Holder advocates public service

"The responsibilities of protecting the progress our country has made, and of overcoming the many challenges still before us, now fall on the shoulders of today's leaders, teachers and students. They fall on you," said Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder as he charged students to devote their lives to public service in his address in the Vassar College Chapel on April 22.

Hundreds of students, faculty members, staff, press and local high school students crowded into the Vassar Chapel to hear the Attorney General deliver his lecture entitled "On Public Service and the Common Good." He was introduced by United States District Court Judge Richard Roberts '74, his long-time friend.

"I wondered what he authorized the Justice Department to say about him on the Department of Justice website," Roberts said. "What can I share about what I know about his life's spicy moments?"

"Wall Street drooled over him, but he turned cash aside to serve the public," said Roberts. "Even after he went into private life, he heard about a 17-year-old kid in Louisiana who was wrongfully convicted of rape and offered his [legal] services free of charge."

Holder began his speech by invoking the name of Founder of the College Matthew Vassar. "In creating this place of learning, Matthew Vassar believed that its students would, as he put it, ‘mold the character of [America's] citizens, determine its institutions and shape its destiny.' Many other students and professors who've worked to improve life on, and far beyond, this campus have proven that he was right," said Holder.

"[On Founder's Day] you'll celebrate the extraordinary foresight, generosity and optimism that Matthew Vassar showed in establishing this college."

"But the truth is that the celebration of your founder's legacy and vision has already begun…For many of you, public service is not only a top priority, but also a central part of your daily lives. You serve as mentors at nearby high schools, you teach elementary students about the environment at the Vassar Farm, you clean up the Hudson River and, as part of the Green Haven Program, you tutor inmates at the maximum-security prison in Stormville," he said.

However, Holder told students that, despite these successes, they have to continue to work for the public good even after they graduate. "In whatever profession you decide to pursue, you must always find a way to be a public servant, a servant of the people," he said.

"Because of what you've learned and experienced on this campus, you are now among the most prepared and best equipped to improve the lives of others. With your skills and training, you can work to open the doors of our economic and judicial systems, and help to overcome the obstacles of inequity and injustice," he continued.

Holder reminded students that, despite the progress that the United States has made in achieving justice and equality, it still has a long way to go. "It will take more than the election of the first African American president—and certainly more than the appointment of the first African American attorney general—to fully secure the promise of equality for every American. The quest for social justice continues, and it is up to all of us to contribute," said Holder, "Nothing less than our security, our prosperity and the needs of our most vulnerable citizens hang in the balance."

During the question-and-answer portion, Holder left his scripted speech to answer questions from Vassar students, selected by Roberts. The first issue that he addressed was the legality of the recent health care legislation. "I think that the commerce clause is a firm basis for the defense of the constitutionality of these statues," he said.

Holder also fielded questions on the recent legislation passed by the state of Arizona, which makes it illegal for immigrants to go outside without identification and authorizes the police to confirm the citizenship of random individuals at their discretion. He expects the legislation will come before a federal court before long.

Holder also expressed his desire to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammad in the federal court system and his support for vocational training in prison.
Since his visit to Vassar, Holder has been cracking down on health care fraud, especially on pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.