OPINION & EDITORIAL
Chavez will likely test UW students’ commitment to free speech
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Also by Matt Modell:
- Taking responsibility for your decisions (April 24, 2003)
- An honorable and just battle (November 20, 2003)
- Fixing the problems of ASM (November 25, 2003)
- The key word is 'illegal' (December 4, 2003)
- A fond farewell to UW (December 11, 2003)
Related Stories:
- A statement on the departure of Dean of Students Alicia Chavez by The Badger Herald Editorial Board (January 11, 2002)
- Letters to the Editor - 1/22/01 (January 22, 2002)
- The debate that never was (December 3, 2001)
- Thank-you Badger Herald (September 6, 2001)
- Seg fees hurt free speech (October 30, 2001)
by Matt Modell
Thursday, October 30, 2003
Salman Rushdie said Tuesday evening it is easy to support free speech when you agree with the speaker, but a true advocate of free speech is one who will defend the right of a speaker with whom he or she vehemently disagrees.
This was the one substantive thing Rushdie had to say Tuesday — he left little time to say much else of substance because he was too busy delivering one-line jabs at President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft, Secretary Ridge and other Republicans.
Rushdie is correct about free speech. Not everyone in the audience was amused by his mischaracterizations of President Bush, such as when he strongly implied Bush had never read a book and made other absurd comments that displayed his surprising immaturity. But despite these ignorant comments, Rushdie was permitted to speak. The audience treated him with respect and without any interruptions or outbursts. Freedom of speech prevailed — likely because a large percentage of the audience agreed with his cheap shots and the rest of the audience decided to behave like mature adults.
This upcoming Monday evening, Madison students will have a real chance to prove they subscribe to Rushdie’s view of free speech. Linda Chavez, a leading conservative author and president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a public-policy research organization in Washington, D.C., will be speaking as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series.
Madison’s history of tolerance when it comes to conservative speakers is a mixed bag and nothing to be terribly proud of.
University of California regent Ward Connerly was shouted off the stage when he came to speak on campus in 1998.
Speakers including Ralph Reed and David Horowitz were treated at least mildly well, but only after intense behind-the-scenes work to ensure there was not a repeat of the Connerly incident.
Last spring, author and Middle East expert Daniel Pipes came to speak on campus. A respectful and well-spoken Pipes was ridiculed and frequently interrupted and verbally attacked during the question-and-answer period. Short outbursts during his speech also occurred. Pipes’ problem: He spoke the truth, and the truth sometimes hurts. He noted that Palestinian terrorist organizations in Israel, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, were not looking for a peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine, but rather an elimination of Israel — an idea accepted by most Middle Eastern experts.
UW’s short-lived speech code and the Connerly and Pipes speeches are arguably the most embarrassing free-speech moments in the last 20 years for UW. Connerly and Pipes made arguments people may disagree with, but the far left on this campus could not handle even hearing these speakers or letting others hear them speak. (And, unlike Rushdie, Connerly and Pipes, they did not spend their speaking time taking cheap shots at people.)
Linda Chavez’s speech Monday will likely be controversial. She will likely argue why affirmative action is bad for society, an argument many writers have also made in the past.
Chavez will hopefully also discuss the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq, two issues of vital importance facing America today and issues that local Madison media outlets frequently fail to address in a balanced manner.
If this university and its students truly believe in the “sifting and winnowing of ideas,” it is essential that UW students treat Chavez with the respect and dignity all guests who come to speak at this university deserve.
If UW students do not act mature enough to treat Chavez with respect, Chancellor Wiley and other administrators should speak out and for once condemn this disrespectful student behavior. It is easy for the administration to say it believes in an open forum of discussion, but this talk is cheap when it isn’t supported with action.
Students should go see Ms. Chavez with an open mind, willing to listen to her thoughts and ideas about affirmative action and other pressing issues in society. And if the idea of listening with an open mind to opinions with which you may disagree is too repulsive for you to handle, then stay home.
Matt Modell (mmodell@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science.
