Joe Wilson said last night his headstone would no longer say he was the last American diplomat to meet with Saddam Hussein, but rather that he was the husband of Valerie Plame, the first CIA operative to have been outed by her own government. Wilson, whose wife is now the center of major scandal, spoke last night to a crowd of nearly 100 at the Memorial Chapel, highlighting his career as a diplomat and his role in the lead-up to the Iraq war.

Although Wilson’s message was on a national level, the scandal has woven its way onto the campus. classrooms of the College of Journalism to the realm of on-campus politics, Wilson’s story is on the mind of university students.

SGA President Andrew Rose realized the importance of the speaker for university students. “It’s very important in the global scheme of things; the outside political stage affects campus quite a bit.”

Students of varying political groups and ideologies attended the event, hosted by the College Democrats, to hear what Wilson had to say.

“It’s no secret that he’s an outspoken critic of the war,” said freshman government and politics major Aaron Igdalsky, a registered Republican. “I want to hear what he has to say … it’s a hot topic right now.”

While Wilson’s star appeal amid this scandal may have drawn some students, others came because they support what he’s doing.

“We are trying to display a series of events to the buildup of the war in Iraq,” said sophomore government and politics major Melanie Share, a member of the College Democrats. “This is a continuation of a public information campaign.”

Wilson appeared in the national spotlight after his editorial, “What I Didn’t Find in Africa,” appeared in The New York Times on July 6, 2003. The article questioned the Bush administration’s use of intelligence that Iraq sought to purchase raw plutonium known as “yellowcake” from the African country of Niger. Wilson had been sent by the CIA to Niger in February 2002 to investigate these claims.

“The story was spinning out of control,” he said. “In order to put it back in the box, it was apparent I would have to write.”

The Bush administration later admitted it was a mistake to use the controversial intelligence.

But Plame, exposed as working for the CIA by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, has dominated the news ever since.

Plame’s status as an employee of the CIA was leaked to several journalists, most notably former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.

It was also revealed Monday that Bob Woodward, a Washington Post assistant managing editor, knew of Plame’s identity a month before it was exposed, according to The Post. Woodward said he will not reveal who told him of Plame’s employment with the CIA.

During the forum, Wilson said he believes journalists are too close to their sources, and “the media will have a lot to answer for” as a result.

The use of confidential sources came into question as the CIA leak investigation developed.

“You can’t see any discernible changes, but you can certainly feel the implications. Inside the beltway, a lot of journalists are questioning the use of confidential sources,” said Kelly McBride, the Ethics Group Leader of the Poynter Institute.

The issue has also found its way into classes at the journalism school.

“I think classes are talking about it a lot. It comes up over and over. It’s a big issue on a lot of levels … it’s example after example and question after question,” said journalism professor Carl Stepp, who is also a senior editor of the American Journalism Review. “Most teachers and most journalists say confidential sources should be a last resort.”

Despite the political atmosphere of the chapel last night and the profound implications of Wilson’s story, students still found time to quip with the former ambassador. One student asked if Vice President Dick Cheney’s policy on torture related to the vice president’s bedroom habits.

Wilson burst out with uncontrollable laughter; after all, the ambassador’s speech did take place on a college campus.

Contact reporter Will Skowronski at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.