Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Duke students protest speaker
HeraldSun.com ^ | January 20, 2003 | Maria Beaudoin and Kimberly Sweet

Posted on 01/21/2003 8:56:59 AM PST by conservativecorner

DURHAM -- A speaking invitation to a woman who spent 14 years in prison for conspiring to plant a bomb in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., has riled some Duke students.

The Duke Conservative Union is questioning why Laura Whitehorn -- a woman it calls a convicted terrorist -- was invited by a visiting professor to speak at the university March 3.

"It is rather perverse to have her here on campus when we’re at war with terrorism," said Bill English, a Duke senior and adviser to the group. "We are challenging the values of having an ex-terrorist on campus who is not repentant and who still advocates violence."

On Nov. 7, 1983, a bomb exploded around 11 p.m. in a public corridor near a Senate cloak room. No one was injured, but the explosion damaged a wood-paneled conference room near the Senate Chamber and the offices of Sen. Robert Byrd.

Whitehorn was convicted of conspiring to plant the bomb. She said she was protesting U.S. military action and that she and others took "great care" to make sure no one would get hurt. The group’s aim was to cause property damage only, she said.

"I have never been a terrorist," Whitehorn, 57, said in a telephone interview Monday night. Terrorists target civilians, she said.

"This is really a free speech issue," she said of the campus controversy. "The most important thing in college is to listen to different viewpoints and then you make up your mind. ... If we can shut people up and so easily intimidate them, then we’re back in the ’50s."

The university has defended Whitehorn’s invitation, saying it hosts speakers with a wide range of views and urges debate on a wide variety of ideas.

"Duke does not exert control over or pressure its faculty and departments in their selection of campus speakers," associate vice president David Jarmul said in a statement posted on Duke’s Web site Friday. It was posted in response to an online opinion article appearing on the Wall Street Journal’s Web site criticizing Whitehorn’s appearance.

"One of our nation’s greatest values, and one we at Duke celebrate, is the freedom for people to express their thoughts openly," the statement said.

It also explained that Whitehorn was invited to speak by Becky Thompson, a visiting professor at Duke, about HIV and AIDS in prisons. Whitehorn has researched the topic and worked with POZ Magazine, a monthly magazine aimed at communities affected by HIV and AIDS.

Whitehorn was convicted in 1985 and charged with "conspiracy to oppose, protest and change the policies and practices of the United States government in domestic and international matters by violence and illegal means." She spent 14 years in prison, and was released on parole on Aug. 6, 1999.

It was in prison that Whitehorn first saw women dying of AIDS, she said. At Duke, she will speak about her AIDS work and also about the history of "white radicals’ solidarity with the black liberation movement."

"I was a freshman in college when the Birmingham bombing happened," she said. "I swore I was not going to sit around and go, tsk, tsk."

In college, Whitehorn worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a group dedicated to ending segregation in the South and giving blacks a stronger voice in the civil rights movement. In the 1970s, Whitehorn worked with the Black Panther Party and the New Afrikan Independence Movement. In 1971, she led the takeover and occupation of a Harvard building with 400 other women to protest the war in Vietnam and to demand a Women’s Center.

"I’ve been an anti-racism activist for years and years and years. Now I’m doing that through my anti-AIDS work," Whitehorn said. "That’s why the students want to hear from me."

Her visit is being sponsored by the African and African-American Studies Program, the Women’s Studies Program, the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture and the John Hope Franklin Center.

Leon Dunkley, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center, knew little about the event when contacted Monday.

But he said that Whitehorn was invited to campus "with the same amount of integrity that the Conservative Union has when it brings a speaker to campus."

One of those speakers was David Horowitz, a conservative author who has spoken out against reparations for slavery and caused protests at Duke when he bought advertising space in the student newspaper.

Dunkley said dissenters would be welcome.

"I invite all contesters to find out why such a speaker would come," he said.

The students say they oppose sponsoring such an event with student funds.

"I think it would be an entirely different issue if a student group were to fund her visit, or if she were to speak for free," English said. "We think it’s the nature of the support, the nature of the funding that makes this so odious."

Whitehorn said she did know how much she would be paid for her visit to Duke. "That will be worked out," she said.

English said his group is also upset at the misleading nature of the university’s advertising for the lecture.

When the university first announced Whitehorn’s visit, the posting on the African and African-American Studies Department Web site read: "Laura Whitehorn is a revolutionary anti-imperialist who spent over 14 years in federal prison as a political prisoner."

On Sunday, the same announcement read: "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."

English said his group is encouraging students and alumni to e-mail Duke University President Nan Keohane with their opinions.

