The School of Management will become a center for controversy tonight as David Horowitz delivers his lecture, “Racism as the Intolerant Left,” to what promises to be a politically divided crowd.
The lecture, sponsored by Boston University’s College Republicans, was scheduled over a month ago, before Horowitz’s ad “Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Slavery is a Bad Idea-And Racist Too” first appeared in college newspapers across the country, including The Daily Free Press.
The ad, which addressed Horowitz’s opposition to giving reparations to blacks for slavery, sparked protests at a number of universities in which it appeared, and led to the theft of nearly an entire press run of the Daily Herald at Brown University.
“I’ll be talking about the ad,” Horowitz told WTKK talk radio host Jay Severn on Friday. “I’ll be talking about the racial hucksters. I’ll be talking about the fascists on campus, and there’ll be a large contingent of campus fascists there.”
Horowitz said he had heard Internet rumors that a group of Maoists will be present at the lecture, which causes him some concern.
“I trust the University will have sufficient security to control the mob,” Horowitz said. “It’s a sad commentary that one has to be concerned that people could get hurt with these idiots [the Maoists] around.”
In a Boston Herald editorial on Friday, Chancellor John Silber noted that Boston University students, unlike those at Brown, did not protest Horowitz ad after its appearance in this paper.
“We like to think our students understand the basics of a free press and of academic freedom,” Silber said.
“I hold the students in a high regard and expect that they’ll behave in an appropriate fashion,” said BU spokesman Colin Riley. “They’ll show respect to the guest on campus, listen to his ideas and ask questions.”
The College Republicans are also hopeful that the event does not incite violence.
“I realize that some people disagree, and that’s fine,” said College of Communication sophomore Nick Savides, president of the College Republicans. “I just hope they’ll be civil about it and give him the opportunity to speak before forming their opinions.”
Boston University’s Student Activities Office approved the College Republicans’ petition without hesitation, said Allen Ward, director of Student Activities.
“It was never a question as to whether it was OK [to invite him],” Ward said. “The philosophy of our office is to welcome people with a variety of opinions to speak on campus.”
College of Arts and Sciences junior Marshalee Ducille, who is president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter at Boston University, said her organization will not protest Horowitz’s right to speak, as members are divided on the reparations issue. The NAACP will, however, hold a reactionary meeting after the event to discuss Horowitz’s views.
“I’m trying to encourage the NAACP to embrace what he has to say, but not necessarily accept it,” Ducille said. “He has the audacity to say what he feels and, quite frankly, I appreciate it.”
Ducille said Horowitz’s openness with his views are helpful in exposing a racial tension that has not disappeared in American society.
“If people like him did not say how they feel, we’d still be under the misconception that the nature of America’s heart has been changed,” Ducille said. “He’s made us realize that we still have a lot of work that needs to be done.”
Ward noted the importance of keeping an open mind to what Horowitz has to say and encouraged students to consider the speaker’s position.
“We hope that students and guests come with the attitude that this is an opinion on a topic,” Ward said. “This is a university, which is a place where different opinions are expressed. Student organizations that have different philosophies are welcome to have speakers that support their own view, and the Student Activities Office will help them plan and organize just as we did with the College Republicans.”
Horowitz is scheduled to speak in room 105 of the School of Management at 8 p.m. tonight. The lecture is free and open to the public.
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