There was an aura of excitement in Laurie Auditorium last evening as an estimated 2,500 people attended David Cameron’s lecture. Cameron served as the prime minister to the United Kingdom from 2010 until his resignation in 2016.
The primary message of Cameron’s talk of about 45 minutes was optimism. “The theme for tonight is: ‘Where do we go from here?' And to answer that, we must ask ourselves: 'How did we get here'?,” he said at the beginning of his speech. The rest of his speech delivered a rather bright outlook on the future of the United States and Great Britain, a future largely dependent on a better understanding of the current unease of globalization and what lies ahead.
The lecture was sold out. Many people arrived more than two hours before the lecture and formed a line outside the auditorium. Trinity University President Danny Anderson gave the opening remarks and played an enthusiastic introduction video reminiscent of a rock musician’s entrance.
Jeff Sullivan, 22, a political science major at Trinity, had participated in a student meeting with Cameron earlier in the day. “There were a lot of similar correlations to the lecture," he said, "He talked more in-depth about international relations with Russia and the changes occurring in the European Union.”
Changes throughout Europe were a common theme during his speech, as Cameron named “Islamic extremists” the biggest threat to Western society. Such sentiments, however, were met with criticism from some members of the audience.
Hanna Niner, 22, a political science and sociology double major, found Cameron’s repeated use of the terms “extremists” and “moderate Muslims” problematic, in the sense that “what he defined as ‘extremists’ aren’t Muslims, but are murderers who exploit a peaceful religion for political, social, and economic gains,” she said. She also noted that “it was really interesting that Islam seemed to be a reoccurring point throughout the night.”
During the Q&A, audience members asked Cameron questions ranging from the future of Scotland and Britain, to ideas of prohibiting refugee immigration, all the way to an attempt of getting Cameron to enter a British dancing competition.
Cameron answered the questions with well-spoken rhetoric. His answers stressed the point that in order to understand where Britain or the United States is going, people must have a thorough understanding of the events that have brought the countries where they are.
Jeff Sullivan, 22, a political science major at Trinity, had participated in a student meeting with Cameron earlier in the day. “There were a lot of similar correlations to the lecture," he said, "He talked more in-depth about international relations with Russia and the changes occurring in the European Union.”
Changes throughout Europe were a common theme during his speech, as Cameron named “Islamic extremists” the biggest threat to Western society. Such sentiments, however, were met with criticism from some members of the audience.
Hanna Niner, 22, a political science and sociology double major, found Cameron’s repeated use of the terms “extremists” and “moderate Muslims” problematic, in the sense that “what he defined as ‘extremists’ aren’t Muslims, but are murderers who exploit a peaceful religion for political, social, and economic gains,” she said. She also noted that “it was really interesting that Islam seemed to be a reoccurring point throughout the night.”
During the Q&A, audience members asked Cameron questions ranging from the future of Scotland and Britain, to ideas of prohibiting refugee immigration, all the way to an attempt of getting Cameron to enter a British dancing competition.
Cameron answered the questions with well-spoken rhetoric. His answers stressed the point that in order to understand where Britain or the United States is going, people must have a thorough understanding of the events that have brought the countries where they are.
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