Student leader Betty Bowe posed to promote Operation Uganda, a project to celebrate Uganda's independence on October 9, 1962, for international goodwill and friendship. Spurred into action by a Russian official's disdainful comment about American youth and sponsored by the International Relations Council, the sweeping student initiative included welcoming Ugandan dignitaries, African ambassadors and U.S. officials to ceremonies, panel discussions, a transatlantic telephone call from Uganda, receptions and a banquet. The students collected 50,000 books and other donations to support education in the newly independent nation, relying on the U.S. Navy to deliver them.
