Correspondence w/ Mr. Bassett --- On Thu, 4/23/09, President's Office wrote: I want you to know that the students have arranged for Professor Norman Finkelstein to speak at Clark University on April 27, only four days later than the date originally discussed. Clark is dedicated to full and free inquiry on all controversial issues, especially including the relations between Israel and Palestine. My decisions along the way in this case were made in an attempt to balance two goods—free inquiry and common courtesy to visiting speakers. And, the decisions were always made with my primary concern being what is best for Clark University. I freely admit that the process could have been better. I should have begun by consulting with the leaders of the sponsoring student organization, not by announcing a decision. I also should not have assumed that, because April 20-24 is the last full week of classes, nothing else could happen until fall. That assumption left too many people thinking that free speech was in abeyance for five months. The students involved have conducted themselves in the best “Clark way” and I hope the result shows that one can achieve both goods. Thank you for being interested enough to send me your concerns. Sincerely, John Bassett President Clark University __________________ --- On Tue, 4/14/09: Dear Mr. Bassett, I appreciate your expedient reply, and I hope that you're soon able to hire more staff at Clark University so that the scheduling of student events doesn't fall directly on the shoulders of the President himself. However, I think most people's understanding of a "scheduling conflict" would be two events taking place at the very same time, in the very same location. And the solution to a "scheduling conflict" is rescheduling; not canceling. The case of Dr. Finkelstein speaking at Clark University does not constitute a "scheduling conflict" by any meaningful definition of the term. And your reaction to it, as well as your letter to "The Scarlet" raising concern about "controversy" and questioning the "appropriateness" of inviting Dr. Finkelstein, indicate that it was much more than a mere scheduling issue that prompted you to restrict your students' right to invite a distinguished political scientist to their campus. I urge you to either reconsider your decision, or elaborate on its merits in a more substantive manner. And finally, I encourage you to read how Lou Anna Simon, President of Michigan State University, dealt with a similar issue a few days ago: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20090410/NEWS06/904100317/1102/NEWS06 Sincerely, Omar Baddar; M.A. __________________ --- On Mon, 4/13/09, President's Office wrote: From: President's Office Subject: RE: On the cancellation of Dr. Finkelstein's Appearance To: "Omar Baddar" Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 4:46 PM Dear Mr. Baddar: My decision to decline to bring Professor Norman Finkelstein to campus next week was based upon mindful concern of a scheduling conflict with an institutionally sponsored event that had been in the planning stages for more than a year. This concern remains. At no time did I indicate that Professor Finkelstein would not speak at Clark on another occasion. I also support a broad and deep engagement of the Clark community with the Israel-Palestine issues. If our students wish to schedule the speaker here before the semester ends, or in the future, they can certainly work through the student planning process to make this happen. I would not oppose such a visit at all. I have respect and often commend the activism of Clark's bright and engaged students. I expect this administration and Clark's dozens of student organizations will work together on these and other issues now and as we move forward. John Bassett President ______________ From: Omar Baddar [mailto:omar_baddar@yahoo.com] Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 4:56 PM To: President's Office Subject: On the cancellation of Dr. Finkelstein's Appearance Dear Mr. Bassett, I was very disappointed to read that you have cancelled Dr. Finkelstein's talk at Clark University, on the grounds that it was scheduled close to the conference on Holocaust and Genocide Studies. The problem here is two-fold: (1) The false assumption that Dr. Finkelstein's appearance can legitimately be taken as an "affront" to those planning the conference, and (2), even if it that false assumption were correct, that it would then be appropriate to cancel one academic talk to accommodate the fragile sensibilities of the organizers of another event. The first fold of the problem is of little interest to me; though I would encourage you to read what the late Dr. Raul Hilberg, widely recognized as the leading Holocaust scholar, had to say about Dr. Finkelstein to acquire a better picture on the issue's merits. As for the second fold, you certainly wouldn't cancel a lecture by one theoretical physics professor on the grounds that it is scheduled too close to the lecture of another theoretical physics professor who strongly disagreed with the first. A serious commitment to academic freedom would extend this tolerance of intellectual diversity to slightly more contentious issues. I hope that you will reconsider your decision. Sincerely, Omar Baddar; M.A. back