An estimated 1,500 people gathered at 1 a.m. to screen the documentary "A Passing of the Torch," and guest speakers took the stage at 2 a.m., including Director of the Peace Corps Aaron Williams, along with Alan Guskin, a student leader of the Peace Corps from 1960, addressed students from the very same spot in which Kennedy addressed 5,000 in 1960. At Hatcher Library on Oct. 15, Guskin, along with Jody Olsen, former Deputy Director of the Peace Corps and Stanley Meisler, former Peace Corps staff member and author of "When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years," spoke to a crowd in a panel titled History of the Peace Corps: From the Michigan Union Steps to the Present. "I want to say that yesterday morning at 1 a.m. I was out there on the steps of the Michigan Union," Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Deputy Director of the Peace Corps said. "Was that not the most incredible moving experience you've ever had? "I knew about Kennedy's historic speech on the steps of the Student Union but until last night…I actually had no idea of the profound impact of a few students on the founding of the Peace Corps, and I am fairly certain that if it weren't for the actions of these few – like Alan and Judy Guskin…among others – that Peace Corps would have perhaps remained a great idea thrown out on the campaign trail and not [have] amounted to anything more than that, at least not for a while."
University of Michigan commemorates fiftieth anniversary of Peace Corps
ANN ARBOR: University of Michigan commemorates fiftieth anniversary of Peace Corps (with video)
Published: Saturday, October 16, 2010
By Jodie Mason, A2 Journal
Caption: Peace Corps Medallion. This medallion is on the front steps of the Michigan Union. Photo: Dan Bruell Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic
On Oct. 14, 1960, then-Senator John F. Kennedy stood on the steps of the Michigan Union and proposed the idea which became the Peace Corps.
"How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers: how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete," Kennedy said in the historic speech which would lead to the eventual creation of the Peace Corps.
Fifty years later, the Peace Corps is still thriving - sending roughly 200,000 students, 2,200 from U-M, off to serve the world and their country-and in honor of their contribution, the University of Michigan is hosting exhibits and symposiums to commemorate the occasion.
Starting on Oct. 1 and continuing through November, various exhibits and discussion boards have taken place on campus, beginning with photo exhibits and a screening of the documentary "A Passing of the Torch," a film that exposed the campaign for the Peace Corps, the students who helped make it possible and the political contribution by Kennedy.
An estimated 1,500 people gathered at 1 a.m. to screen the documentary "A Passing of the Torch," and guest speakers took the stage at 2 a.m., including Director of the Peace Corps Aaron Williams, along with Alan Guskin, a student leader of the Peace Corps from 1960, addressed students from the very same spot in which Kennedy addressed 5,000 in 1960.
At Hatcher Library on Oct. 15, Guskin, along with Jody Olsen, former Deputy Director of the Peace Corps and Stanley Meisler, former Peace Corps staff member and author of "When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years," spoke to a crowd in a panel titled History of the Peace Corps: From the Michigan Union Steps to the Present.
"I want to say that yesterday morning at 1 a.m. I was out there on the steps of the Michigan Union," Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Deputy Director of the Peace Corps said. "Was that not the most incredible moving experience you've ever had?
"I knew about Kennedy's historic speech on the steps of the Student Union but until last night…I actually had no idea of the profound impact of a few students on the founding of the Peace Corps, and I am fairly certain that if it weren't for the actions of these few – like Alan and Judy Guskin…among others – that Peace Corps would have perhaps remained a great idea thrown out on the campaign trail and not [have] amounted to anything more than that, at least not for a while."
Guskin, who also spoke at the Michigan Union event, was present on the panel discussing the history of the Peace Corps, including events that led to the creation and his thoughts on how the organization came to be.
"Joining the Peace Corps was kind of interesting because there was part of the story that we don't tell very often…There was a time in the spring of 1961 when I resigned from the Americans Committed to World Responsibility because of the Bay of Pigs. And so it was interesting how my life was consumed from October until April with the forming of the Peace Corps by Kennedy and talking on the campuses in Michigan and going to Washington, all that kind of stuff," Guskin said.
He went on to explain that it was through a series of coincidences that he came able to work for the Peace Corps, as it was offered to him to work in the office by a mentor, and since he was not working that summer, he decided to take it.
"I went to Washington to work in the selection division," he said. "That re-energized my interest in the Peace Corps, and sort of said ‘OK, life is always a bunch of contradictions [due to his just leaving the previous organization], especially when you're working on any governmental program.' So I went to Thailand.
"You have to be honest and truthful about the state of affairs in this country. If you try to be little ambassadors, you'll fail, Guskin said. "You have to tell the truth, and the truth will be better than anything anybody expects."
Events and exhibits honoring the creation of the Peace Corps and those who have served will continue through November.
The Hatcher Graduate Library will be hosting an exhibit called U-M and the Peace Corps: It All Started Here from Oct. 1 through Nov. 1. The exhibit exposes the role of University of Michigan students in the creation of the Peace Corps as well as highlighting historic events.
A U-M Alumni/Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Exhibition will be on display at Slusser Gallery in the Art & Architecture Building until Nov. 12, and a film series "International Development Issues – Four Countries will be screened at the North Quad Dining Hall at 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, 9 and 16.
Visit peacecorps.umich.edu for more information, history and upcoming events.
