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1/20/2003 04:16:00 PM | Timothy AGORA and Israel Since Dartmouth was subsidizing the buses for protesters to go to D.C., I want to fit this into another issue about the college and college centers sponsoring and funding events and speakers with 'controversial' topics. So, I want to hark back to last April when AGORA, the Rockefeller Center student dicussion group, felt the need to apologize for sending out a notice about an Israeli governmental speaker who was going to speak at Dartmouth. This is utterly silly, as I'll explain below, but first the original unedited email, screaming capital letters and all: >From: AGORA >Subject: About the DiPac Event >To: (Recipient list suppressed) I would like to apologize for misusing this email list to blitz about the event that DiPac sponsored earlier today (Wednesday). I had temporarily forgotten that Barak and the region he represents is a very sensitive subject and that there is vocal opposition on the two sides of the conflict. ROCKY WAS NOT IN ANY WAY ENDORSING THE DIPAC EVENT AS OUR POINT OF VIEW. THE CENTER IS NON-PARTISAN AND NUETRAL. MOREOVER, THE SAID EVENT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR DISTINGUSIHED 1930 FELLOW LECTURER, EHUD BARAK. Emailing you that announcement from a Rocky account was an unwise course of action because it would seem that we endorsed the event. I apologize for following in the footsteps of the World Affairs Council and blitzing you about this event. It was a lapse in judgment on my part. Agora Intern, John A. Stevenson The part in screaming capital letters is unobjectionable (aside from the screaming caps), but it shows how tragically hilarious the rest of the apology is. The Rockefeller Center can bring Ehud Barak as a speaker (a distinguished 1930 Fellow lecturer, no less), but it can't foward on an email that other groups are sponsoring a speech by an Isreali governmental official who never held as high as office as Prime Minister of Israel?!? Oh, please. Does anyone see the blatant contradiction in this 'apology'? Though the Rockefeller Center is non-partisan, it rightly brings in figures of differing partisan persuasions and sponsors speeches on many 'sensitive' topics. It is perfectly reasonable to pass along other messages about political events on campus. It is absurd not to do so because "there is vocal opposition on the two sides of the conflict." If you follow the logic of AGORA's apology, this means that every other notice sent out by AGORA is DEEMED BY ROCKY to be an event that is uncontroversal, 'neutral and non-partisan.' Even if you want to argue that Dartmouth should not be spending money to invite offensive speakers (say, an ex-gay talking about conversion therapy) does AGORA as an official Rocky student group mean to say an Israeli governmental official is in that category and beyond the pale? Does AGORA really want to judge what events by outside groups are too controversial and have too vocal of opposition? Though the apology is silly on it's face (and offensive to logic, among other things), let's take a look at the original 'offending' email: >Date: 24 Apr 2002 16:26:52 EDT >From: AGORA >Subject: Update >To: (Recipient list suppressed) Since Ehud Barak is a Rocky Guest in a few weeks, I wanted to send out an annoucement that you might find interesting. This event is sponsored by DIPAC and Hillel. The Dartmouth Israel Public Affairs Committee and Hillel are proud to present: ***************************************** Nimrod Barkan, Senior Policy Advisor to the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. *20 Year Veteran of the Israeli Foreign Ministry *Former Minister of Public Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. Speaking on: "The War on Terrorism: The Israeli Front" This Wednesday, April 24th 7:00pm Dartmouth Hall room 105 (basement auditorium) ******************************************* It is pretty clear to me that AGORA is just fowarding a speaker's event that may be interesting to its members. But I know this as a former Rocky intern: we often fowarded on blitzes like that (though sparingly to prevent clogging of email boxes) from non-Rocky groups like World Affairs Council and the like. It seems perfectly reasonable. No where does it say the event is sponsored by Rocky or AGORA. But if Rocky is concerned about the potential for confusuion, all AGORA should have done is clarify its customary policy that it sometimes forwards notices of events that it does not sponsor (unless it wants to say it will never foward such messages). Rocky certainly does not feel that bringing Ehud Barak is an endorsement of all of his views. (Someone could make the argument that Barak shoudn't haven't been invited at all, or at least as a distinguished speaker. I would not agree, but that argument need not be inconsistent in the manner of the AGORA apology). I remember many interesting events, like a visit from Ralph Reed and Laura Ingraham, which were interesting precisely because the speaker was 'controversial' and we could question them (though my favorite Rocky event will always be the first one I went to, with the inspiring and politically unorthodox Ted Halstead). Was AGORA really saying that it shouldn't have sent this message at all because it was too controversial? I doubt this illogic is the meaning that AGORA intended. Too bad that in trying to clarify their intent and be 'neutral' AGORA sounds incoherant (or worse, biased, which is what they hoped to avoid).The next time AGORA sends out a message apologizing for its thoughtlessness, it might want to think first. (Some of you may think their an inconsistency on my part between this post and the one above (I divided them because it was so long. But to show that, you have make some additional assumptions and arguments I'm not sure I would agree with. So I first challenge you to say how you would reconcile these things and adopt any principled stand on sponsorship and association.) Inspections Oh, Sarma, I thought you might find this comic to your liking. perma link |
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