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Double standards at UC
Earlier this week, the California Aggie published an editorial entitled "Controversial speakers should be heard," reacting to a recent campus visit by Ward Churchill. In response, ACTA president Anne D. Neal made the following statement:
At UC Davis, former Secretary of the Treasury and Harvard president Lawrence Summers was deemed 'too controversial' after he was invited to speak on campus, but documented academic fraud Ward Churchill -- who was fired by the University of Colorado for academic misconduct -- gave a lecture on November 27.The student newspaper is now editorializing -- correctly -- that it was right to allow Churchill to speak. But that's not the end of the story. The real question is: Why the double standard?
It's clear that UC is confused about one of the core purposes of any good university: ensuring a broad and vigorous exchange of ideas. That's why in September, ACTA called for a comprehensive review of intellectual diversity by the Board of Regents. They have not responded -- and it's worth noting that they themselves disinvited Lawrence Summers back in September.
College campuses should play host to a broad and vigorous exchange of ideas. That doesn't appear to be happening at UC, and not only are the Regents apparently not doing anything -- they seem to be part of the problem. UC's students and faculty -- as well as the California taxpayers who support the university so generously -- deserve better.
By way of background, in early September, UC Irvine chancellor Michael Drake drew widespread criticism for revoking his offer to Dr. Erwin Chemerinsky to head the new UC Irvine law school, seemingly on the basis of inappropriate political considerations. On September 13, ACTA called on the UC Board of Regents to undertake a systematic review of the integrity of the academic hiring process and intellectual diversity.
On approximately September 15, after faculty had circulated a petition calling him someone "who has come to symbolize gender and racial prejudice in academia," Lawrence Summers was uninvited as the speaker at an upcoming Board of Regents meeting at UC Davis.
Irvine subsequently re-extended the offer to Chemerinsky, and on September 17, he accepted it.
On November 27, Ward Churchill spoke at UC Davis on the topic "Zionism, Manifest Destiny and Nazi Lebensraumpolitik: Three Variations on a Common Theme." When one student challenged Churchill in the Q&A period, Churchill told him to "shut up" and deemed his contentions "disingenuous bullshit."
The Aggie is right: Controversial speakers should be allowed to come to campus. But as things stand now, former Secretaries of the Treasury seem to be just too controversial for UC. That's not a state of affairs of which the Regents -- who have ultimate fiduciary authority over the university system -- ought to be proud.
Posted by cmitchell on December 07, 2007 at December 7, 2007 01:21 PM
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Comments
ACTA has it mostly right here. Including the part about this being the responsibility of the regents. (I'm not sure that the likes of Ward Churchill should be offered any kind of forum by the university, though if a student or faculty group invites someone, there are tricky legal problems in stopping the appearance. The vile Ward Churchill spoke at the University of Oregon a few months back, to my disgust.)
Posted by: Oregon guy at December 11, 2007 05:27 PM
As a UC Davis alum, I will look forward to the next call seeking a donation.
Posted by: The Dude Abides at December 13, 2007 05:18 PM