Decorated war veteran to
talk about patriotism
By Kelsey VanArsdall
Campus
Editor
He was a decorated soldier in the Vietnam War,
a ranking officer in the National Security Council and he testified
about his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair.
Now he's coming to Purdue to speak about patriotism.
The College Republicans are hosting their fifth
annual Gov. Harry G Leslie Day Dinner, and Oliver North will be the
keynote speaker at the event.
Stephen Lovejoy, the College Republican's faculty
advisor, said that when he heard the group wanted to have North come
speak he thought it was pretty ambitious of them.
"They came through though, and I know it took them
quite a bit of work," he said.
The College Republicans have been planning the
event, which will include a reservation-only dinner followed by North's
speech, for more than a year.
They plan to have enough people in attendance at
the dinner to fill the North Ballroom of the Purdue Memorial Union.
His speech will start at 8 p.m. on Thursday in
Loeb Playhouse.
Alex Houston, the president of the college republicans
and a senior in the Schools of Engineering said that although it is
intended that North will talk about patriotism, it is hard to narrow
him down.
"Especially with all the threats of terrorism and
(North's) great love for his country, I'm sure other topics will be
addressed," Houston said.
Following the speech there will be a question and
answer session, and Houston anticipates questions to arise about North's
arguable past with the Iran-Contra Affair.
"He's made a sacrifice for the country that hasn't
won him popularity contests, but I've heard him speak before, and he's
one of my favorites."
He said he hopes both sides — those in support
of North, and those against him — will come to the event.
"No one answers those questions better than the
man himself," said Houston. "I don't think anyone contends that is wasn't
out of loyalty to the country."
The speech will last approximately an hour, with
half an hour scheduled for questions.
Matt Plomin, the club's vice chairman and a senior
in the School of Consumer and Family Sciences, said that community support
was crucial in bringing North to campus.
"It's nice that the event is taking on a sort of
tradition in the
community," said Plomin.
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