The Thought Behind the JFK, Jr. Forum

This article is the third installment of an HPR series exploring President Kennedy’s legacy as we reflect on the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
JFK’s legacy is carried forward every day just down the street (that bears his name) from Harvard Yard. At the John F. Kennedy School of Government, one cannot turn around without seeing the late leader’s likeness peering down from a wall.
I enjoy walking around the Kennedy School, simply stumbling upon tributes to President Kennedy that I imagine to be previously undiscovered. I like stopping for a minute at the entrance to the park lying adjacent to the School, taking time to soak up his words, there inscribed in granite: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
The Legacy
What is John F. Kennedy’s legacy? Consistently, the 35th President of these United States of America is associated with what I think are some of the most positive words and phrases in our culture. Idealism. Eloquence. Public Service.
Certainly the last of these rings especially true throughout the Kennedy School. Countless dedicated public servants have transitioned from the halls of 79 JFK Street into the halls of government buildings around the world. The resounding quotation above serves as the school’s vision.
Holding a vision parallel to that of the Kennedy School’s is the Institute of Politics, which shares a building with the Kennedy School of Government. The IOP truly carries forward JFK’s legacy through its 13 undergraduate programs. These programs provide everything from lessons of civics in Boston classrooms to platforms for debate, to room for undergraduates to publish the HPR. One only has to walk through the halls of the IOP to gain perspective on the organization’s commitment to excellence through service.
The Forum
Perhaps the most visible part of the IOP is the John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. Forum, named for the late son of President Kennedy. The Forum provides a stage for some of the world’s most powerful and most high profile figures to discuss issues relevant to their experiences. “One thing that has stuck with me, is when I was told [as a prospective freshman] that when presidents of other countries come to Harvard, they first will go meet with Drew Faust down at her office, and then they come speak at the Forum,” Forum student chairman Jacob Morello recently recounted to me.
One would be hard pressed to question the Forum’s role in advancing JFK’s legacy, as Morello describes: “We’re not here just because of our love for politics. Our purpose is something greater—it is inspiring tomorrow’s leaders here on Harvard’s campus to pursue careers in public service.” And it does. Morello described how numerous students have come up to him following Forum events in just the last couple of weeks, with a newfound passion for serving the greater good.
But beyond being a well-constructed space for Harvard students to listen to famous speakers, I believe that the Forum plays an understated role, beyond Harvard’s gates. Peter Wu, a student usher at the Forum, considers the Forum hall “off campus.” Although he points to it as an escape from the structured academia of regular class, another usher identifies something else as the driving factor that makes the Forum greater than Harvard.
“You’d be surprised at how many of our Forums are populated by people who just live in Cambridge,” surmises Olivia Campbell. “For the most part, [our audience is] just community members who take advantage of all the amazing speakers that the IOP is able to bring to the Forum.”
And that is what it is all about. Service beyond the gated community named Harvard. The Forum provides an intellectual setting for speakers to inform the student body, yes. But it also provides a welcoming chance for all Cantabrigians to engage—something JFK would be thrilled to see.
The Thought
As I sat in a recent Forum, listening to former Senator Alan Simpson (R-Wy.), I couldn’t help but notice an older man sitting a few seats down the wooden bleachers from me. He was not affiliated with the university, but was just as engaged in the lecture as anyone in the house. Throughout that Forum, I watched him burst with laughter, solemnly nod his agreement, and put his hand to his beard in thought. At the end, he slowly turned to the rest of the people in the bleachers, and said with simple truthfulness, “Boy, he made me think.”
Honest thought and intelligent discourse is something that is a vital part of the public service vision within the IOP, and it is something that is important for the legacy of President John F. Kennedy.
The JFK Jr. Forum has been inspiring tomorrow’s leaders for many years. It will continue that mission. But the Forum has a beautiful ability to make you critically think, plain and simple, no matter where you come from and no matter where you are headed.
I imagine this combination of inspiration and thought to be exactly what President Kennedy would want—for this is exactly how he led our nation.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons