Has Brown changed? Two years ago, after the Brown Daily Herald published a David Horowitz advertisement opposing slave reparations, a group of irate students reacted by stealing the entire issue. Rather than condemn the thieves, the University condemned the student-run newspaper for running a “deliberately and deeply hurtful advertisement.” A faculty forum was convened at which the Brown Daily Herald, Horowitz and anyone else who dared oppose slave reparations were excoriated. Slave reparations may be a non-starter off campus, but they were part of the reigning orthodoxy at Brown, and the folks there made it clear that they would brook no debate.
According to an article by Stephen Beale in the Providence Journal, however, this year things were a little better. In previous years, College Republicans had been warned off inviting Horowitz to speak on the ground that it would cause a race riot. Speakers like Ward Connerly, Dinesh D’Souza, and Ralph Reed were harassed or entirely hooted down. This year, however, the College Republicans was able to invite Horowitz and he was politely received. In March, University President Ruth Simmons announced the formation of a university committee to consider the issue of “slavery and justice,” in part because the issue had not received a full and fair debate back in 2002.
But don’t get too excited. This isn’t going to be a real debate–not judging from the composition of the committee. Students from the Young Communist League are represented on the committee. And the president of the College Democrats is a member. But that’s it for students. Faculty members similarly run the gamut from left of center to strongly leftist; the chairman is among those who were hurling epithets at the Herald back in 2002. I suppose Brown doesn’t want to get too carried away with the free and open debate stuff. It’s bad for school spirit.
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