Pearl lecture aims to inspire
By Bailey West
May 14, 2009 9:29 p.m.
Daniel Pearl sought during his lifetime to foster his mission of cross-cultural understanding throughout the world.
A memorial lecture series was established at UCLA after the journalist was killed while reporting in Pakistan for the Wall Street Journal.
Today, Pearl’s legacy lives on through the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which aims to promote this understanding through journalism, music and innovative communications.
This year CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper will address the UCLA community at the 7th annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture, held this Sunday on campus.
The event, which is sponsored by the Daniel Pearl Foundation, UCLA’s Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations, Hillel Jewish Students Association and the Yitzhak Rabin Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA, will take place at 5 p.m. in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
Cooper was not only chosen on account of his journalistic accomplishments. He also had a personal connection to Daniel Pearl.
Arlene Miller, the associate director for Jewish Student Life in the Hillel Center, said that Judea Pearl, Daniel Pearl’s father and a computer science professor at UCLA, personally invited Cooper to speak.
The journalist told Judea Pearl that he derives daily inspiration from a picture of Daniel Pearl that sits in his office, Miller said.
Judea Pearl said he finds similarities between Cooper and his son, including the fact that both shared an ability to switch quickly between topics and feel comfortable in each one.
“Like Danny, Cooper radiates objectivity and curiosity and manages to unveil the human side of the story,” he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is scheduled to introduce Cooper at the event, an honor that his office said the mayor is proud to support.
“The Mayor feels that this lecture series gives students and every attendee the opportunity to hear from dynamic and innovative journalists who work tirelessly to investigate and report on issues that affect each of us and the world in which we live,” said Casey Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the mayor.
Kal Raustiala, the director of the Burkle Center, said that the sponsors are expecting a large turnout for the anticipated event.
“When we put registration online, we sold out hundreds of seats within 15 minutes,” he said.
However, Raustiala said that there will be a large amount of stand-by seating for students on a first-come, first-served basis.
Alexandra Lieben, deputy director of the Burkle Center, encouraged students to start lining up about an hour before the doors open at 4 p.m. to ensure that they get seating.
Lieben said that because Cooper is such a well-known media figure to the younger generation, this is an important event for students to attend.
“Cooper promotes engagement and physically being there by getting his hands dirty rather than sitting back and doing research on a computer,” she said.
Judea Pearl said that he hopes attendees will come out of the event with a sense of pride, something he says we forget in America.
“We need to be proud of living in this country, our values, our freedoms and democracy. It is due to journalists like Daniel Pearl and Anderson Cooper that we have the freedom to choose what channels we watch. It’s something we forget to appreciate,” he said.
Lieben said that she hopes attendees will leave the event with an understanding of how much international relations reach into their lives on a daily basis.
“I also want attendees to realize that people are not forgotten. Pearl lives on because his works survive the person,” she said.
