May 2, 2009 12:16 am US/Pacific
Stanford Student Speaks Out On Confronting Rice
STANFORD (CBS 5) ―
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Jeremy Cohn, a student studying public policy at Stanford, confronted former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the interrogation of detainees.
CBS
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Stanford University student Reyna Garcia recorded a video of dorm mate Jeremy Cohn confronting former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the interrogation of detainees.
CBS
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Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was confronted by a Stanford student on April 27, 2009, about the Bush administration's stance on waterboarding and torture.
CBS
The Stanford University student who confronted former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the Bush administration and alleged torture said he is surprised at the uproar it caused.
"Oh boy, this was more than I bargained for," said Jeremy Cohn, a junior who is majoring in public policy.
Cohn took on Rice during a reception with students at a dormitory on Monday. Video of the confrontation was posted on
YouTube.
The alto saxophone player who plays in the Stanford Marching Band said the same gumption it takes to pull off the band's zany antics was the same energy he summoned to grill the former Secretary of State. But he said he never expected what happened.
"Her pointing her finger at me, saying 'Do your homework' before you make allegations. I mean, it just got completely off the original topic," Cohn recalled.
Cohn pressed on, saying he did his homework on the Bush administration's policy on torture, but claims that's when Rice became dismissive.
"She tried, towards the end, tried to make it more about trivia and regarding my personal knowledge versus what her opinions were," Cohn said.
Curiously, Cohn wasn't performing for the cameras. In fact, he had no idea he was being videotaped.
"I actually didn't even know she was there until the YouTube video showed up," Cohn said referring to his dorm mate Reyna Garcia, who shot the video.
"I wasn't expecting it at all, I was surprised by that," Garcia said. "The whole room went quiet and everyone started listening to her and I just kept rolling."
Neither said they expected the worldwide notoriety the interview has received. But Cohn and Garcia are proud they took on a former head of state.
Cohn said, "Maybe I could have been more eloquent. Maybe I could have framed my questions better. But without a doubt, I would absolutely have done it again."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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