The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, October 21, 2005 Page: 8 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER NEWS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21,2005
U.S. embargo on Cuba debated
by Ted Wieber
FOR THE THRESHER
The president of the Cuban
American Alliance, a State Depart-
ment official, a Cato Institute scholar
and the first director of Radio Marti
— the U.S. Government-run station
that broadcasts anti-communist pro-
grams aimed at Cuba—debated U.S.
policy toward Cuba at a Baker Institute
panel Oct. 12. The panelists largely
agreed on the repressiveness of the
Castro regime but differed on how
aggressively the U.S. should pursue
change in Cuba.
The Baker Institute Student
Forum arranged the panel, entitled
"Cuba and the United States in the
21st century." History Professor Ed
Cox moderated the debate.
' You don't know what
it's like to live in a
country where every
neighbor spies on every
neighbor.'
— Ernesto Betancourt
Former adviser to Fidel Castro
Most of the debate centered on
the idea of removing the United
States' economic and travel embargo
against Cuba.
Daniel Griswold, director of the
Cato Institute's Center for Trade
Policy Studies, argued the United
States should immediately lift the
economic and travel embargoes on
Cuba. He said the embargoes are
obsolete, ineffective and allow Castro
to blame the U.S. for poor economic
conditions in Cuba.
"How many more decades does
the U.S. government need to bang its
head against a wall before we give up
a failed policy?" Griswold asked.
Griswold emphasized the oppres-
sive nature of Castro's regime.
"Castro's government is a tyranny
by any definition," Griswold said. "It
allows no free elections or even orga-
nized opposition. It jails, tortures and
kills political opponents. It has taken
what was one of the more prosperous
countries in Latin America and made
it one of the poorest."
Caleb McCarry, the State Depart-
ment's Cuba transition coordinator
also emphasized the tyranny of the
Castro regime.
"The dictatorship is dedicated
to exerting total control over every
aspect of Cuban life," he said.
McCarry said Cubans are anxious
for a change in power.
"Despite the dictatorship's repres-
sion, there is a growing and increas-
ingly vibrant independent civil society
across [Cuba]," McCarry said. "This
is a concrete manifestation of the
aspiration of the Cuban people to live
in freedom."
Delvis Fernandez Levy, president
of the Cuban American Alliance edu-
cation fund, said President George W.
Bush's policy toward Cuba is flawed
and needs to be improved to better
serve Cuban-Americans living in the
United States.
Cuban-American and Radio Marti
Director Ernesto Betancourt, whose
first trip to Houston was as a part of
Castro's entourage in 1959, served
as Castro's representative to Wash-
ington for two years. He discussed
Castro's methods of governing.
"Castro is a micromanager of
everything," Betancourt said.
Betancourt also spoke about living
in Cuba.
"You don't know what it's like to
live in acountry where every neighbor
spies on every neighbor," he said.
Betancourt said he supports lifting
the embargo only if Cubans are given
political and economic freedom.
'Despite the
dictatorship's repression,
there is a growing and
increasingly vibrant
independent civil society
across [Cuba].'
— Caleb McCarry
Cuba transistion coordinator,
State Department
After the panelists spoke for about
20 minutes each, they answered ques-
tions from the audience for about
30 minutes. One audience member
asked how the United States would
respond to a forceful, Cuban-led push
for regime change.
McCarry said the United States
would help Cuba in such circum-
stances.
"The [United States] will provide
assistance to a genuine transitional
government," he said.
Griswold answered an audience
member who asked if the U.S. embar-
go has caused Cuba's difficulties.
"90 percent of the reason for the
poor state of Cuba is Castro's poli-
cies," Griswold said.
Few Rice students attended the
event, but many faculty and communi-
ty members filled out the audience.
Martel College senior Meg Rua
said she enjoyed the event.
"As a Cuban-American student, it
was interesting to hear about Cuban
policy from a non-familial point of
view," Rua said.
ADVANCE presents
CULTURt QUtST w
Houston-wide SCAVENGER HUNT!!!
1 car. 1 maiL and a mission! „
%
H
SATURDAY, Nov, 5th, 12-6 PM
Register now at http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~advance!!!
Sign up fee: 8/person, Registration ends Nov. 4th!
y.
mhairdekmezian/thresher
Paint and dumplings
Baker College senior Kayshln Chan (left) and Brown College sophomore
Tyler Barth attend a Taiwanese Day celebration Saturday.
NOD to have nature theme
by Lauren Murphy
FOR THE THRESHER
Students will be welcomed to the
jungle at the Night of Decadence
party this year.
This year's theme is "NODdy by
Nature: A Walk on the Wild Side,"
and the event will take place in the
Wiess College Acabowl Oct. 29 from
10 p.m.-2 a.m.
Tickets cost $8 in advance and
$10 at the door. Tickets will be on
sale Monday through Friday.
Wiess social Elizabeth Peng said
the college's commons will have a
jungle theme. Decorations, provided
by Texas Entertainment, will include
a Tiki bar and a canopy of vines and
grass nets. Texas Entertainment will
also produce a laser light show and
provide DJs for the party.
Karina Radulescu, also a Wiess
social, said she hopes students will
be impressed.
"We want everyone to be blown
away when they walk in," Radulescu
said.
Feng and Radulescu, both sopho-
mores, held NOD planning meetings
and put up posters on which students
could offer their own suggestions.
The party is usually planned at Wiess'
annual summit in Galveston, but this
year's meeting for cabinet members
was postponed.
About 100 student security vol-
unteers will be positioned around
campus, and many Rice University
Police Department officers will also
be at the party, NOD Security Direc-
tor Frank Arnold said.
Students will be prohibited from
walking around campus with open
alcohol containers, as they have been
able to do in the j»st, Arnold, a Wiess
sophomore, said. Alcohol consumption
will be restricted to private parties and
inside the Acabowl. Arnold said.
Due to a policy change instituted
last year, anyone who plans to con-
sume alcohol, including those with a
Texas driver's license, must have a
liquor sticker from RUPD.
Non-Rice NOD attendees must be
accompanied by a Rice student.
Will Rice College junior Achala
Talati said the theme allows creative
costume ideas.
"[NOD's] cool because it's fun to
dress up,"Talati said. "There are lots
of possibilities."
—_—t _
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Obermeyer, Amber. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, October 21, 2005, newspaper, October 21, 2005; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443146/m1/8/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.