the latest fall enrollment figures. At the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, there are 12-thousand-824 students taking fall classes — 124 students over the school’s minimum target. But U-N-I registrar Phil Patton says things won’t be overcrowded, as enrollment was down compared to last fall. He says their optimum enrollment goes all the way up to 12-thousand-900, so he says the fell comfortable with their numbers. U-N-I has capped enrollment in recent years due to budget cuts and other factors. Patton says they may be able to ease the cap soon. He says they’re optimistic the economy will continue growing and the legislature will increase funding, allowing them to go into a slow growth pattern. The story is just the opposite over in Ames, where Iowa State University Admissions Director Marc Harding says enrollment is 26-thousand-380 — down three-point-six percent. He says there was a decline in new freshmen, a slight decline in new transfer students and graduate student enrollment — so the decline was across the board. Harding says there’re a lot of factors that led to the decline. He says they had a record number of students who graduated, they have 48 students on active military duty, and 130 fewer international students enrolled. He says increase restrictions going back to 9-11 have hurt I-S-U’s heavy international student enrollment. Harding says the decrease has a mixed impact on the school.He says there are fewer students vying for classes, but there is also less tuition coming in too, leaving less money for services. At the University of Iowa in Iowa City, the fall enrollment is 29-thousand-745 students — exactly the same as last year. Admissions director Michael Barron says holding steady wasn’t due to any great plan. He says it would be serendipity at best. Barron says it’s not bad to stay the course. He says it’s definitely good news and allows them to meet all the needs of the incoming class. He says they had targeted a new class of about four-thousand, which was a little lower than their targets each of the last two years. Barron says one thing that stands out in the numbers is an increase in Iowa kids attending the school. He says there’s been a small decrease in out-of-state-students and he says the anecdotal evidence suggests the higher costs of education might be the reason for the decline.
Governor declares it preparedness month
Governor Tom Vilsack has signed a declaration making it preparedness month in Iowa, joining in a nationwide push to get citizens to do what they can to prepare for a disaster. Vilsack says the reality is Iowans are far more likely to have to deal with a tornado than a terrorist attack, and the governor says that’s why it’s important to prepare not just for terrorists, but what “Mother Nature may present.” Vilsack says he wants Iowans to focus this month on the role each can play in making the state prepared for whatever emergency may be forthcoming. Vilsack says you can read all sorts of tips on-line, at www.iowahomelandsecurity.com. Vilsack says he hopes Iowans take a look at that website and learn from it. There are suggestions for what to put in a survival kit, as well as suggestions for developing a family communications plan in the event of an emergency that might separate parents from children, or spouse from spouse. Some democrats have charged that National Preparedness Month is a gimmick of the Bush Administration designed to coincide with the Bush campaign’s contention President Bush is better able to lead the war on terror. Vilsack, a backer of Bush opponent John Kerry, says a tornado or the explosion of a meth lab are much more likely to happen in Iowa than an attack from Al Qaeda. Vilsack says that Iowa has to be prepared for all those circumstances, so it makes some sense as the nation stops to remember the victims of September 11th, that folks be given the task of ensuring they’re prepared for natural or man-made disasters.
