Clark University

My alma mater is making big news this week for a controversial decision that stirred up debates on freedom of speech.

A few months ago, the Clark University Students for Palestinian Rights (CUSPR) invited Dr. Norman Finkelstein to speak on campus. Dr. Finkelstein is a controversial scholar who asserts, among other things, that Israel purposefully uses the memory of the Holocaust to grant itself immunity from criticism. He believes that Israel is a huge military power that has been allowed to commit human rights violations (specifically against Palestine) without question from the rest of the world.

Dr. Finkelstein, a child of Holocaust survivors, has views that are certainly controversial. He frequently engages in vigorous academic debate with scholars who do not support Palestine, and at times uses language that can be seen as disrespectful (calling the work of some pro-Israel scholars "nonsense" and "fraud"). However, it seems that Dr. Finkelstein's books are meticulously researched and well-written, and have garnered much praise from Noam Chomsky, among others.

In fact, one could argue that he actually honors the memory of the Holocaust by so adamantly arguing against its exploitation.

Apparently, Dr. Finkelstein was scheduled to speak at Clark on April 21. However, Clark's Hillel protested that the speech fell on Holocaust Remembrance Day. CUSPR was open to this comment and promptly tried to move Dr. Finkelstein's speech to April 23. Apparently, this date was still a problem for the University, as it fell too close to a conference being hosted by Clark's Holocaust Studies department. (This was even though Dr. Finkelstein was NOT scheduled to speak about the Holocaust. Rather, his speech was about the recent conflict in Gaza and the importance of a Palestinian state.)

Enter the President's office of Clark University. During a hastily scheduled tiny meeting, attended only by a few members of the President's office and several members of CUSPR, the President cancelled Dr. Finkelstein's speech altogether. According to members of CUSPR, the President of Clark likened Dr. Finkelstein's views to those of a white supremacist. Of course, the public does not know what was actually said during this clandestine meeting. Clark University's official statement was that the timing of Dr. Finkelstein's speech was "unfortunate." Later on, Clark wavered and decided that Dr. Finkelstein could speak at the University, but only months after the conference for Holocaust Studies.

Apparently, Clark is open to opposing viewpoints only if they are presented months apart.

Technically, this is not an issue of free speech, as Clark is a private institution that is allowed to invite whomever it chooses to speak on campus. I can concede that granting someone the honor of speaking on such a huge platform as a University stage should be considered carefully, and granted only to those who will promote thoughtful debate. I agree that we should probably not invite Matthew Shepard's murderers to speak at Clark (Clark University professor of Holocaust history Deborah Dwork made this comparison).

However, I wonder what message we are sending to up and coming Clark grads, as well as the rest of the world. I personally do not want to have my undergraduate degree from a university that is being associated with censorship. Dr. Finkelstein is a well-educated scholar and a thoughtful debater. It is time for America to hear the argument for Palestine. What better place to do this than a liberal university that claims to embrace diversity?