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Students party in D.C. with ISI
By Jon Gibbons
Collegian Freelancer
Senior Betsy
Foster and junior Mary Rinaldi attended the Intercollegiate
Studies Institute's 50th anniversary gala last Thursday in Washington,
D.C.
The institute, founded in 1953 by William F. Buckley and Frank
Chodorov, is a non-profit organization "whose purpose is
to convey to successive generations of college youth a better
understanding of the values and institutions that sustain a
free society," according to the ISI Web site.
The festivities began with an
address by both the president of ISI and President George W.
Bush.
"When the actual program
began, the president of ISI, who was the emcee for the evening,
introduced a short video of the president…who couldn't
be there in person," Rinaldi said.
The dinner included speeches by
Buckley and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
"It was an amazing experience,
they've been planning it for the past two and a half years;
they rented out the National Building Museum," Foster said.
"It was really neat to hear [Scalia and Buckley] speak
firsthand."
The gala also honored Buckley's
involvement with the organization.
"The evening ended with a
speech by William F. Buckley who was [ISI's] first president,
and who received a lifetime achievement award," Rinaldi
said.
The students were selected to
be two of the 50 student volunteers at the gala.
"For the 50th anniversary
they wanted 50 students to come and be volunteers-students they've
had involved over the years," Foster said.
In addition to celebrating its
anniversary, ISI is also using its 50th anniversary to rally
support for a new capital campaign.
"ISI also views the 50th
anniversary as an opportunity to kick off a new $54 million
campaign, the featured project of which is the creation of a
national center for the study of civic literacy," Rinaldi
said.
David Whalen, associate professor
of English, also attended the event.
"It was a gala event; it
was an important celebration, in that it is kicking off a substantial
capital campaign, but also to toot their horn a little and thank
those who have been involved over the years," Whalen said.
Rinaldi and Foster did have some
time off.
"We were there to volunteer,
but it wasn't a lot of work and pressure," Rinaldi said.
"In addition to the volunteer
aspect it was a great chance to make friends and enjoy meeting
people," Foster said.
The students hope to continue
their involvement with the institute.
"I hope to bring an ISI lecturer
series here to Hillsdale and hope to remain involved with ISI
for the rest of my life," Rinaldi said.
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Photo courtesy of Mary Rinaldi
Hillsdale junior Mary
Rinaldi (L) and ISI fellow Mary Kate Ascik were given books
by the intitute. Rinaldi and Foster were two of 50 students
chosen to celebrate ISI.
Foster
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