Out of fear of causing a potential disturbance at New York University, representatives from the United States Central Intelligence Agency declined to visit the campus March 31 due to student protests.
The CIA was scheduled to appear as part of a project for a marketing class, but declined to come to the university after representatives received word that members of NYU’s Campus Antiwar Network would be protesting its arrival on campus.
According to CIA spokesperson Michele Neff, representatives were invited to NYU by EdVenture Partners, an advertising firm that helps students gain real-world experience by providing clients to the university. In this case, an NYU advertising management class was advertising for the CIA.
However, CIA officials declined the invitation.
In a letter sent to NYU officials, CIA representatives said they were forced “to take the necessary precaution in order to prevent potential harm that may escalate from a protest and the liabilities that may come with it.”
But NYU’s CAN members did not view the CIA’s presence as an innocent marketing project, instead claiming the CIA’s interaction with marketing students was part of a pilot program to help recruit students.
According to CAN member Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, CAN was not initially alarmed by the CIA presence.
“This was a bigger deal than we had realized at first,” Wrigley-Field said. “I think that having this kind of advertising relationship with classes is a new thing.”
However, according to Neff, EdVentures has been involved with the CIA for some time and had 10 universities participate last year with the CIA. Neff added the CIA is doing well in terms of gaining recruits, having more employees with Ph.D.s than most colleges.
“We received 54,000 applications in the fiscal year of 2001 [for CIA positions],” Neff said. “Application numbers for just the first three months of 2005, we received 54,000.”
Wrigley-Field added there were several other reasons the group protested the CIA’s presence on their campus. She said she believed the CIA’s association with EdVenture Partners would offer the CIA a shield from criticism, since they would not be held liable.
Additionally, Wrigley-Field said, as an antiwar group, CAN was not proud to have the CIA on campus, considering the history of the CIA in wartime.
“They’re actually involved right now in the thing we’re trying to oppose on our campus,” Wrigley-Field said in reference to the Iraq war.
Still, Wrigley-Field felt CAN desired a more thoughtful debate.
“We put out a challenge to anyone who wants to debate [the CIA]. So far, no one has taken us up on that,” she said.
According to NYU Stern School of Business spokesperson Joanne Hvala, the CIA experience was merely a case study. In fact, another section of the class was participating in a study involving Citigroup.
“It’s one of the things we really pride ourselves on, having real-world experience,” Hvala said. “This was one to get that and, in this case with the CIA or with Citigroup or with any other customers, is not just being done uniquely at NYU Stern.”
