2008 Woodie Awards
Former U.S. Prosecutor Visits Campus
Nate Taylor/Muleskinner
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: News
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"He made excellent points in his presentation, and I liked hearing the experiences he had in working in the government," said Katie New, student government member.
In his speech, Graves talked about his college years and getting involved in student government. He told students that getting ahead and being part of government takes hard work and learning from others in government.
Graves was a U.S. prosecutor for five years. For those students who want to be lawyers, Graves told students to watch trials, avoid living near other lawyers and have your own prosecuting or defense style.
"Mr. Graves' speech was very good, and I think it helped out our students who are going into government," said Shari Bax, associate professor of political science.
Following the speech there was a question and answer session. Some of the topics discussed with students were drug abuse, the Patriot Act, the death penalty, rights of local communities, the No Child Left Behind Act and democracy today.
"This was a great group of students," Graves said. "They asked challenging questions and were a very engaged group of students."
Graves is now in a private practice with the firm Graves, Bartle and Marcus LLC. During his service as U.S. attorney, he was responsible for prosecuting federal crimes, including money laundering, child pornography and narcotics trafficking.
Also in his term, Graves helped felony filings double from 500 cases per year to 1,000. He told students that stopping violence is the major key in making America better. Graves said to stop crime, we need to have good supporting families and communities to help people avoid making major mistakes.
"I was really impressed with Mr. Graves because of how honest he was and how he answered students' questions," New said.
Graves was visiting the campus as part of the University's participation in the American Democracy Project, a cooperative of the American Association of State Colleges that coordinates a series of local and national events for universities.
The goal of the project is to increase the numbers of undergraduate students who understand and are willing to engage in meaningful civic actions by asking participating institutions to review and restructure academic programs and processes.
The project involves 183 schools, including CMSU.
"The Democracy Project is trying to get students involved with more in local and community government as much as they are in national government," New said.
Graves encouraged CMSU students to get involved in government in some way while in college.
"The biggest thing I try to tell the students is that there are a lot of issues in our government that need to be debated," Graves said. "We just need our youth to get involved."
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