Former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski comes to Huron High

Humanities teacher Ms. Amy Van Appledorn, former Polish President Aleksander Kwaniewski and Huron principal Dr. Arthur Williams smile for the camera.

Natasa Gruden-Alajbegovic

“So… What did you learn in school today?”

The typical parent question. And for once, I had a pretty unique response. “Well, the former president of Poland is a pretty cool guy.” It’s not everyday you meet someone with a legit Wikipedia page.

My day started off like any other day until the word under the arch was that a former president of Poland was coming to Huron’s Humanities class to give a lecture. My gut reaction: Why in the world would a former president come to Ann Arbor? Because of our wonderful neighbor and friend, the University of Michigan. The Center for European Studies-European Union Center at the university had organized the opportunity for Huron students to meet the former president of Poland.

Meeting a former president of a prominent country like Poland is a once in a lifetime opportunity. “Truth be told, I was a little nervous,” admitted Ms. Amy Van Appledorn, a Humanities teacher at Huron High School. “He hasn't just seen history; he's been an active participant in it."

“I didn’t realize what a big deal it was to meet a former president and his importance didn’t hit me until he began talking about all the things that he had done and all the important events that he had witnessed,” said Nicole Chen, a senior at Huron High School.

So in a matter of minutes, I found myself amongst a sea of humanities students, eagerly awaiting President Aleksander Kwasniewski’s lecture. I was pretty ecstatic about being in the same room as an influential political figure. And I’m glad to say that I was certainly not disappointed.

As a kid, I always imagined what it would be like to meet the president. He always seemed like someone who would be really smart and serious with an edge of humor and enlightening just to talk to, someone who really knew what they were talking about from all their experiences. President Kwasniewski was exactly the kind of man that I envisioned a president to be like. "I expected him to be boring, but he turned out to be personable and funny. He was really interesting and I enjoyed listening to him," said Chen.

Kwasniewski initially focused on Poland as a country: how it had grown and developed over the years, especially post-WWII. “Poland today is a very unique country in the world,” he explained. He gave the audience a sense of what it was like to be living in Poland at that time of turmoil, amidst the sea of change that came flooding into not just Poland but all of central Europe. “We didn’t expect the center of our change to be so important for other countries”, said Kwasniewski.

It all started in 1989, the year of a new beginning for Poland. As the power of the Soviet Union diminished, peace successfully seeped into the conflict between communism and its opposition. As the political and economical system evolved, free Democratic elections began. “After 20 years, this change gave us absolutely fantastic results,” explained Kwaniewski. “This part of Europe was a source of wars and conflicts. Today it is stable”.

Kwaniewski then began to examine the world at large like the uprising superpowers and current issues. “This new world which I name multi-lateral world is very promising, especially when we speak of global problems like terrorism and global warming,” explained Kwaniewski. He placed a lot of emphasis on knowledge of languages other than English as a means of bringing the world together and opening up to other countries and their cultures. “Today it is necessary to speak with so many other places.”

“What we need now in this new time is to see new possibilities and open them for us like education, travel, and lingual knowledge”, explained Kwaniewski. “America is strong enough to be a leader in this fight, but not enough to be alone”. With a variety of superpower candidates, the world needs to be more open and have more negotiation.

President Kwaniewski wrapped up his speech with inspiration to the audience. “I encourage you to find out how to be the best contributors in the world,” he exalted enthusiastically.

“I liked that he was optimistic about the future,” explained Ms. Van Appledorn. “As Americans, we have a lot to be proud of, but we need to continue to lead the world in what he called "the post-crisis" world.”

President Aleksander Kwaniewski discusses world affairs with the Humanities students at Huron High School.

Natasa Gruden-Alajbegovic

During the question and answer part of the presentation, President Kwaniewski explained how “the job of president is such that you have only hard decisions to make”. He addressed many other topics like the war on Afghanistan, the current financial crisis, and the Berlin Wall.

Kwaniewski had a very realistic interpretation of the problems facing America with the war on Afghanistan: “how to organize a peaceful future in Afghanistan” and “combine military presence and peace”. He also had a very firm opinion about the current economical situation. “This financial crisis started not in the poorest countries of the world. It started in the United States.”

The Berlin Wall “was absolutely spectacular and great but if you ask me if it is the most important element of 1989, my answer is not”, answered Kwaniewski who was in Berlin when it fell. “I’m not revolutionary; revolution is more problem as solution”. Peace through negotiation and compromise was what he saw as the real answer.

President Kwaniewski has a clear vision of where the world is heading and what is restraining it. “We need peace, we need cooperation, we need dialogue, we need understanding,” emphasized Kwaniewski. “We don’t need nuclear weapons or war.”

“I definitely learned many things about the world, and he put a spin on some issues in a way that I had not thought about,” said Ms. Van Appledorn.

“Hearing a former world leader’s opinion based on his experiences was amazing,” exclaimed Simi Atal, a senior at Huron High School. “I think he had very valuable things to say to us pertaining to the world problems going on right now that are going to be put on our shoulders as we’re moving into the adult world.”

Trisha Paul is a senior at Huron High School and the co-editor-in-chief of The Emery.