University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Barnes asks government help to keep the theatre alive. Buckley describes modern capitalists as bumbling merchants fleeing to governmental security. 1 Through dramatic readings, science and imagination, Star Trek ' s William Shatner traces the course of man ' s progress toward the stars. Distinguished Lecture Series 83

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CT ISSUES Distinguished Lecture Series Dr. Michael DeBakey, president of Baylor College of Medicine, describes current research in heart disease. The Distinguished Lecture Series, sponsored by the Texas Union Ideas and Issues Committee presented an impressive array of eminent experts. The series included Pulitzer Prize winner Alex Haley and John F. Kennedy assassination expert Mark Lane. The prosecuting attorney of the Charles Manson trial and co-author of Helter Skelter Vincent Bugliosi also graced the campus. Giving insight into the arts were New York Times dance and drama critic Clive Barnes and actor William Shatnerof Star Trek fame. Political and social views were offered and analyzed by Timothy Leary, prophet of the 1960 ' s generations, consumer advocate Ralph Nader and conservative col- umnist and host of Firing Line William F. Buckley. Dr. Michael DeBakey, world-renowned heart specialist, discussed heart disease. Shatner, who displayed the powerful personality which gave Captain Kirk and Star Trek an avid cult following, packed Hogg Auditorium on a rainy Thurs- day night. Explaining his approach to the role he said, I felt that I acted like I would have if I really was Cap- tain Kirk. In effect I was Captain Kirk. Injecting a medical note into the Distinguished Lec- ture Series, DeBakey has been unsurpassed in his achievements in cardiovascular disease. DeBakey was instrumental in the development of the artificial heart and has authored over 850 articles and books on medi- cine and health. Nader, America ' s toughest customer, accused America ' s educational system of framing youth into the established order. Through television, vending machines and the junk food industry, he claimed cor- porate America has consumers in its conglomerate grip. Buckley called for an alert class of truth watchers and proposed a balance in the freedom of expression and hard line criticism which he felt was lacking in America. The freedom to deceive is overindulged. Politicians, the most blatant abusers, would not get away with it except that it is allowed. 82 Distinguished Lecture Series

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60s Programs Probed The domestic policies of two presi- dential administrations underwent analysis in a symposium entitled Toward New Human Rights: The Social Policies of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. Attempting to determine which programs were viable during the New Frontier and Great Society years, keynote speak- ers Vernon E. Jordan Jr. and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. expressed feelings of doubt and anger at the present social programs. After proposing a new Bill of Rights for all persons, Jordan pro- claimed to the 900 present, It is time, long overdue, that our society build on the basis of the past 40 years for better social and human rights. Specialists in fields of economics, health programs, education and hous- ing focused on Kennedy ' s and John- son ' s efforts and their successes and failures in these areas. James Tobin, economics professor at Yale Univer- sity and former member of Kennedy ' s economic advisors said, The failure of the Kennedy and Johnson adminis- trations war on poverty could be attrib- uted to the Vietnam War . . . Lyndon Baines Johnson bravely fought to keep his Great Society programs from being sacrified for military spending. William Cohen, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and one of the two men who developed the Medicare and Medicaid programs, advocated changes in those programs in The Right to Health and Medical Care. Roger Wilkins, member of the New York Times editorial board, criti- 84 Human Rights Symposium