Letters to the Editor

Baraka should speak

I was surprised to read Wednesday's staff editorial, which praised Princeton University for declining to invite New Jersey Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka to campus. Whig-Clio extended an invitation to Mr. Baraka in early January, but I was more concerned with the reasoning behind the Prince's comments than with its accuracy. The editorial is hinged on the assumption that because Mr. Baraka has made offensive remarks in the past, he is unwelcome to speak at Princeton.

This sets a dangerous precedent. It would be foolish for me to defend the poet's most outrageous comments, yet it would be equally foolish to dismiss the contributions this man has made to literature and to political discourse on the basis of an offensive poem.

Regardless of whether one agrees with his political beliefs (and many, myself included, do not), Mr. Baraka is an important public figure whose views deserve to be heard. By the same token, those who disagree with the man's comments have every right to question, criticize, and protest his views and actions. By refusing to invite Mr. Baraka outright, the University fails to heighten the level of political discourse at a time when such discussion is needed.

Our institution is devoted to the promotion of ideas. Inevitably, this quest will expose us to those whose ideas are distasteful, but as students we must learn not only from those we believe to be right or politically correct but from a diverse group of people whose views we can analyze, discuss, and choose to reject or accept for ourselves. More speech, not less, is the appropriate response to the poet laureate's comments. If we cannot engage in constructive dialogue at Princeton, where discerning minds can separate hate speech from political invective, where is free speech safe? Andrew Bruck '03 President, Whig-Clio