Lateefah Simon: “I visited the American University in Beirut long before I was a Member of Congress and was favorably impressed by what…”

“I visited the American University in Beirut long before I was a Member of Congress and was favorably impressed by what they did. The stunning statistic, which I had never read before, that there were 19 American University in Beirut alumni among the founding delegates at the San Francisco U.N. Conference, is dramatic evidence of the good work that they do. The first lesson from the Tom Friedman column is that we should adequately support this fine and important university. But there is another lesson to be drawn. Until the political earthquake of November 8, 1994, I served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on African Affairs. I learned to my chagrin, a little more than a year ago, that only 1 rac{1}{2} ext{ percent of American economic aid to sub-Sahara Africa goes for higher education. In our aid programs we have to meet emergencies--and Africa has more than its share of emergencies--but we also have to be looking long-term, and one of the ways that we help Africa long-term is to see to it that they have leadership in the future. One of the most effective ways to see that they have good leadership in the future is to make an investment in higher education. I hope we reflect on the Tom Friedman column.”