Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, former U. S. Secretary of State for the Clinton administration, spoke Jan. 27 in Dunham Theater.
The lecture, originally scheduled for Sept. 11 of last year, but postponed due to the impending threat of Hurricane Ike, was part of the Holocaust Museum Houston's Lester and Sue Smith Lecture Series.
The night began with the University of Houston Color Guard presenting the national colors and a performance of the national anthem by alumna Rebeca Pineda, BA '08.
Albright focused on the past, present and future of foreign policy stressing the need for peace and genocide prevention. She said preventing genocide is less of a matter of ability and more a matter of character.
"When hate is allowed to fester, people can act with incredible cruelty," she said.
In her speech she mentioned how the 20th century is the bloodiest century in humanity, especailly with the current situations in Darfur and the Congo.
Albright also discussed the importance of how powerful ideas are in the world today.
"Ideas can be more powerful than any economic trend. Even the deadliest weapon is only a piece of machinery until placed in war," she said.
Immediately following her lecture the students from the Honors College had a round table led by Dr. Paul Bonicelli, provost. Freshman Maddee Schraeder, president of the Honors College Congress, said she enjoyed the event.
"It was great to see an excellent speaker and she talked about was appropriate for the current times," she said.
Reporting by Noelle Marchand
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