I read the accurate, interesting interview with UCLA professor Eddie R. Cole (On the Campus, April issue) with great nostalgia. The invitations extended to Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett and Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu [the de facto first lady of South Vietnam] were the brainchildren of the president of Whig-Clio, Michael Pane ’64. I was the president of the Debate Panel and therefore one of the directors of Whig-Clio who voted in favor of the invitations. Michael believed that Whig-Clio had become moribund — that it had fallen away from its mission to explore and debate political issues. His program of renewal was a great success.
We had only contempt for Ross Barnett and we felt that he underlined the evil of his ways during his appearance. Madame Nhu spoke only days before the coup in Vietnam that ended the lives of her husband and brother-in-law.
President Goheen ’40 *48’s assistant, a wonderful man named Dan D. Coyle ’38, implored us to withdraw the Barnett invitation, but no pressure or threat of any kind was used. In retrospect, 58 years later, I think the Barnett invitation was a mistake. If my beloved friend Mike Pane was still alive, I believe he would agree.