Student Exchange
New Orleans. Editor, The Times-Picayune:
You carried an interesting editorial comment on the Latin-American situation captioned "Constructive Weapons for Revolutionaries."
You have expressed the situation in adequate and concise manner by stressing continuance of United States aid in all social and economic fields. You did not, however, stress the greatest contributing factor in creating friends for the U.S. and desire for our way of life.
As anyone who has traveled and lived in Latin America will be able to confirm, the best friends that this country has in those areas are people who at one time or another have spent some time with us—in our homes, in our universities, and in our cities with the primary purpose of education as their goal. May I, therefore, place emphasis on the continuance and expansion of programs that will bring foreign students to our country (I am using the word student in its broadest sense).
We all know that the students of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. Would it not help if those leaders were able to speak and think about our country in the light of their own experiences? Would it not help if our educators and political leaders realized this and tried to do everything in tlieir power to find a place for these students instead of applying restrictive measures such as those being employed in the field of medical education by national and state organizations?
Once the initial contact is established, the development of friendship is contingent on mutual attraction, common interests and respect of individual dignity but above all we must remember that — friends cannot be made from strangers who are never met!
RAUL G. REYES, M.D.
