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William Ayers Speech to High Schoolers Cancelled After Public Outcry
By Donna Gundle-Krieg March 31, 2009 Note: to comment on this story or other stories about education, please go to Examiner.com
After many angry emails and phone calls, an Illinois school district rescinded an invitation to Dr. William Ayers to speak at Naperville North High School.
People were angry because Ayers, a professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago, has admitted to participating in domestic bombings as a way of protesting the Vietnam War in the 1960’s.
Ayers’ past was brought to national attention in the recent presidential election, when many connected Ayers and President Obama.
This connection is remote: Obama and Ayers both lived in the same Hyde Park neighborhood. They were also fellow board members from 1999-2002 for an anti-poverty group called Woods Fund of Chicago.
Ayers was selected to the board of this group because of his solid academic credentials and “passion for social justice,” according to the president of the Woods Fund, Deborah Harrington.
“Whatever his past, Ayers is now a respected member of the Chicago intelligentsia,” stated Michael Dodd of the Washington Post.
According to the Naperville Sun, Ayers was invited to speak to students by Kermit Eby, history teacher at Naperville North.
The event was not mandatory, and students had to get their parents’ permission to attend.
However, the public reaction against Ayers’ former life became too much for the district.
Other recent speaking events by Ayers have also been cancelled, including an appearance at an Illinois bookshop. University officials at Boston College also rescinded an invitation to speak there.
On the other hand, the former radical recently spoke at Oakland University in our wild state of Michigan.
“The appearance at Oakland University by Bill Ayers angered many readers,” according to the Oakland Press.
Many readers of the Oakland Press said that they will withhold
donations from the university, calling Ayers a terrorist.
Edward Hayes,
Chicago Public Education Examiner, a retired principal, and a retired
U.S. Army officer, does not have fond feelings for Ayers.
“College students are fair game,” he said.
“Besides, free speech and variant philosophies are welcome in the halls of higher education, even if the trend becomes heavily one sided as it has.
“But high school students are just kids, and their exposure to a former fugitive from justice, no matter how protected a species 1960’s terrorists may be, is bad judgment.”
For more information, see:
Public Anger Leads to Ayers Cancellation
Should Obama Speak at Notre Dame Despite Anti-Catholic Views?
Ayers Visit to OU Angers Many Readers
William Ayers: Naperville Unwittingly Shines a Light on an Encroaching Darkness
Statement From Naperville Superintendent Dr. Alan Leis
The appearance by Dr. Bill Ayers at Naperville North High School next week has been canceled.
On Friday, it was announced through a Talk203 email that we were reviewing the decision to invite him and that we were also exploring the possibility of moving the appearance to another venue. Initially, many people were upset about his appearance in a school building, even though it was to have been with a select group of students with required parental permission. Several people offered worthy suggestions about how to make the event more meaningful by concurrently inviting someone that would provide an equally strong opposing viewpoint.
Over the weekend, however, it became clear that this issue was not really about where Dr. Ayers was speaking, but that he was speaking at all. Each day, the level of emotion and outrage has seemed to increase, along with the number of emails and phone calls received. What was most unfortunate was that a few directed their anger toward an outstanding high school and at a well-regarded, award-winning teacher who encourages students to think for themselves.
While parents and others have written urging us to continue with the event because they want students exposed to diverse viewpoints, Dr. Ayers' appearance has clearly become a "lightning rod," both inside and outside the District 203 community, because of his past actions. It is clear that any value to our students would be lost in such a highly-charged atmosphere, and that any debate of issues or viewpoints would be overshadowed by media coverage and anger over the event itself.
Dr. Alan Leis, Superintendent of Schools
Naperville Community Unit School District 203
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