Elie Wiesel, a professor, writer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, spoke to the Kent State community and more than 100 Holocaust survivors Thursday in the M.A.C.C. Center for the Spring 2013 Presidential Speaker Series.

Wiesel talked to the community about his experience in the Holocaust, as a teacher, as a writer and as a religious individual. He shared with students his hope for the future and his love for teaching and learning. Wiesel said he has had many experiences learning from his students.

“I am a teacher because I’m a good student,” Wiesel said. “But I’m a better student than I am a teacher.”

We encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities Kent State gives us to learn from inspiring leaders like Wiesel.

Wiesel emphasized that none of us should give up hope or our faith. As students, it is important for us to keep on sharing the stories Wiesel shared with us and to not give up our futures.

”There must be hope,” Wiesel concluded. “And therefore, there will be. Our hope tonight has brought us together.”

The university plans to continue its Presidential Speaker Series for Fall 2013 with the following speakers:

• Sept. 25 – Neil Degrasse Tyson, Ph.D., and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History

• Nov. 14 – Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times and Sheryl Wudunn, senior managing director with Mid-Market Securities

• April 22, 2014 – Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker

As students, we should continue to support and respect the speakers who come to the university, and take the opportunity to listen to them when they visit our campus. They are here to teach us while we are still learning and can give us valuable insights to the world, our studies and our lives.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.