Local Event Focuses On Ethics In Leadership And Human Rights
ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- The St. Cloud State University Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education will have a nationally accredited keynote speaker in town next month.
David Frey is a professor of history and the founder of the Resnick Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He's also testified before the Senate, appeared on 60 Minutes, and advised government agencies on mass atrocities, human rights, and more.
He'll be talking about why people entrusted with using deadly force should study the Holocaust and genocides.
SCSU's Emil Towner says they've invited local police, national guard members, and criminal justice students to attend.
They know they are entrusted with power and responsibility every day, and we believe that they deserve the same training and ethical case studies that leaders at West Point deserve. But, this isn't just an event for historians, or Holocaust experts, or public safety officers. It really is an event for anybody in our community who cares about leadership, and responsbility, and the kind of community we want to be.
Towner says that while this event has been in the works for about a year and a half, it is a timely topic.
The bottom line is we are looking at events of the past, the Holocaust and the Rwanda genocide, and it may seem like they are in the past, but hatred, bias, anti-semitism, racism, and dehumanization haven't disappeared; they have just changed shape. So, studying those events helps us recognize those dangers.
The event is on Wednesday, February 11th, at 5:30 p.m. at the Atwood Memorial Center at SCSU. This speech has been in the planning stages for the past year and a half.
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