By Alma Linda Manzanares
Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who became famous household names in the 1970s for exposing President Richard Nixon in the biggest political scandal in America, are speaking at Trinity University’s Distinguished Lecture Series in observance of the 40th anniversary of Watergate.
The lecture, “Inside the White House: From Nixon to Obama,” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 in Laurie Auditorium.
The free lecture will require a ticket for admission. Tickets will be available 10 a.m.-4p.m. Monday-Friday beginning today, at the Laurie Auditorium box office. Tickets are limited to two per person.
Sharon Jones Schweitzer, vice president for external relations at Trinity, said Woodward and Bernstein will share their views on the White House and Obama presidency. “They’re not going to talk just about Watergate,” she said. “Of course, they can’t get away with an appearance like this without reflecting back on that time in their career.”
It started June 17, 1972, when a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. lead to the arrest of five men, who were sent on behalf of Nixon aides. The burglars were tasked with gathering information on Nixon’s political opponents and were connected to a fund from Nixon’s Committee for the Re-election of the President.
Nixon tried to cover up his involvement in the break-in, leading the nation on a two-year series of events. When evidence confirming his involvement piled, he resigned Aug. 9, 1974, dozens of government officials were convicted and an outraged nation lost faith in government.
Woodward and Bernstein have shaped journalism by ushering the era of investigative journalism. “I think there’s a great benefit to hear what they have to say,” Schweitzer said. “They’ve been observers of history, observers of political change, for several decades now.”
Woodward and Bernstein won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. They also wrote “All the President’s Men,” which depicted their coverage of the scandal and became a movie in 1976, and “The Final Days,” which detailed Nixon’s last months as president.
Schweitzer said Trinity is known for many lecture opportunities on a wide range of topics. “Trinity has a long tradition in bringing some of the world’s leading thinkers, thought leaders, world leaders, artists, literary figures, to the trinity campus and opening those events to the San Antonio community,” she said.
Schweitzer said the Distinguished Lecture Series is funded through an endowment gift by Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown Sr. She said speakers for the Distinguished Lecture Series and the Flora Cameron Lecture on Politics and Public Affairs are determined by the president’s office, who gets suggestions from Trinity faculty, students and alumni.
For more information, call the Office of University Communications at 210-999-8406 or visit www.trinity.edu.
