Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 16, 2001Volume 30, Number 11Two-Week Issue



During his campus visit, Vermont Senator James Jeffords also met informally with students in the classroom.



Confessions of a 'maverick'

In a Tercentennial Lecture titled "One Person Can Make a Difference," Senator James Jeffords of Vermont explained how and why he made his historical decision to switch his party affiliation from Republican to Independent, thus tipping the balance of power in the U.S. Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats.

Jeffords, a 1956 graduate of Yale College, spoke before an overflow crowd on Nov. 9 in Luce Hall.

His break with the party he had been affiliated with his entire political life, Jeffords noted, was partly an expression of his personal nature. "I've been called a moderate, maverick and independent and a few other names I can't mention," Jeffords said.

Jeffords attributed his independent spirit to his being a Vermonter. "Independence has always been the Vermont way," he said of his home state. To corroborate that claim, he cited several historical facts: Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery; Vermont was its own nation from 1781 to 1791; the state declared war on Nazi Germany well before Pearl Harbor; and, more recently, Vermont became the first state to recognize same-sex civil unions.

The Vermont Republican party, Jeffords explained, has always been one of "moderation, tolerance and fiscal responsibility," and it was to a large extent his feeling that moderation in government was endangered that caused him to leave a party that was increasingly leaning to the far right.

Jeffords' commitment to public education was also a major factor in his decision to switch party affiliations, he said, pointing out that Vermont also has a long association with innovation in the field of education. The University of Vermont was the first land-grant college in the country, he noted, and educator John Dewey was from Vermont, as was Senator Bob Stafford, who created the Stafford loan program.

Jeffords' own commitment to education, he recalled, got a boost early in his career when, on his first day in the House of Representatives in 1975, he became a ranking member of the House Select Committee on Education.

Throughout his career in the Senate, he has counted education as one of his greatest areas of interest, along with health care, campaign finance reform and the environment, he said. Jeffords held up a chart that graphically demonstrated that U.S. public school students perform worse in science and math compared to students in other countries as they advance in grade level. This disparity is alarming, Jeffords said, since "today's students will be tomorrow's leaders."

Jeffords has been particularly concerned with the funding for special education programs, which has increasingly burdened states at the expense of financing for overall student achievement. The solution to the problem, he holds, is for the federal government to increase its spending on special education.

Indeed, in hammering out a budget earlier this year, the Senate, with Jeffords taking a lead role, was able to add $450 billion to federal spending on education. From the Senate, the budget bill then went to a House-Senate conference committee, where the entire $450 billion was stripped away. "There were no moderates included as members of the conference committee," Jeffords lamented.

With the extreme right-wing of a party in control of both houses, there could be no moderation, Jeffords realized. He decided to take advantage of an even split in the Senate -- the first since the 1880s-- to change the balance.

At first he was advised against making the change by friends, staff and family. His son even threatened to name his first grandchild "Reagan Nixon," in retaliation. Nonetheless, in time almost everyone in his immediate circle rallied around him, said Jeffords.

Although he did require police protection following his announcement, he reported the decision "brought accolades from across the nation and across the globe." More significant than public support, though, Jeffords said, is that he himself is pleased with the dramatic step he took.

"I have never felt more confident or secure about any decision in my life," he concluded.


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

University launches review of Yale College curriculum

New hires are 'coup' for physics departments

Confessions of a 'maverick'

President Levin's Charge to the Committee on Yale College Education

Arturo Bris named Haas Assistant Professor

Yale School of Management bolsters its senior faculty ranks

Florencio López-de-Silanes, expert in world finances, to head new institute

Tragedy propels media to promote 'us-ness,' says journalist


SCHOOL OF NURSING NEWS

Yale Rep's holiday season offering is farcical tale of 'hucksterism'


IN FOCUS: Yale Center for International & Area Studies

Quarterback Peter Lee honored as an outstanding scholar-athlete

Final Tercentennial Tetelman Fellow to speak at events

'Race and Reunion' wins third annual Douglass Prize

Authentic duplication of Maya murals is laborious task

Emerging Infection Program wins support for study . . .

Ackerman to propose 'New Paradigm for Campaign Finance'

Rescheduled conference to explore ethnic cleansing in America and Europe

Art of the Restoration

Concert to feature 18th-century works and instrument

Playwright Margolin to discuss 'Theater of Desire' at master's tea

A day to remember

Yale faculty members celebrate new books

Yale aids holiday fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House

Yale Books in Brief



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