2008 McMaster Symposium
Collegiate Global Summit

	Justice Alan Page

	Justice Page speaking in Schomburg Auditorium
	Signing autographs
	President Wood, Justice Page, and Dr. Laurie Worrall

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page spoke to a standing-room-only audience on Thursday evening during the second day of the 2008 McMaster Symposium/Collegiate Global Summit. Justice Page, a star football player at Notre Dame and in the NFL before pursuing a judicial career, talked about the challenges of equal opportunity and equal justice facing people around the world.

"Growing up as a black child in Canton, Ohio," Justice Page recalled, "I remember ... Brown versus the Board of Education and realizing there was real power in the law." He came to believe more deeply in the principle of equal justice under the law.

He went on to emphasize the critical importance of education. "Children are the future, and the future is about hope, and to make the future brighter we must prepare all children. Without preparation, opportunity is an empty promise."

"Each of us and all of us can make a commitment to working with children," by helping them read and think critically and rewarding their accomplishments with the same recognition given to coaches and athletes.
   
To overcome the "intractable problems of race and ethnicity," Justice Page urged, "We must look inward and eliminate our own personal biases, make sure our views of other people are based on the individual and not some perceived idea of an ethnic group. The need for understanding has never been greater."
   
"Everyone here has the ability, the opportunity, and the obligation to make this world a better place and act we must," he said.

Justice Page cited the words of Robert F. Kennedy who spoke out against apartheid in South Africa in 1966, words etched on a memorial at the late Kennedy's grave:
   
"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." 
   
Justice Page concluded, "When we put our hearts, our minds and our bodies to the task, we can begin to ensure justice and make an impact on equality here and around the world."

The symposium/summit wrapped up on Friday with a full schedule of events including a workshop led by Justice Page, presentations by the New Orleans learning community, Jamaica service leadership learning community, the Hench Autism Studies Program, and numerous student presentations. Beginning at 5 p.m. in the Cultural Arts Gallery of Serrick Campus Center, the community was invited to view a one-day exhibit of the artwork of the late Bruce Shingledecker, a Defiance native and Defiance College alumnus. Shingledecker's family presented prints of his work to the College and the Defiance Public Library.

For a complete list of events and activities, go to http://www.defiance.edu/pages/MS_symposium_agenda2008.html

See Also
2008 McMaster Symposium/Collegiate Global Summit (Part I)

	Belize Learning Community

	Kyle Shong

	Anna Baltzer

	Students of History of the Middle East

	New Orleans Learning Community

	Jamaica Service Leader Programs Learning Community