[4 articles] Listening is part of productive dialogue
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=285481&src= Daily Herald Editorial Board 4/10/2009 We can certainly understand why parents and residents would be upset about a public school hosting remarks by Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground domestic terrorist group that planted bombs in public buildings in the 1960s and 1970s. After all, Ayers, a Glen Ellyn native, was a member of a group that committed terrorism decades ago. We certainly would not give any and all terrorists public platforms. But with public involvement and careful balance beforehand, the Ayers talk could have been an educational opportunity and a model of the free speech we all need to hold dear. Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Alan Leis probably thought he was doing the right thing. He was going to let Ayers speak to Naperville North High School students who were studying the Vietnam War and who had their parents' permission to attend. But public input and a balanced list of speakers from across that volatile Vietnam spectrum might have diffused the uproar. Instead, sometimes lately, it seems everyone is shouting and no one is being heard. Take the Notre Dame University drama. President Obama should speak at its graduation. He is our president, for goodness sakes. Notre Dame officials are to be praised for not caving after Cardinal Francis George and others condemned them for inviting a U.S. president to their campus who views stem cell research and abortion differently than Catholic doctrine dictates. We're certain Notre Dame's students - all adults - hear the Catholic view regularly. As for Ayers, a University of Illinois at Chicago education professor, what his group did was domestic terrorism and we abhor it. Still, what we must not let stand is a dangerous movement to let vocal minorities squelch speech from those with whom they disagree. Ayers says his group broke the law, but that he never hurt anyone and has met his "judicial obligations." He also says he now condemns acts of terror and never advocated violence. Believe it or don't, but hear it. We all, in our communities, need to talk more, not less. We need to listen more, not less. We need to treat each other with civility and respect, especially when we disagree. We defend the right of parents to speak in objection to Ayers' appearance just as we defend Ayers' right to speak even as we condemn the terrorist acts the Weather Underground committed. If all of the speech around his appearance had occurred without what sound like threats; if it all had been conveyed with temperance, balance and fairness, well, that would have been a model from which all could have learned. How do we expect to solve the grave challenges we all face together if we cannot stand to listen one another; to open our minds; to appreciate that others have different views and to respect and honor them just as much as we cherish our own? We would call for this same calm and reasoned opportunity to hear another viewpoint no matter if the speaker were Ayers or another controversial speaker with a criminal past like Chuck Colson, the Watergate and Pentagon Papers' figure who served a prison term for obstruction of justice and who once advised former President Richard Nixon to firebomb a liberal think tank. Consider the reflections of Joey Kalmin. Kalmin is a Highland Park high school junior who describes himself as a conservative Republican who backed John McCain. He recently attended a speech by Ayers and spoke with him afterward. Kalmin thinks another venue for Ayers might have been better, but he went and listened anyway. "If I wanted to hear my own opinion," he said, "I could yell it in the mirror." Out of the mouths of our young students shall come the leadership we all need. -------- 'Weather Underground' co-founder speaks at Pitzer http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_12093704 Wes Woods II, Staff Writer Posted: 04/07/2009 CLAREMONT - The leader of a radical anti-Vietnam War group as well as a lighting rod during the recent presidential election brought his thoughts and opinions to Pitzer College on Tuesday night. Bill Ayers, co-founder of the Weather Underground that bombed the United States Capitol and the Pentagon in the early 1970s, spent much of the speech discussing education and asking the audience to become socially active. "You have to act," said Ayers, a professor at the University of Illinois. "How you act, I don't know. But you have to stand up and be heard in the public square." The now-defunct Weather Underground were labeled as terrorists in the 1970s by the FBI. "I make a huge distinction between being a patriot and being a nationalist," Ayers said. "I'm a patriot but I'm not a nationalist. Patriotism believes people should live up to their own standards as well as universal standards such as justice and human rights. "Nationalists on the other hand believe their country is right no matter what it does." Prior to the speech, a group that called its the "Claremont Republicans" handed out a piece of paper that was titled "Meet the Real Bill Ayers." The sheet included two black and white mug shots of Ayers as well as quotes from him such as "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." The mug shots were taken following his arrest at the 1968 Democratic Convention. A Rancho Cucamonga woman who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation held up a sign outside of the Gold Student Center's Multipurpose Room - where the speech was held - and denounced the Weatherman bombings. Ayers became a focal point in the presidential election after it was learned that he had served with President Obama for three years on a board for the Woods Fund of Chicago. The grant-making organization was founded in 1941 to help the city's poor. Ayers denied knowing Obama any more than "serving on boards together" and seeing each other in Illinois. The speech on Monday was not the first time that Pitzer College had a member of the Weather Underground visit the campus. Bernardine Dohrn, a co-founder of the movement, served as the commencement speaker in 2004 at the college. -------- Ayers to visit campus April 30, organizers say http://media.www.thejusticeonline.com/media/storage/paper573/news/2009/04/07/News/Ayers.To.Visit.Campus.April.30.Organizers.Say-3700273.shtml by Destiny Aquino Staff writer News | 4/7/09 Bill Ayers, co-founder of the Weather Underground and professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will speak in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater April 30 after several weeks of negotiations and discussion, according to a Democracy for America and Students for a Democratic Society press release yesterday. "Tickets will go on sale after spring break, the price will be $5 and will be available on a first come, first serve basis with a Brandeis ID. 230 tickets will be available for sale. This event is limited to members of the Brandeis Community only," wrote Democracy For America member and event coordinator Liza Behrendt in the press release. The press release was endorsed by Democracy for America, Students for a Democratic Society, the Social Justice Committee and four academic programs-Peace, Conflict and Coexistence studies, History, Education and the Social Justice and Social Policy. Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan told the Justice, "I believe that [DFA member and Senator for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn] reached out to a wide variety of organizations to fund the event, and I think that we all worked together to support this event and help this student organize this event." Berhendt explained in an interview with the Justice that, "the largest hurdle was the original security costs, which were far beyond what we [the coordinators] could afford to grant the event." She added that there have been several small holdups, including the [March 7] overturning of the [$900 Senate Money Resolution] by the [Union Judiciary]." When asked about the specific security cost figures, she said, "I am not allowed to disclose those numbers due to requests by campus security, but I can tell you that we spent $2,200 on Ayers' booking fee, which included his transportation." Callahan said, "I can tell you that we are going to use a variety of public safety that we use at a lot of events. We are going to have several officers on duty [and] utilize a metal detector, which is consistent with other locations that have hosted [Ayers]." Callahan added that the security measures that will be taken will be similar to those taken at events that have been hosted in the past. Berhendt also said, "[Vice President for Campus Operations Mark] Collins told us that he was forwarding the [Ayers event contract between the University and Evil Twin Booking] to [Senior Vice President for Student and Enrollment] Jean Eddy's office about two weeks ago, but I'm unsure of what the holdup was. I was just aware of the fact that it was in her office and waiting for her signature to become official." Eddy and Collins could not be reached for comment by press time. Berhendt told the Justice that while DFA knew for weeks that Ayers "would definitely be coming," "[everyone involved] chose not to inform the press because the official contract had not been signed by both parties, and we shared the fear that [making an announcement] would cause the event to fall through." According to the press release, "[Ayers] will be speaking about social justice, activism and his experiences in the Weather Underground. This will include a [question-and-answer] session afterwards. During the preceding week we will hold educational events about the speaker." In a phone interview with the Justice, Ayers said, "I can't wait to come speak to [Brandeis. Speaking at colleges is] one of those things that I do often but [is] still exciting." An event similar to one planned for Brandeis was canceled last week at Boston College due to protests and the college's fears regarding the safety of the students and faculty. Ayers had already flown from Chicago to Boston before the event's cancellation. Due to this there is logistical discussion regarding a clause in the contract that would address what would happen in a similar situation, Berhendt said. Regarding the Boston College cancellation and ones similar, Ayers said, "Cancellations are part of the world we [speakers] live in. There are those who wish to portray themselves as defenders of democracy and unfortunately try to deny certain scholars or speakers from sharing their views with other." "DFA and SDS are so grateful to the University and everyone involved in creating this event," Behrendt said. -------- What's happened to free speech? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-oped0413speechapr13,0,1674038.story By Shawn Healy April 13, 2009 Lost amid the clamor over the University of Notre Dame inviting President Barack Obama to deliver the school's commencement address are two instances where academic freedom is truly under attack. Former anti-Vietnam War activist William Ayers was scheduled to speak earlier this month at Boston College and Naperville North High School, only to have both invitations revoked at the 11th hour. Ayers' notoriety is tied to his role as a member of the radical Weather Underground group in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But he has since moved beyond his self-described "days of rage" and charted a course as an education reformer and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. However, his past life and prominence in the presidential campaign make him a compelling draw, and educational institutions that invite him to speak are well-aware of the lightning rod he holds. Ayers' planned speech at Boston College, Notre Dame's Catholic brethren, was canceled, though he did speak off campus and it was televised for interested students. University officials retreated behind the cloak of a private institution, also citing a potential link between the Weather Underground and a slain Boston police officer. Boston College is not bound to the dictates of the 1st Amendment, but its decision to pull the carpet out from under Ayers is a threat to academic freedom. "Now the precedent that [school officials are] setting is that if something goes against the wills of alumni who call in and threaten to pull donations . . . any events could get canceled," a student organizer warned in an interview with the Boston Globe. A similar incident involving Ayers came to a head at Naperville North. A speech he was to give to a select group of students was canceled by the school superintendent, who said he was responding to community uproar and the subsequent distraction it might have created for students. Unlike Boston College, Naperville North is a public high school and the 1st Amendment is certainly in play. While public schools may place some limits on speech that occurs within the schoolhouse gate, the lesson Naperville North officials relayed to their students was that the heckler holds a veto over unwelcome or controversial ideas. Missing a "teachable moment," the superintendent allowed dissenting voices in the community to override the supportive messages he received, and simultaneously censored the marketplace of ideas. While school administrators may have saved face with angry parents, students were taught that speech is free so long as a majority supports its content. In Naperville as in Boston, the hecklers won in their battle to sanitize the schoolhouse from a voice some believe is on the fringe. Here's hoping that there is room for the protester and the leader of the free world in South Bend next month. Who knows, in a marketplace where ideas are forced to compete, both parties may actually learn something from one another. -- Shawn Healy is managing director and resident scholar at the McCormick Freedom Museum. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