When Whitehorn does come, English said his group won’t be afraid to question her.

"If she comes to campus, I expect a lot of members will come to the talk and have very deep questions for her," he said. "We would try to turn this into an educational experience. It would just be a little different than what was originally intended."

Night metro editor Mark Schultz contributed to this article.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: duke; highereducation; northcarolina; oldnorthstate; whitehorn
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-63 next last

1 posted on 01/21/2003 8:56:59 AM PST by conservativecorner
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: conservativecorner
Maybe a drop in alumni donations will elicit a much-needed evaluation of student activity expenditures.
2 posted on 01/21/2003 9:09:49 AM PST by Ciexyz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: conservativecorner
Too bad Whitehorn wasn't working in the WTC on 9-11-01.
3 posted on 01/21/2003 9:10:15 AM PST by DoctorHydrocal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: conservativecorner
What a stupid idea to have her as a speaker!
4 posted on 01/21/2003 9:16:51 AM PST by buffyt (Can you say President Hillary?.......Me neither....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Constitution Day; Vinnie; ncweaver; wimpycat; Overtaxed; Phantom Lord; goosie; kayak; mykdsmom
Ping again.
5 posted on 01/21/2003 10:31:20 AM PST by Howlin (I'm sick of hearing about race and celebrities...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Interesting Times
Ping.
6 posted on 01/21/2003 10:38:31 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
Thanks!
7 posted on 01/21/2003 10:38:51 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: conservativecorner
"This is really a free speech issue," she said of the campus controversy. "The most important thing in college is to listen to different viewpoints and then you make up your mind. ... If we can shut people up and so easily intimidate them, then we’re back in the ’50s."

So? When are they inviting David Duke to speak?? How about
the head of the American Nazi party??

Colleges are very selective abuot the type of nutcases they invite to speak. Only anit-American, anti-white, anti-Christian type nutcases allowed. The other nutcases are barred.
8 posted on 01/21/2003 10:39:17 AM PST by ZULU
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: *Old_North_State; **North_Carolina; mykdsmom; Lee'sGhost; KOZ.; borntodiefree; azhenfud; ...
NC ping!
Please FRmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.
9 posted on 01/21/2003 10:39:39 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ZULU
As somebody said the other day, can John Walker Lindh be far behind?
10 posted on 01/21/2003 10:40:45 AM PST by Howlin (I'm sick of hearing about race and celebrities...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Constitution Day
Thanks.

Here is a link to the earlier thread.

It looks like the terrorist's remarks may be open to the public. I wonder if any NC freepers might wish to attend?

11 posted on 01/21/2003 10:41:08 AM PST by Interesting Times
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Interesting Times
As I recall, it's on 3/3/2003.
That's far enough in advance that I should definitely be able to make it.
12 posted on 01/21/2003 10:42:33 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: conservativecorner
"The most important thing in college is to listen to different viewpoints and then you make up your mind. ... If we can shut people up and so easily intimidate them, then we’re back in the ’50s."

Excellent! Then the next Billy Graham crusade will be on the Duke campus?

No? Oh, I forgot. "Hate speech" is different....
13 posted on 01/21/2003 10:43:13 AM PST by ConservativeDude
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
By the way, I did get a response from Jerry Agar.
He had already mentioned this by the time I e-mailed him, and said he would do so again.
14 posted on 01/21/2003 10:44:28 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Constitution Day
As I recall, it's on 3/3/2003.

Local tomatoes aren't ripe then.

15 posted on 01/21/2003 10:45:32 AM PST by Overtaxed
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Howlin
To: ZULU As somebody said the other day, can John Walker Lindh be far behind?

Will Duke be the next University to have Mumia give a commencement address?

16 posted on 01/21/2003 10:45:40 AM PST by dfwgator (Fry Mumia!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: conservativecorner
a woman it calls a convicted terrorist

I wonder why they call her that?

Could it be because she is a convicted terrorist?

17 posted on 01/21/2003 10:45:48 AM PST by dead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Overtaxed
OT, I like the way you think.

Even if you are one-a them Carolina folks. :)

18 posted on 01/21/2003 10:48:37 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Constitution Day
Excellent.

Do you have, or can you borrow a videocam?

Perhaps Ms. Whitehead's remarks would be of interest to a wider audience...

19 posted on 01/21/2003 10:49:24 AM PST by Interesting Times
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Interesting Times
I have a Panasonic Digital Palmcorder.
I have never done it, but we could upload the video to the 'Net with it, I believe.

CD

20 posted on 01/21/2003 10:53:33 AM PST by Constitution Day
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-63 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson