Donald Keough & Margo Ellis, News Editor & Opinion Editor–
On a cloudy afternoon on Oct. 23 on the third floor of Knapp Hall, Former Attorney General Eric Holder and 20 students sat in room 307, talking with each other. After everyone introduced themselves, the students began asking politics-related questions to Holder.
Holder was the first African American to hold the position of US Attorney General and he served from 2009-2015.
Josh Thomas ‘26 asked the first question.
“When it comes to politics and our legislative leaders, a lot of them are older in age,” Thomas said. “What are your thoughts on making change and bringing new voices into the world?”
Holder responded by remarking on how older generations are more often in office. Then he provided his advice.
“Don’t be afraid to raise your hand and push yourself forward,” Holder said. “You know John Kennedy in 1960 talked about the new frontier, a new generation of Americans born in this century from that iconic inaugural address, and it was a generational change. I think that’s what this country needs. Now it’s time for a generational shift.”
The conversation between Holder and the students was on Oct. 23 and lasted an hour.
“You all go to a great school and you wouldn’t be here unless you were unbelievably smart,” Holder said. “You’ve got the capacity for that flexibility. And what I would say is you also have the responsibility of leading.”
Chloe Echols ‘27, a Politics & Public Affairs and Black Studies double major, was also at the event.
“He was careful of his wording, but he wasn’t reserved with his information,” Echols said. “I think he was really excited to answer questions, because he got to get a read of what we were thinking as students, and not only our political minds, but just how we think about the world and how we think about current events.”
Echols also added that Holder was “very present in the conversation,” and also that she thought “he was answering our questions and in the way that he thought would be best.”
This conversation was part of this year’s Lugar Lecture Series in Public Policy. Holder was the keynote speaker, and along with the student discussion in Knapp, Holder shared lunch with other students and spoke in Swasey Chapel during a moderated conversation with the Dr. Andrew Katz, Director of the Lugar Program in Politics & Public Service.
Holder’s career spans decades, from an associate judge of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia to the Attorney General of the United States under the Obama Administration.
As the head of the Department of Justice, Holder saw many influential cases, trials, and issues pass through his office. His influence in these cases was also profound, he helped extend marriage rights for same-sex couples through his refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, and advocated for the closure of Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Today, Holder has returned to practicing corporate litigation privately, and also is helping fight against gerrymandering with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
Katz is also the Politics & Public Affairs department chair and a professor in the Philosophy, Politics & Economics and the Middle East & North African Studies departments.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of doing this to me is being in a classroom, sometimes with as few as a dozen students, where they’re here with this incredibly prominent person who was interacting with presidents and foreign leaders… answering questions,” Katz said.
“The more you’re able to be around people who have succeeded in life, the better off you will be as you started sending that letter after graduation,” Katz said later on. “[Students can say] ‘Oh, yeah, well, I talked to the former Attorney General, and he’s a very impressive person, but puts on his pants the same way as everybody else.’”
The goal of the Lugar Series is to accomplish this goal, by bringing “prominent people in public political life to campus to both give either a speech or an exchange and to interact with the students on a more intimate level,” according to Katz.
The series is funded by donations from the class of ‘54, honoring Senator Richard Lugar ‘54 who served as a senator of Indiana for 36 years. The series has hosted 11 speakers since 2005.
Holder’s visit to Denison falls at an important time of the year, as the presidential election is less than a week away. When asked about polarization in today’s politics, the Former Attorney General expressed his belief that the general public is a lot less polarized than people think.
“In terms of polarization, we always say we’re a really divided nation,” Holder said during his conversation with the students in Knapp. “We know we are in a lot of ways. But you know what? We’re not as divided as everybody says we are. The political class is really divided, but the American people agree on a whole range of issues.”
Later on during this discussion, Holder emphasized the importance of younger generations’ involvement in public service.
“The stakes are so high,” Holder said. “You all at an early age, it seems to me, have embraced these issues in a way that gives me hope that you understood the significance of these issues. And I think that as you all acquire more power, we’re going to end up in good places.”
Even with the coincidence of Holder’s visit with the upcoming election, Katz said Holder’s visit wasn’t chosen to occur because of the election. He said that the timing worked out better this way because it made the most sense logistically for Holder to visit rather than after Thanksgiving during finals season.
“If I meet people outside of Denison, [they ask,] ‘what do you do for a living?’” Katz said. “And I’ve gotten the same response my entire career. ‘Wow, it must be such an interesting time to do that.’ But it’s always an interesting time to do it, [because] it’s what we do.”
Following Holder’s visit, many students felt that his time at Denison was impactful to them.
“I [thought] it was really cool to have a conversation with someone who was so high up and so involved in policy,” Echols said. “We have a very complex and ornate political system and political relation with not only ourselves internally, but exteriorly, internationally [and] globally. So I do think it was really meaningful and really helpful to get advice and to have questions answered by someone so important in our history.”
Looking into the future, Holder remarked on the younger generations’ impact on the future of politics, and the nation.
“You all give me hope,” Holder said. “I’m not just saying [that], I said every place that I go, especially when I’m surrounded by bright young people like you all. You’re the ones who give me hope. At the end of the day, I really do think that your generation is different.”