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Show Administration Clarifies Stand on 'Speaker5 Issue By JOAN TREVITHICK Chronicle Associate Editor The present debate over the right of controversial speakers to appear on campus has prompted the Dean's Council and Faculty Council to issue statements summarizing sum-marizing their stand on this issue. Both committees released their statements through Jack H. Adam-son, Adam-son, academic vice-president, late yesterday afternoon. THE STATEMENTS as they were issued appear in full. The following was released by the Dean's Council: A number of people have protested pro-tested the plea of three student groups to hear Mr. Frank Wilkinson Wilkin-son speak for the abolition of the House Un-American Activities Committee. These people object on the ground of Mr. Wilkinson's alleged al-leged affiliation with the Communist Commu-nist Party. In allowing him to speak on the campus, the University neither approves of his views nor supports any of his activities. Rather Ra-ther it confirms its commitment to the ideal of a free and open society so-ciety as a basic principle of American Amer-ican life. IMPLICIT in the protestations of those who resist the concept of an open society and an open campus to which speakers of various views may come is the apparent fear that the ideas of a controversial speaker speak-er will present an irrestible attraction attrac-tion to students so naive that they can be led astray by any political pied piper. We have faith in the soundness of our constitutional system and in the intelligence and rationality of University students. We share with them the commitment to a free exchange ex-change of ideas as the best way of testing their validity. IT IS NOT only impossible to insulate in-sulate students from controversial ideas, but it is also unwise. Attempts At-tempts at insulation merely create an aura of "forbidden fruit," even though the ideas feared by some are often self-defeating or even ludicrous. When exposed to the light of critical examination, most extreme positions are unpersuasive. To be insecure in the world of ideas is to be fearful of the sources of greates strength for our free society. so-ciety. We do not assist our young men and women to prepare to assume as-sume the burdens of leadership in our republic if we ourselves are ambivalent about the values of American freedom. THE STUDENTS agreed that a competent speaker would be sought to speak for retention of the House Committee on Un-American Activities Activi-ties if Frank Wilkinson were scheduled sched-uled to speak for its abolition. In (Continued on Page 2) Exchange of Ideas Is American Principle (Continued from Page 1) this matter, the University intends to maintain its academic integrity by providing for presentation or both sides of an issue that is being discussed widely in our nation at the present time. Original arrangements for I-ran Wilkinson's appearance were made by the chairman of the Coign or Coze Confab, and Sound Off committees com-mittees These student committees frequently schedule speakers and topics which are controversial. Normally Nor-mally their meetings are held in small meeting rooms in the Union where full discussion among students stu-dents can occur. IT MAY BE worth noting that persons favored by conservative groups have spoken on the University Univer-sity campus on many occasions. Among them have been Miss Bella Bel-la V. Dodd in the autumn of 1961, Senator Thomas J. Dodd in January, Jan-uary, 1962 and Dr. Sloboian M. Draskovich in May of 196 1. They all made vigorous attacks against the Communist conspiracy. OnJje u-i lofiT Mr Futon Lewis, cember 3, 19b, Mr. ru III is scheduled to speak on the campus under the sponsorship of thTvoung Americans for Freedom, Conservative student orgao After trying unsuccessfully to secure theervices of a number of well-known conservatives the stu dents have asked a faculty panel to meet next week, evaluate Mr Wilkinson's arguments, and present other points of view. THE FACULTY Council assumed the following point of view: The Faculty Council takes note of the fact that during the last week of October, 1963, a student request for a controversial speaker was acted upon at the administrative, administra-tive, not Regents', level and was approved in the face of considerable consid-erable off-campus criticism, hope that a precedent has been set for similar matters in the future, of the matter and expresses the administration for their handling THE COUNCIL commends the campus appearances of controver- We urge as guidelines for controversial con-troversial speakers that: (a) TIME ALWAYS be reserved for audience questions, and (b) opposing speakers' be on the same program, or (c) appear under the same auspices within a reasonable period of time. The University has a high obligation obli-gation in preparing its students for effective citizenship. That responsibility respon-sibility can only be fulfilled in an atmosphere which welcomes responsible re-sponsible consideration of public issues in an aura of freedom. |
