A Nation Unsafe?
Dr. Jem Spectar has made a career from his explorations in international law, and he offers his perspective on the September 11 attack.
Stephanie Amann '05
Issue date: 10/8/01 Section: Interview
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Dr. Jem Spectar is spending his first year at Princeton as Director of Studies in the Rocky College Office. Originally from West Africa, Dr. Spectar came to the United States in 1985 to earn an M.B.A. in politics at George Washington University. Since obtaining his Ph.D. at Claremont University and J.D. from the University of Maryland, Dr. Spectar has served as an attorney-at-law; tenured law professor and dean at the University of La Verne in California; and regular contributor to international law journals. Currently working on a book addressing conflict and violence in international relations, Dr. Spectar will teach a Freshman Seminar this spring entitled"The International Politics of AIDS in Africa."
Why did you move from Africa to the United States?
I initially came here as a student and then became a U.S. citizen. I just love America – every day, I wake up feeling very lucky to be here.
What led you to Princeton?
I was led to Princeton by the desire to grow into something new. I have always seen life as a dynamic process in which you grow. Life is to be lived to its fullest. I have been a dean of students as well as a law professor and administrator. I currently contribute to law publications in international law, and am also working on a book that deals with conflict in international law. Therefore, coming to Princeton as Director of Studies, with the additional opportunity to teach a freshman seminar on politics and AIDS in Africa, was exciting. Every day I wake up feeling as though I should pinch myself to make sure this isn't a dream.
Why have you become so interested in international law?
I studied international law and loved it. We live in a globalized world. It is a shrinking planet and getting smaller all the time, and we need to learn new ways to cooperate with each other and to share a very small planet.
How did you first hear about the events of September 11, and what was your initial response?
I am also a freshman faculty advisor, so I had been meeting with my advisees in Dillon when Dean Porter came up to me and said, "Have you heard?" I said, "Heard what?" When she told me what had happened, my natural instinct told me that that could not be, that it wasn't possible. But it was too serious a thing to be joking about. I was just stunned, totally stunned. I ran downstairs to the television somewhere in Dillon. The shock, the horror – to this moment I cannot find words to describe it.