Laura Whitehorn never thought her invitation to speak at an African and African American Studies graduate seminar would attract a second glance.
The problem, the Duke Conservative Union charges, is that Whitehorn is a convicted terrorist.
Whitehorn spent 1985 to 1999 in prison for planting a bomb in the U.S. Capitol in protest of the U.S. invasion of Grenada.
Becky Thompson, a visiting professor in AAAS, thought Whitehorn's past political experience--from women's liberation to civil rights to HIV/AIDS awareness in prison--made her a perfect addition to a six-part lecture series in her class, "Teaching Race, Teaching Gender."
But a heavily critical column last week in the Opinion Journal, a division of The Wall Street Journal, sparked a number of letters about Thompson's choosing her as a speaker, most of them addressed to President Nan Keohane. The column was motivated by information from the DCU.
"That the African Studies Department, the Center for Black Culture, the Women's Studies Department and the John Hope Franklin Center would sponsor such an event is a travesty," DCU officials said in a statement.
It is "particularly flagrant that the University and co-sponsors are sending their funds the way of someone who is trying to kill our leaders," added Bill English, president of the DCU. "How does this reflect on us as a prestigious university?"
Whitehorn, 60, expressed shock at the negative press. Active on the campus lecture circuit--delivering several annual speeches at institutions such as Vassar, Cornell, Columbia, Brown and the Church of St. John the Divine in New York City--she said this is the first time her speaking has garnered any negative publicity. An electronic search of campus publications found no mention of her.
"I was a pacifist for much of my life, and I am very against terrorism," she said. "Terrorism is the targeting of civilians, a reactionary form of arms struggle. I've never been involved in targeting civilians. [The U.S. Capitol bombing] was a symbolic action. Great care that no one would be hurt was taken, even the janitorial staff."
While she does not encourage anyone else to copy what she did at the U.S. Capitol, she said she is not ashamed of her motives.
Thompson said she was equally surprised by the DCU's reaction to Whitehorn speaking on campus. "Her work was actually the opposite of terrorism," she said, adding that it was protesting other acts of perceived terrorism. "Part of being patriotic is trying to encourage the government to stand by principles of equality and democracy."
The debate is a free speech issue and the definition of patriotism does not exclude dissent, she said.
David Jarmul, associate vice president for news and communications at Duke, issued a statement last week defending Whitehorn's speaking on campus. He said Whitehorn's invitation was a free speech issue for the University and that both he and his colleagues agree that Duke is acting in an appropriate manner by upholding the invitation.
Thompson said there has been unanimous support from AAAS faculty members for Laura Whitehorn's continuation in the series.
"When people hear the word 'terrorist,' they stop thinking," said Charles Payne, chair of AAAS. "If you think about how civic climate has changed since 9/11, the term 'terrorist' gets thrown around in some ways that aren't helpful."
English, who is a senior and also a columnist for The Chronicle, stressed that the DCU is not trying to censor anyone, and that they were simply asking for an "explanation." This is "another example of perverse priorities," he said, describing Whitehorn as "unrepentant."
In a statement released by the DCU, the group asked, "What's next: a lecture by Osama bin Laden?"
"I am shocked that students would use this definition [of terrorism] without knowing what it means," Whitehorn said. She cites U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and the possible war in Iraq, as the real terrorism. The purpose of a university, she added, is that all points of view are available for discussion.
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