GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — Film action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged a standing room audience of Stockton University students Monday to fight against hatred and intolerance.
Schwarzenegger, 75, has had a film career stretching over five decades, beginning with his appearance in the 1977 documentary “Pumping Iron,” which highlighted his previous achievements as a professional bodybuilder.
More recently, Schwarzenegger has found a role speaking out against hatred and intolerance, including lessons he learned as the son of a Nazi officer.
“It is easier to hate than it is to learn. Easier isn’t better,” he told a packed auditorium of 600 students and faculty in the Campus Center Event room. “I’ve seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs. I want to speak to you before you find regrets at the end of your path.”
People are also reading…
He also spoke of a visit to Auschwitz this past September, telling the crowd that “you feel a tremendous weight that reminds us of the horrors.”
“How do we stop this from happening again? After a visit to Auschwitz, you will never question why ‘never again’ is a valid cry of the people who fight to prevent another Holocaust,” Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger’s day on campus began with a tour of the Sara & Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center, where he met survivors, center employees and students.
There was an air of excitement as the group waited for his arrival. Stacey Clapp, the director of Strategic Communications for the college, kept personnel updated on Schwarzenegger’s location as he got closer.
Holocaust survivor Elizabeth Roth waited inside. She and her three sons along with their wives were there to meet Schwarzenegger.
Roth and her sister were the only ones in her family who survived the Holocaust, she said.
She and her husband moved to America when their oldest son, Carl, was 2 years old. It wasn’t easy, she said.
“We had very little money and with the money we did have we bought a chicken farm,” she said. “Our American neighbors didn’t understand how bad it was in Europe, some of them denied understanding this is real.”
Carl Roth, who attended school in Millville, said he went there speaking only Czechloslovakian, but learned English at school.
He recalled some of his classmates also had parents who survived the concentration camps, and he was able to bond with them over this.
South Jersey has been home to hundreds of Holocaust survivors who have lived in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties as well as some adjacent communities.
Gail Rosenthal, executive director of the Holocaust Center, led the 38th governor of California through the room, introducing him to excited students, and to Roth and her family.
Student Mohammed Baig, an intern at the center got to meet Schwarzenegger and take a photograph with him. Baig said he’s been taking a Holocaust and Genocide Studies course, which has been an eye-opening experience.
“I have had no prior education about the Holocaust and had no idea how many people died,” Baig said. He added that he moved to the United States from Pakistan five years ago.
During his presentation, Schwarzenegger was asked what motivates him.
“You have to have a clear vision, you can’t stumble around every day. I used to hear people complain about the number of reps that they had to do to see results at the gym. I never minded how many I had to do; I knew they would get me one step closer to my goal,” he said beaming with a smile.
Schwarzenegger credits his idols being President Ronald Reagan and Reg Park who was an English bodybuilder, businessman, and actor.
When he was done speaking, the audience gave him a standing ovation. President Dr. Harvey Kesselman presented him with a gift of maple syrup made from trees found on Stockton’s campus here.
This visit to Stockton University was made possible by Conyers Davis who is the son of Stockton’s Board of Trustees member Nancy Davis. Conyers Davis is the director of the Schwarzenegger Institute at University of Southern California.
Welcome to the discussion.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.