February 17, 2005

Ward Churchill not wanted at Antioch commencement

By Jim Tomlinson

Antioch College has decided to rescind its invitation to controversial college professor Ward Churchill to speak at this spring’s graduation.

Rick Jurasek, the interim president at Antioch, made the decision last Friday, after what he called a productive campus dialogue on Churchill.

Churchill has gained national attention lately for his political ideology and controversial commentaries on U.S. foreign policy. Other colleges have canceled previously scheduled speaking engagements.

In a statement released Tuesday, Jurasek said, “I fear we will not be able to pay the internal price that we will impose upon ourselves. The presence of Mr. Churchill on our campus, it is clear to me, would destabilize our campus community, divide us, and draw down our energy. We would purchase whole-campus controversy when this particular controversial thinker was not even the choice of a whole-campus process.”

Adam Howard, the associate dean of faculty, said that bringing Churchill to Antioch could prove to be too difficult an event for the institution to cope with. “The controversies are worth it, but they take away money, and other things we need,” he said. “We aren’t strong now, we’re transitioning.”

“There are consequences, and you have to decide what battles are worth fighting, which ones are worth it, and which ones you can survive,” he said.

Last fall Churchill was selected to speak at commencement through a vote by the senior class, a tradition at Antioch. Howard Zinn, the class’s first choice, was unavailable to attend the ceremony, and Churchill, the second choice, was then pursued.

Howard said that the college community would find another graduation speaker.

A controversial essay

Churchill, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, who has written more than a dozen books, is in the midst of an ideological firestorm.

He received national attention last month when Hamilton College in New York State canceled a planned appearance by Churchill on campus due to threats of violence. A controversy had sprouted on the Hamilton campus over an essay Churchill had written entitled “Some People Push Back,” on Sept. 11, 2001. The article has since become known for calling the World Trade Center and Pentagon as legitimate military targets.

Joan Hinde Stewart, the president of Hamilton, issued a statement on the university’s Web site, saying of the original invitation, “to rescind it once it had been accepted, solely on the grounds that views expressed in an earlier article of Mr. Churchill’s were repugnant, would undercut academic freedom.”

On Jan. 31, the Denver Post reported on its Web site that Churchill issued a statement responding to what he called “widespread and grossly inaccurate media coverage concerning my analysis of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.”

“My point is that we cannot allow the U.S. government, acting in our name, to engage in massive violations of international law and fundamental human rights and not expect to reap the consequences,” he said, according to the Denver Post.

Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., and Eastern Washington State University have also canceled previously scheduled talks by Churchill.

Churchill resigned as chair of the ethnic studies department on Jan. 31, saying in a letter to the school’s dean that the current political climate has rendered him a liability to his department and university, according to several online sources.

The Denver Post has reported that numerous calls for Churchill’s dismissal from UC-Boulder are being made, including by Colorado Governor Bill Owens, who stated in a letter to the university that “we are not compelled to accept his pro-terrorist views at state taxpayer subsidy nor under the banner of the University of Colorado.” Both the Colorado State House and Senate have passed identical resolutions condemning Churchill’s statements concerning the attacks on the U.S.

Churchill is currently being reviewed to determine whether he “overstepped his bounds as a faculty member,” Phil DiStefano, the chancellor of UC-Boulder, said in a statement on the school’s Web site.

Churchill continues to receive threatening messages, including death threats, and had his truck vandalized outside his Boulder home last week, the Denver Post has reported.

The decision to uninvite

The day before Jurasek decided to rescind Antioch’s commencement invitation, over 35 Antioch students and faculty members discussed whether Churchill was an appropriate commencement speaker during an open meeting on campus.

“There wasn’t complete and utter support for Ward,” Howard, the associate dean of faculty, said of the meeting.

Howard said that the administrative decision came from a general concern for the college’s well being. “We have to look at the health of the institution as a primary concern, or we’re not going to have an institution,” he said.

Jurasek said in an interview Friday that he hopes some positive outcomes arise from the controversy, though, he said, bringing Churchill to Antioch at this time is not in the college’s best interest.

“It’s a tangle right now, and it’s divisive and that’s just not the best platform to launch real inquiry and learning,” Jurasek said.

Five graduating seniors who were interviewed for this article expressed discontent about the administration’s decision.

“We’re so in need of money to survive that we have to compromise our morals and values,” one of the seniors, Shelby Chestnut, said. “You can’t equate risk and social justice with money.”

Chestnut also said that supporting Churchill would be consistent with Antioch’s morals. “People are suppressed because at the moment they threaten power structures, they’re stopped,” she said. “If we’re some bootcamp for the revolution, then we should be supporting this guy now…. That’s why I came to Antioch in the first place, to learn how to take risks.”

Brett Cherry, another graduating senior, said it’s unfortunate that Churchill isn’t coming, but added that he understands the administration’s rationale.

“At the same time, from the administrative point of view, they’re looking at what’s best for Antioch College, to make it as stable as possible,” he said. “If Antioch was a more stable place, then of course we would have him here,” he said of Churchill.