Secord Was Provost Decides to Re-evaluate
Not First
Choice for
Provost's
Lecture Series
By Tara McKinstry
With the controversey sparked by
Major General Secord's Sept. 29 visit to
Penn State Harrisburg, the Capital
Times looked into the selection process
of speakers for the Provost's Lecture
Series.
Dr. Leventhal, provost and dean, said
that since this is a community outreach
program, the committee chosen to select
the lecturers hoped the speakers would
give the audience insight into current
issues.
"The series should facilitate learning
whether it encourages research into the
issues or the speakers," she said.
The criteria for choosing the retired
major general was a little different than
for choosing other speakers.
An ad hoc committee formed this
summer when two of the previously
selected speakers Malcom Forbes Jr. and
Alan Ableson cancelled their
appearances.
The committee had to find a speaker
who would:
* be available at such short notice,
* be affordable, and
* be a newsmaker.
Secord fit the bill.
Some committee members had
reservations about inviting him to speak
so they went to the community and to
some faculty members for their
opinions.
They found no real opposition so
they asked him to speak.
Brad Hemstreet, director of
Community Relations, said he thinks
the inclusion of Secord in the series has
brought about a lot of good things.
"It has fostered a lot of diversity of
views. Since you must seek facts before
you form opinions, it has created a lot of
research into Iranscam," said Hemstrcet.
Hemstreet said he does not see Secord
as the problem.
"He's only a symptom of the
problem. The problem is the fact that
the government takes liberties with the
Constitution."
Another aspect of the series that
concerns students is that the political
speakers in the series are conservatives.
In response to that, Leventhal said
that Susan Sontang, a liberal whose talk
is titled "AIDS as Metaphor," will be
speaking about more than AIDS.
In the past, the college has been
accused of having a too liberal series.
For example, when Ralph Nader came to
speak, area business leaders were up in
arms, explained Leventhal.
If the objectives of this lecture series
are better met by having a controversial
speaker who sparks interest and increases
attendance, then so be ii concluded
Hemstreet.
By Kimberly Anastas
After receiving two letters from
faculty members concerned about
Richard V. Secord's appearance on
campus, Dr. Ruth Leventhal, provost
and dean, said that she will ask the
director of Community Relations to re
evaluate the selection and consultation
process of choosing speakers for the
Provost's Lecture Series.
Eton Churchill, assistant professor of
humanities and communications and
coordinator of the communications
program, wrote a letter which
included 14 faculty signatures to
Leventhal requesting that Secord's
involvement in "Iranscam" and the 23-
count indictment charged against him be
mentioned in his introduction at the
lecture.
The provost responsed that she
intended all along to mention Secord's
indictment and involvement in
"Iranscam."
Louise Hoffman, associate professor
of humanities and history and a signer of
Churchill's petition, wrote a letter to the
provost which was signed by 26 faculty
members addressing concerns the
selection of speakers and Uheir
educational value.
Hoffman's letter suggested that
lecturers brought to campus should
speak to classes or with faculty and
students in addition to a public lecture
and press conference in order to enhance
the educational value of their visits.
Leventhal said she too believes that
speakers who encounter faculty and
students directly would be valuable.
"We try to get that in a contract.
Some speakers [on this campus] have
spoken in classrooms. Secord's agent
said he doesn't do that," she said.
Michael Young, professor of political
and public affairs, said Secord's visit to
campus was very beneficial.
"It's important to have people like
Secord on campus because one of the
main reasons for a university is the
exchange of ideas."
Hoffman's letter also expressed
concern over the fact that the appropriate
faculty be consulted before choosing the
lecturers.
This year's series, "Controvt isy in
Communication," was planned withotit
any consultation from the
communications faculty.
Lecturer Selection Process
Leventhal said that although the
selection committees for the series have
been different since the series began in
1986, "We have tried to have a
representative committee every time."
The speakers are selected ultimately
through the Office of Community
Relations.
Afr
On Sept. 22 Susan Mnumzana, a
representative of the African National
Congress, spoke to a handful of students
and faculty in the Black Cultural Arts
Center.
Mnumzana addressed the problems
being faced by South African blacks and
the role of the United States in changing
South African government policy.
She presented the listeners with a
picture of what life is like for blacks in
South Africa.
She told the audience about seven
year-old children who must stand trial as
adults because they threw rocks at the
soldiers who killed members of their
family the night before.
Mnumzana spoke of the 60 youths
currently on death row who, unlike their
American counterparts, are absolutely
assured of being put to death.
She discussed the system for division
of land where 87 percent of the land is
owned by the small white minority
while the entire black population
occupies the other 13 percent.
Mnumzana critiP l 7 , -( 1 the United
States' reluctancy: to take action against
the National Party.
She addressed the United States'
excuses for not issuing sanctions against
American corporations in South Africa.
The U.S. government says that
sanctions would only hurt the black
South African people, but Mnumzana
said that so few blacks are employed that
even if all the black employees were
fired it could not add to the current
suffering.
"People are hurt enough by the
system," she said, "they are willing to
Susan Mnumzana spoke on life in South Africa at the BCAC Sept. 22
National Congress Rep.
!can
peaks on Campus
Yagecic
By John
Brad Hemstreet, director of
Community Relations, said Secord was
a last minute decision because three
speakers including Mike Royko, and
Malcolm Forbes Jr. backed out before
their contracts were signed.
Continued on page 15
make the ultimate sacrifice to make the
future bright for their children."
Another reason the U.S. government
has given for not fully supporting the
African National Congress is fear of the
ANC's Communist affiliation.
"Americans are paranoid about
Communism," Mnumzana told the
audience.
"Does a Communist system mean we
suffer less? Do fewer people die?"
Mnumzana said that the ANC, being
in desperate need of supplies, will accept
whatever is given to them.
If the Soviets offer aid and the United
States does not, said Mnumzana, what
choice does the ANC have?
Mnumzana said that when they come
into power, the ANC will strive to
educate all people of South Africa --
black and white.
Only in education, she said, can such
a human tragedy as apartheid be
prevented from happening again.
Racial separation, she said, began in
the late 1800 s when the British moved
into and colonized most of Africa.
The ANC, which is the oldest
liberation movement in Africa, staged its
first campaign against the British in
1910.
The campaign was peaceful but
unsuccessful.
In 1948, just after World War 11, the
National Party came into power in
South Africa and they have remained
there ever since.
The National Party made the brutal
apartheid system national policy
immediately after coming into office.
The lecture was followed by a
reception in the BCAC.
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