Quindecim

Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: News

Students filed multiple grievances with the Office of the Legal Counsel last week, after the President's Office denied a request made by five Peace Studies students to bring two pro-Palestinian speakers to campus as part of a dialogue about human rights in Gaza and the West Bank.

The students, who are hosting the event as part of their class final project, planned to bring Josh Reubner, cofounder of Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel (JPPI) and a former Analyst in Middle East Affairs at Congressional Research Service (CRS); and Rabbi Brian Walt, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights North America. A third panelist, Zahi Kahmis, is a Goucher professor originally from Nazareth.

After conferring with the Student Government Association, which had previously approved funds for the event, both the SGA Executive Board and the student group filed protests with the Office of Legal Counsel, stating that the administration violated Article III of the Student Bill of Rights.

The Student Bill of Rights was adopted by SGA two years ago and received the endorsement of the administration. Article III states, "Students have the right to pursue intellectual discourse in and outside of the classroom which shall not be inhibited for reasons based on their views. Students may invite and hear any person of their own choosing, with the understanding that guest speakers do not represent the views of Goucher College."

 In an interview with The Quindecim, Goucher President Sanford J. Ungar defended his decision, citing a history of anti-Israel speakers on campus, several of which have resulted in complaints from students, alumni, and parents. "We don't want Goucher to end up on a list of schools with a reputation of bringing vehemently pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli speakers to campus," said Ungar. "I don't think it would be good for enrollment."

Echoing a similar refrain from other administrators, President Ungar also emphasized the need for a range of views on the panel. "For something to be a Goucher public program, it needs to meet a set of requirements, one of which is balance." Asked if he was aware of any student plans to bring a pro-Israeli speaker to campus, Ungar replied that he did not, but that his office is in talks to bring the Israeli ambassador to Goucher.

When asked to explain the difference between facilitating a dialogue with the proposed panelists and other controversial appearances, such as Karl Rove, Ungar replied "Karl Rove has nothing to do with this situation." He went on to say that the college has hosted speakers who provide a counterweight to someone like Rove, such as Helen Thomas and Bob Woodward.

According to Katie Schwermer, one of the students, the group learned of the decision at a meeting with Kate Pipkin, Executive Director of Communications.

 Haley Panneton, another member of the group, sent an e-mail to President Ungar after the meeting in which she wrote, "After hearing from Kate Pipkin, our Peace 241 final group project has come to a standstill, Kate Pipkin informed us that our event cannot proceed without your approval. We need to meet with you as soon as possible to complete our classwork."

In his response, President Ungar placed the peace studies event in context with the incident last semester on Israeli Independence Day. "Last spring, when an attempt by one group to celebrate Israeli Independence Day was disrupted by a rival pro-Palestinian event, we had a serious problem: several Jewish students emailed me or came to my office, some in years, to complain about things that had been said publicly which they found very hurtful; a number of parents called me, and some alums also expressed their concern." He continued on to say that, in the aftermath of a dialogue hosted by chaplain Cynthia Terry, all future events on the Israeli/Palestinian issue were expected to be balanced.

The peace studies students feel that that their project is the victim of a misunderstanding. According to Jill Bratt, the dialogue is to be facilitated in a "world café" style, where the panelists and attendees break up into small groups and have a discussion about the subject matter. Each panelist has around ten minutes to speak before the group discussions begin. The students also say that the event is not about giving an endorsement to the speakers, bur rather, the goal is to give Goucher students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to engage in a dialogue, which they will facilitate.

"Our intention concerning human rights is to listen to multiple perspectives for understanding," said Bratt. "The panelists' views are not our views."' Peace Studies 241 is entitled "Issues in Conflict Resolution." The course description reads, "A topics course for the Peace Studies Program, in which students explore the mechanisms of conflict resolution in a variety of settings, using a case-study method."

 President Ungar feels that the students have not been proactive enough in seeking a meeting with him, saying that they had not followed up with his office to schedule a meeting. "I have a slight concern about this," he said. "Its like they want to test me, they want to complain and see what happens."

 According to the students, they attended several meetings with Emily Perl, Associate Dean for Student Engagement, where they were told that several administrators were concerned that the dialogue would "not be productive," though Dean Perl would not say who was concerned.

The students maintain that it was only after their meeting with the Office of Communications that they learned that President Ungar's approval was required for the dialogue to move forward. "We left the meeting [with the Office of Communcations] and had dinner. We thought about how to formulate our e-mail to Sandy, and sent it as soon as it was ready," said Sylvia Murray, another member of the student group. "We sent it within hours of the meeting."

As The Quindecim went to press, the President's Office was unable to confirm whether a meeting had been scheduled with the group. The SGA Executive Board feels there is no justification for the administration's actions. "It's pretty cut and dry," said SGA President Evan Siegel. "If students want to bring a speaker onto campus, they should be allowed to do so."

Asked what SGA plans to do if they do not prevail in the grievance procedure, Siegel said that he will "look at other options to ensure the security of the rights of students."

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