The Yale United Way 2001 Campaign was officially launched on Oct. 3 in Luce Hall with a talk by alumnus Dr. Benjamin Carson, who urged his listeners to "Do what's good for society at large" and "Find ways to encourage people, to uplift people, to support programs that are already in place. That's why this campaign is so important."
Campaign coordinator Laura Freebairn-Smith, director of the Organizational Development and Learning Center, announced that the University's fund-raising goal for this year is $500,000 -- a substantial increase over last year's total of $350,000.
Robert Culver, vice president for finance and administration, introduced the keynote speaker with personal reflections, noting that his own family had grown up in poverty and benefited from the generosity of others.
Carson, who graduated from Yale College in 1973, is a pediatric neurosurgeon and professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He chose his career because medicine gives him opportunities to "make an enormous difference in people's lives," he said. "That's even better than money. Money's good, but that's better." His autobiography, "Gifted Hands," traces how he overcame poverty and other disadvantages to succeed at Yale, where he majored in psychology, and to go on to medical school at the University of Michigan.
Carson spoke of his mother, who, despite her limited education (third grade) and large family (23 siblings), managed to inspire her own children to excel. Growing up in Detroit and Boston, he saw "so many people around us who would go to bed hungry, whose kids only had one set of clothes. We experienced dire, dire poverty. ... There was never enough money for anything ... And yet, I do remember kindness on many occasions when I was young."
He recalled having low expectations, being called "dummy" and thinking that he couldn't learn, until he discovered the joys of reading and found he could easily absorb information from books.
One of Carson's most eloquent themes was the tragic situation of young black men, more of whom are in prison than in college. He called prison construction a "major growth industry in America today" and said young black males could be called "an endangered species" because of their astronomical homicide rates.
Maintaining a prisoner in the state penitentiary costs $40,000 a year, he argued -- "That's more than it costs to go to Yale! That's what we have to pay to keep them in prison, and yet nobody wants to pay the $5, $10 or $15,000 that would keep them out of jail for things that would make a difference in their lives. You think about it: Every one of those young people that we keep off that path of self destruction is one less person that we have to pay for in the penal system or the welfare system, one less person that we have to be afraid of, one less person that we have to protect our families from, one more productive tax-paying member of society--maybe somebody who's going to discover the cure for AIDS or cancer. Think about it."
To reverse the downward spiral, Carson recommended providing strong role models for young people, instilling pride and high expectations, teaching moral values and letting them know about the important contributions their ancestors made to society. Using African Americans as his example, he cited the inventors of the automatic shoe last, street sweeping machine, the refrigerated truck, traffic signal, gas mask and many more. "I could take the same walk down the street for virtually any ethnic group, any background, and I could point out tremendous contributions they have made. That's why the United States of America got to a pinnacle faster than any other country in history -- because we have so many people with so much talent."
Carson gives talks to young people around the country, urging them to develop their talents, believe in themselves and work hard to achieve success. In addition to inspiration speaking, Carson and his wife, Candy, (Yale Class of 1975) have established the USA Scholars Fund, a national program that makes annual $1,000 scholarship awards to students who excel in academics and are outstanding role models. (See carsonscholars.org for more information.) The neurosurgeon is a member of the Yale Corporation, and his son, Murray, is a freshman in Yale College.
-- By Gila Reinstein
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