Gorbachev Visits Eureka College

The 78-year-old former Soviet leader came to Eureka to promote the College's new Ronald Reagan society.  Gorbachev toured the Reagan Museum before spending a few moments reflecting in the Reagan Peace Garden that includes a five foot piece of the Berlin Wall.  For the students, it was a real life lesson in history

“To have the connection made between the person who ended the cold war and the person who encouraged the end of the cold war is truly a great opportunity,” Student Body President Matthew Cahill said.

Gorbachev also attended a town hall meeting, where he received an honorary doctorate and answered a handful of questions, noting in one response, he now has a degree from the same school as his partner in peace.  And it's a new badge of honor for this Small Central Illinois School.

“For a place like eureka that most people can't find on a map, to have Mikail Gorbachev, it gives us some legitimacy as an institution,” former student Darin Mahlke said.