Home > News > Minn. Congresswoman spoke at UMD
Minn. Congresswoman spoke at UMD
BY DAYNA D. LANDGREBE
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/28
TYLER SWEENEY / STATESMAN
Congresswoman Betty McCollum spoke on
Monday about her career as an advocate for
civil rights, education and health care.
On Monday, UMD hosted fourth term elected Congresswoman Betty McCollum to speak as a part of the Ben and Jeanne Overman Distinguished Speaker Series about her public career as an advocate for education, health care and civil rights. McCollum represents her hometown of St. Paul and Minnesota’s fourth district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
McCollum was asked to speak at UMD based on her outstanding record of political contributions to international aid, as well as children’s, women’s and human rights. In her speech, McCollum addressed the importance of living in a world where we can help people right now. “Peace, human dignity and a commitment to ending needless human suffering; these principles should be reflected in our country’s foreign policy,” said McCollum.
She stressed that these values should build the kind of world we want our children to live in. In a room of professors, citizens, advocates and a few students, McCollum said that the U.S. doesn’t need to be a superpower but a super-partner in the world game.
She addressed the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set in 2000 by the United Nations to be achieved by 2015 and stressed that there is much more work to be done. “The United States has the ability, the resources and the moral obligation to work in a partnership with other wealthy nations and make the investments needed to achieve these MDGs,” said McCollum.
As a world traveler, McCollum has seen Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan, some of the most difficult and war-torn countries. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet kings and queens, but the experiences that have left the biggest mark on me are the faces, words and courage of the people I’ve met in the poorest corners of the globe,” said McCollum. “What I’ve come to realize is that their future and fate is in part of my hands and yours.”
Following her speech, McCollum answered questions, some heated, from audience members, including about what the U.S. needed to address right here at home as well as abroad. She answered, “Yes, we have poverty and needs here in the U.S. We need to invest in our children and families at home, but within our resources we have, we can do so much more for our own citizens and those in profound need beyond our borders.”
In giving back to other countries as well as our own, McCollum also acknowledged the Overman series, which exemplified the idea of helping others through giving back. The series, through which McCollum spoke, hosts a speaker every other year that keeps the mission of bringing leaders who show strong achievement through learning, hard work and giving back to the community.
“It’s [the series] really about giving back. The Overmans spent a lifetime giving back to their community,” said the Linda Krug, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
