“They’ll be giving different points of view, but it’s not meant to be a knock-down, drag-out kind of debate,” Josiah Lambert, chair of the political science department, said of the upcoming Congress to Campus event.
The event, to be held Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8, will include debates and speeches given by Bonaventure alumnus Jim Walsh, ’70, and Richard Stallings, two former United States Congressmen.
Jim Walsh, who currently works as a government affairs counselor for K&L Gates law firm in Washington, D.C., served in the U.S. House of Representatives for the current 24th district of New York from 1989 to 2009, according to his professional resume. He also served as deputy Republican whip from 1994 to 2006 and was a member of the House Appropriations Committee from 1993 to 2009.
Richard Stallings, a graduate of Weber State College, served as the Democrat congressmen to the Second Congressional District of Idaho from 1985 to 1993.
According to Lambert, the two men, who are members of the Former Members of Congress Association, are coming to campus through the suggestion of university president Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F.
“It seems to me Jim Walsh mentioned (this opportunity) to Sr. Margaret,” Lambert said. The Walsh family has strong ties to the St. Bonaventure Community, and the Walsh Science Center is named after Walsh’s father.
According to Lambert, Walsh and Stallings will speak at two major events. The first is a forum to be held at the Rigas Family Theater in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at 4 p.m. Monday, March 7. The topic for this forum will be the 2016 presidential election. This forum will be a plenary session for Clare 401 classes.
“They are here in the spirit of bipartisanship, so this is not going to be like a firing line shouting match,” Lambert said.
The second session will run Tuesday, March 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the University Club above the Hickey Dining Hall. During this talk, Walsh will discuss the Northern Ireland Accords.
According to Lambert, Walsh was “a key player in negotiating peace in Northern Ireland” following the rise of the Irish Republican Army and unsettled relations between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and England during the 20th century. Walsh will discuss how the Northern Ireland Accords can help formulate peace in the Middle East now.
Anneliese Quinlan, junior political science major and president of the College Republicans club, said she plans on attending all the events offered.
“I’m really excited for the forum and to hear what they have to say about such interesting issues,” Quinlan said. “I’m a little happy they’re former members of congress instead of sitting ones, so hopefully they’ll offer some new insight. I think a lot of times with sitting congressmen, you only get the party line or what they think voters want to hear.”
Victoria Soler, sophomore political science major and a leader of College Democrats, said she’s also excited for the forum. Students participating in College Democrats do not have official titles yet.
“I hope to gain some insight into how D.C.’s political environment functions, and I want the perspective of someone who played an important role in that,” she said.
Soler also noted she thinks it will be interesting to hear from an alumnus who went into politics.
“I think it’d be cool to listen to a former congressman who is also an alum talk. I think he offers a perspective that’s unlike a lot of alumni like from the business school, etc.,” she said.
Both events are open to the public.
mcelfrdh14@bonaventure.edu
