Posted on 01/20/2003 11:23:40 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Notoriously P.C.-crazed Duke University is defending its decision to provide a forum for Laura Whitehorn, who bombed the U.S. Capitol in 1983.
In an item headlined "Duke U: Terrorists Have Rights Too!" OpinionJournal columnist James Taranto noted today, "A truism about American higher education is that when university officials aren't suppressing free speech, they can usually be found invoking it to deflect criticism."
Duke's department of black studies originally referred to Whitehorn as "a revolutionary anti-imperialist who spent over 14 years in federal prison as a political prisoner." It now stops making the false, unattributed claim about being a "political prisoner" and says: "Laura Whitehorn spent more than 14 years in federal prison for her role in planting a bomb in the U.S. Capitol building in 1983, in protest of the U.S. invasion of Grenada. According to a biography she provided, she is a 'revolutionary anti-imperialist who spent over 14 years in federal prison as a political prisoner.'"
Here's the word from the university brass: "Duke does not exert control over or pressure its faculty and departments in their selection of campus speakers. One of our nation's greatest values, and one we at Duke celebrate, is the freedom for people to express their thoughts openly. Students, faculty and other members of the Duke community benefit from hearing and debating a wide variety of ideas. ..."
What a shame it's too late to invite Timothy McVeigh to speak.
Grad student Jack Langer, a member of the Duke Conservative Union, wrote to NewsMax: "We are now encouraging all alumni to write Duke President Nan Keohane and tell her they will suspend their donations to Duke until the school returns some semblance of sanity to the departments responsible for dedicating student funds to bringing a terrorist to speak at Duke. We tried to take out an ad in the Duke paper, The Chronicle, protesting the speech and explaining Whitehorn's crime, but the editor is telling us the ad is 'under review' and he will not tell us when, if ever, it might be printed, or even what the objectionable parts of the ad are."
Taranto noted that "one of Whitehorn's partners in crime, Linda Sue Evans, was among the recipients of 11th-hour clemency from Bill Clinton."
"I'm not repentant, that's for sure," Evans tee-heed after Slick Willie the Impeached unleashed her on the public.
Taranto concludes, "As far as we know, she has not yet been invited to speak at Duke - a mere oversight, we're sure."
P.S.: If Whitehorn is such an "anti-imperialist," what will she do to fight Cuban, Libyan, Iraqi, North Korean and Chinese imperialism?
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