Charismatic and Personable

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Positive response to Anderson Cooper

Patrick Harris
Issue date: 4/30/10 Section: College Life

On Thursday April 22, Anderson Cooper addressed SUNY Potsdam students via live telecast. Cooper spoke briefly about his work in Haiti after the recent devastation, then took several questions from a panel of students lead by President Schwaller.

Before the telecast began, the audience was treated to a brief introduction of Cooper's work in Haiti, including lengthy footage of his conversations with survivors and the incident in which he pulled a bleeding child out of a riot situation.

Cooper himself seemed charismatic and personable. His discussion of the events in Haiti was stirring yet matter-of-fact, and he presented his own actions as merely those demanded by his occupation. He described the riot scene at some length without any mention of his own heroism.

Cooper's answers to student questions were well-constructed and informative. His knowledge of the panelists showed familiarity with their biographies; though he seemed at one point to refer quickly to a document off-camera, there is no question that his preparation for the appearance included familiarizing himself with the students with whom he would be speaking.

Questions ranged from Cooper's thoughts on the events in Haiti to guidelines on how students here in Potsdam could best help victims of this and other disasters. After the panelists were finished, a Haitian student from SUNY Canton was invited on stage. Cooper again impressed by taking a sincere interest in the well being of her family before addressing her question; at no time did he seem at all uncomfortable with the deviation from the event's plan.

The question-and-answer panel for this event was assembled based on recommendations from faculty and staff, representing a broad cross-section of SUNY Potsdam's students and departments. Students on the panel included Vita Ayala, Brian Butts, Victor DeJesus, Danielle McMullen, Danny Smith and Sal Sarmiento. The panel included members of the student government as well as students who have witnessed the situation in Haiti, traveled to the Dominican Republic for construction projects and fundraised for the ongoing Ethiopia school project.

Cooper, who anchors Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN, is known for his willingness to travel to scenes of violence and tragedy without hesitation. According to his biography, Cooper has reported from Afghanistan and Iraq, the ongoing violence in Mexico, the bombings in London and the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. Cooper and his program have won several journalism awards and multiple Emmys.

On the whole, Cooper's appearance was very enjoyable. Students who were unable to attend surely missed out.

The event at SUNY Potsdam was made possible by class of '84 alumna Kathleen Friery, executive producer for Anderson Cooper 360°. Friery will also be appearing at SUNY Potsdam this year as commencement speaker; we hope to profile her in a future issue of The Racquette.