Levasseur to speak on UMass campus after all
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AMHERST - A controversial address by radical activist Ray Luc Levasseur, cancelled last week in the wake of protest from police and other groups, is back on.
Levasseur's talk has been rescheduled for Thursday at the University of Massachusetts, at a location to be announced.
Under pressure from police organizations and the governor, the UMass Special Collections and University Archives cancelled Levasseur's appearance as the closing event for a colloquium on social change.
His talk had been planned for the Campus Center for Thursday night.
Today, Levasseur was re-invited to campus by a group of professors, though the time and location for his talk have not been finalized.
University officials are not happy with the change in plans, though they are not standing in its way.
Levasseur's appearance is being criticized by UMass President Jack M. Wilson and Amherst campus officials. A statement released today calls the invitation to Levasseur "repugnant," but maintains that academic freedom must be upheld.
"While the university administration does not approve, endorse or support the decision to invite this individual to campus, academic freedom must be paramount for the university community," the statement said.
Proponents of the event were pleased to have the address back on schedule.
"I think that people who think that they have opposing views to Mr. Levasseur should come to the event and participate civilly and I think those among us who have an open mind and want to hear the perspective he brings should also come to the event and participate civilly," said Amber Eastman Black, a Southampton woman who started a Facebook page, Let Ray Have His Say, to encourage support for a new Valley venue for Levasseur following the cancellation.
Levasseur, 63, is expected to speak about his perspective on sedition and to reflect on his experiences including a stint in the Vietnam War; being arrested along with members of the "Ohio 7;" and being incarcerated for 20 years for his involvement in a series of bombings of New England government buildings while a member of the United Freedom Front. A member of the United Freedom Front murdered a New Jersey state trooper in 1981.
Comments
Where is the line?
Where is the line at UMass and with The Gazette?
What if the UMass faculty invited:
- Jeffery Dahmer to come talk about cooking techniques?
- Pol Pot to talk about political campaign strategies?
- Josef Stalin to discuss how to make and keep friends?
- Hitler on population control?
- The Grand Imperial Wizard of the KKK on social outreach programs?
- The spokesperson for the WWII Japanese Imperial Army on getting along with your neighbors?
- Idi Amin on developing special diets?
- David Koresh on social organizing?
- Timothy McVeigh on chemical theory and practices?
- David Wayne Gacey on planning your kids activities?
Would The Gazette consider those speakers and topics for "academic freedom?" Where is the line drawn, or is there simply no line at all?
....... and people wonder what is happening to the moral fabric of our society........ all we have to do is look around us (or read The Gazette's opinion page).
Freedom of speach.
Have things changed so much that it is now a right of a person to call out FIRE! in a crowded theater? There is a limit to everything, where is it going to end?
Who is paying all the cost ??
The Governor has said twice that NO STATE MONEY will be used to pay for this event... (today's Boston Herald). Then who and how will this entire event be funded? Private donations ~ I think not. There are so many costs associated with this type of event, that this could be thousands of dollars.
I think the Gazette should do us all (taxpayers) a service and find out the 'true' total costs for this show.
Who's paying him??
The problem I have with this is who is paying for Levasseur to speak ? I have read many of his postings and must say that he can --- and does point the finger and blame the government for many things. He may have some valid arguments, but to rob, bomb and associate with killers is not someone that the government should pay to speak at a college campus. I may be off base, maybe he is speaking without compensation from the college. FREE SPEACH... I have no problem with, if he is being paid with my tax dollars, I do. Mr. Levasseur believed that he was being pursued by death squads which were targeting him,so I guess it was OK for his friends to cut down Trooper Lamonaco and shoot at the Attleboro police.
They are only words
I'm a little surprised Jack Wilson would oppose Free Speech on his flagship campus. After all, it was more than embarrassing when Jack tried to give Andy Card an honorary degree from the University and was shouted down by lefty students and faculty.
The way to deal with bad speech is with good speech. Not censorship or shouting down. We have laws about inciting riots. So if Levasseur tries to do that on Thursday he can and should be arrested (safe bet there will be LOTS of cops in the room)