Petition criticizes University's speaker choice

In an open letter to the University community, a group of students, faculty and alumni has expressed concern about a perceived "trend" of inviting guest lecturers who hold a pro-Bush administration bias.

The letter, printed as an advertisement in Friday's and today's issues of The Daily Princetonian, is signed by 101 students and alumni and 27 professors, including religion professor Cornel West GS '80, English professor Michael Wood and history professor Gyan Prakash.

The group criticizes the choices of guest speakers on campus, especially secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, the latter of whom was a keynote speaker at the opening of the Wilson School's 75th anniversary celebrations earlier this month.

Referencing Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80's laudatory remarks about Rice, the group wrote, "We cannot accept that a high profile University Administrator, acting in an official capacity, would state that Rice's career 'exemplifies' our university's values."

The group added that "alternative views are consistently absent from the University's guest lists."

In a written response to the petitioners, Slaughter said the Wilson School unsuccessfully made efforts to secure other speakers with opposing views for the Wilson School's anniversary celebration.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and former senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.), who were invited to provide a counterpoint to the views of Bush administration officials, unexpectedly cancelled in the final weeks before the event, Slaughter said.

President Tilghman said in an interview that she agreed with the letter-writers' premise that the Wilson School anniversary speeches were unbalanced, but emphasized that it was because of the last-minute cancellations.

She added, "You're going to be inviting Republicans. It's a Republican administration."

But the University's public lectures over the last three years have represented "an incredibly broad cross-section of views," Tilghman said.

West, one of the most high-profile signers of the letter, said in an interview that the University should entertain speakers reflecting a wide range of the ideological spectrum.

But, he added, University officials should not "conflate the speaker" with the school's values. The attitude of the University toward a guest speaker should be, "We are here to engage in a dialogue with you. Period," West said.

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The petition was circulated by students and calls for a discussion — "ideally a public forum" — about the University's policies and commitments.

Slaughter also noted in an email that recent public events at the University have been more critical of the Bush administration.

Last year's Princeton Colloquium on Public and International Affairs focused on "Rethinking the War on Terror," and several panels discussed maltreatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

In her response letter, Slaughter said that Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under President Clinton, will speak later in the year and that Biden has rescheduled his speech.

"I find it ironic that I spend so much time defending the University [against allegations of] being too liberal," Tilghman said. "I think you have to look at the whole picture."