Letter to the editor
Issue date: 10/23/09 Section: Opinion
Dear Clipper,
I sure was interested to read the part in your LaRouche article about the openness of the EvCC campus to "outside" materials. I'd been leafleting fellow students in the open area between Jackson & Index no more than ten minutes last winter (about Israel's military incursion into Gaza) when a staff member objected and I was asked by Student Activities to stop. I asked if there was any policy disallowing it and was told no but also told that the campus culture did not support leafleting because it was too much like the "mall" where students get bombarded with coupon marketing. 'What would it be like,' she asked me, 'if anyone could pass out anything?' Aside from an atmosphere of the free and open exchange of ideas, I hadn't been able to say... Because I'm a student I was offered a table inside the Parks building as an alternative; and while it's true that I had many interesting and valuable conversations with students and others in the EvCC community there, the fact remains that EvCC is not an "open campus" as suggested by your article.
The current furor (every pun intended) over the LaRouche Hitler poster is a further case in point. Is the image offensive? Of course. Especially for any of the descendants, like me, of the 11 million civilians systematically put to death as a matter of public policy by the 3rd Reich. (that's 6 million Jews and 5 million political dissidents, lesbians, gays, Roma, handicapped and whoever else was deemed defective.) Is it ridiculous hyperbole? Of course. The very fact that Obama expects Congress to come up with healthcare legislation proves he isn't the dictator LaRouche's claim of fascism would have you believe. But did the image capture our attention? Yes. Cultural symbols are very powerful. They're one of the most potent ways we have to communicate ideas. This is a good thing. Moments like this ask us to examine our emotional responses and form cogent responses to the ideas invoked. Is this a lot of work? It can be. There's a lot that's been created in the history of the world. But at least we'd be taking life and citizenship as seriously as the LaRouche people do. Otherwise the future just might end up in their hands!
I am concerned about the policy that Ms. Krzyzanoski and other EvCC administrators intend to create. I worry that the experience I had last year will be codified and that the free and open exchange of ideas crucial to our college experience will be sacrificed in the name of protection. Intelligence is never protected when points of view are silenced. I'm counting on you, The Clipper, to keep us informed about developments relative to this new policy and to make students aware of the opportunities we have to be involved in its development.
Thank you,
Sierra Zweig
I sure was interested to read the part in your LaRouche article about the openness of the EvCC campus to "outside" materials. I'd been leafleting fellow students in the open area between Jackson & Index no more than ten minutes last winter (about Israel's military incursion into Gaza) when a staff member objected and I was asked by Student Activities to stop. I asked if there was any policy disallowing it and was told no but also told that the campus culture did not support leafleting because it was too much like the "mall" where students get bombarded with coupon marketing. 'What would it be like,' she asked me, 'if anyone could pass out anything?' Aside from an atmosphere of the free and open exchange of ideas, I hadn't been able to say... Because I'm a student I was offered a table inside the Parks building as an alternative; and while it's true that I had many interesting and valuable conversations with students and others in the EvCC community there, the fact remains that EvCC is not an "open campus" as suggested by your article.
The current furor (every pun intended) over the LaRouche Hitler poster is a further case in point. Is the image offensive? Of course. Especially for any of the descendants, like me, of the 11 million civilians systematically put to death as a matter of public policy by the 3rd Reich. (that's 6 million Jews and 5 million political dissidents, lesbians, gays, Roma, handicapped and whoever else was deemed defective.) Is it ridiculous hyperbole? Of course. The very fact that Obama expects Congress to come up with healthcare legislation proves he isn't the dictator LaRouche's claim of fascism would have you believe. But did the image capture our attention? Yes. Cultural symbols are very powerful. They're one of the most potent ways we have to communicate ideas. This is a good thing. Moments like this ask us to examine our emotional responses and form cogent responses to the ideas invoked. Is this a lot of work? It can be. There's a lot that's been created in the history of the world. But at least we'd be taking life and citizenship as seriously as the LaRouche people do. Otherwise the future just might end up in their hands!
I am concerned about the policy that Ms. Krzyzanoski and other EvCC administrators intend to create. I worry that the experience I had last year will be codified and that the free and open exchange of ideas crucial to our college experience will be sacrificed in the name of protection. Intelligence is never protected when points of view are silenced. I'm counting on you, The Clipper, to keep us informed about developments relative to this new policy and to make students aware of the opportunities we have to be involved in its development.
Thank you,
Sierra Zweig
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