Kaine visits LU and Moton
Published 11:03 am Tuesday, April 5, 2016
- Before talking to Longwood University students, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who formerly served as governor of Virginia, toured the Robert Russa Moton Museum with local officials. Pictured are, from left, Capt. Andy Ellington, Town Manager Gerald Spates, Mayor David Whitus, Kaine, Commonwealth’s Attorney Megan Clark, and Farmville Town Councilman A.D. “Chuckie” Reid.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine visited Longwood University on Thursday to discuss foreign relations with Dr. William Harbour’s American foreign policy class.
The talk came after Kaine visited the Robert Russa Moton Museum.
Tim Kaine
Harbour, an associate professor of political science at Longwood, said the class was composed of students from a variety of majors, most of whom were political science and history majors.
“Most of these students are juniors and seniors,” he said. In addition, the class topic of the week was terrorism.
“He’s (Kaine) been a big thinker about a lot of issues and particularly about foreign policy,” said Justin Pope, the chief of staff for Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV. “I’m pleased to welcome Sen. Tim Kaine.”
According to his website,
Kaine was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012 as a member of the Democratic Party. Kaine formerly served as governor and lieutenant governor of Virginia.
“Kaine has been a leading voice in calling for a formal debate and vote on an authorization for use of military force against ISIL,” a statement from his office read.
Kaine said the discussion at Longwood was organized when members of his staff reached out to the university.
“I’m working on these thoughts about the Truman Doctrine, and I’m trying it out on two groups of students,” Kaine said of his visit.
Throughout the discussion, he talked about terrorism and national security strategies in relation to the collapse of the Truman Doctrine.
Students at Longwood were the first group to engage in the talk before he visited Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
After Kaine’s presentation, the floor was opened to allow students the opportunity to ask questions concerning foreign policy.
“This group of students, they were very (prepared) and asked me questions that showed a high degree of understanding the issues, but also challenged my thinking in some ways,” Kaine said.
Before stopping at Longwood University, Kaine toured the Moton Museum. “It’s just a lot of powerful history,” Kaine said of his visit to the civil rights museum.
