Scholars talk Cuba, U.S. ties
February 25, 2015
By Cheyene Miller
In the midst of recent efforts to improve relations between Cuba and the U.S., including the elimination of the long-standing trade embargo, a panel of four scholars met in the W. T. Young Library on Tuesday to discuss the nations’ historically tense relationship.
The panel talked about the effects of eliminating the embargo and renewing relations with the self-proclaimed communist government, citing personal ties with and history of the island nation.
Assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Health Sciences and political science instructor Peter Berres, who has been to Cuba four times, praised recent efforts to strike down the U.S. embargo.
“I am very heartened by the Obama initiative to start chipping away at this,” Berres said, adding that he questioned the embargo’s effectiveness since it was first implemented. “I think this will be better certainly for the Cuban people.”
Professor of Hispanic studies Enrico Mario Santi was born in Cuba and said he lived there until he was 12, when his family left the country at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“I have been a critic of the Cuban regime, particularly for its human rights record — or non-record,” Santi said.
Santi noted that prior to the embargo, the U.S. was one of Cuba’s biggest trading partners and was still a major trader even during the embargo.
Associate professor in the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Kathleen Montgomery said now is a “particularly good time to step in and reestablish economic ties.”
The panelists said that despite attempts to resume commerce with the U.S., the Cuban government remains a major human rights violator.
Marketing and art studio freshman Rachel Tenney, whose mother and grandmother are from Cuba, attended the event to hear a diverse set of views on the current situation surrounding Cuba.
“I thought it was very insightful,” Tenney said. “I didn’t really know a lot about what was going on with the embargo, and I thought this would be a good opportunity, and it certainly was.”
