Ceremony honors United Nations

Students and faculty gathered on the academic quad Friday for the third annual celebration of United Nations Day with speeches, singing, and the raising of the UN flag.

Guest speaker Dr. Lawrence S. Finkelstein, who joined the UN during its formative years, said the UN was entering a new phase following the Iraq war. "We might see the emerging of a revitalized spirit to reform the UN," he said.

Finkelstein gave a brief history of the UN and was optimistic about the organization's role in international relations over the past 58 years.

"While people are accustomed to thinking that the UN is no good or hasn't accomplished much, that is not the truth," said Finkelstein. "I'm absolutely certain that the best American foreign policy depends on successful leadership in the UN... Here in this country, we have such a tendency to forget about the outside world and the relationship that the UN has to our own needs and security."

Finkelstein has a long history with the United Nations. He joined as a young professional and attended the San Francisco conference where the UN Charter was adopted. He also took part at the very first session of the UN General Assembly in London.

Finkelstein's address was accompanied by musical performances by the Tufts Trumpet Ensemble, Essence, and the Ambassachords, the Fletcher School's a capella group. Following the Ambassachords performance, ROTC members raised the UN flag. The ceremony concluded with the reading of the 1945 UN Charter.

The ceremony was organized by Fletcher students along with professors Alan Henrikson and Ian Johnstone.

Countries around the world have celebrated the holiday since its conception by declaration of the UN General Assembly in 1947.

Jonas Hagmann, a Fletcher student involved in UN Day's planning, emphasized the event's symbolic importance.

"It's an excellent way to remind ourselves of the attitudes back when the UN was created right after World War II," Hagmann said. "It's important to know how the people felt and why there was a need to have such an organization which caters to international peace."

Fletcher's emerging tradition of celebrating UN Day has been an inspiration to other schools and according to Hagmann it has spread to other universities throughout the US.

"UN Day informs the people of the world about the aims, purposes, and achievements of the UN," said Fletcher student Yanina Golburt. "It honors the UN values of helping to relieve suffering and gain peace."