Last Friday, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger cancelled a lecture just hours before he was scheduled to arrive in Gaston Hall. In a letter sent to campus media, Ambassador Howard B. Shaffer, Deputy Director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, wrote that Kissinger cancelled after learning of a planned protest by GU Peace Action. Shaffer noted Kissinger’s concern of protesters potentially interrupting his speech. This concern alone was not enough to warrant Kissinger’s cancellation of the lecture. Controversial speakers regularly come to campus, avoid incident and end up sparking campus-wide dialogue.
According to GU Peace Action members Sasha Kinney (SFS ‘06) and Mike Wilson (CAS ‘05) the planned demonstrations were to take place in Red Square and not Gaston Hall. Shaffer’s letter also addressed only protests planned for outside the speech venue. Peace Action had no plans to interrupt Kissinger’s lecture.
Dr. Kissinger draws protests to many of his public appearances because of his controversial foreign policy during and after the Vietnam war. Regardless of Peace Action’s plans (and lack thereof) to protest, he should be used to dealing with those who disagree with his views and are critical of his past actions.
Last fall, when Gov. Howard Dean spoke in Gaston, members of the GU College Republicans brought Bush-Cheney campaign sign inside, intending to display them during the speech. As per University policy, the Department of Public Safety confiscated the signs and the speech went on without incident. DPS maintains a presence at all speeches, ready to intervene in case of a disturbance. With such a presence, it is unlikely that protesters would have a significant impact on the event.
This year, Georgetown has seen several controversial figures speak, including Michael Moore and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). These speakers also drew protests and criticsm, yet they were able to handle the situations that arose in a mature manner, engaging their opponents in dialogue. The result was a constructive discussion of controversial topics.
Any speaker, at any venue, can be subject to interruption by protesters or hecklers. A man as distinguished and intelligent as Dr. Kissinger should be able to handle criticism by college students. In fact, he has handled interruptions in the past. According to an Associated Press report, last year at a speech in Minneapolis, he was interrupted several times, and after each remark, Kissinger chuckled and continued with his speech.
Cancelling a lecture altogether eliminates the possibility of any discourse, and runs counter to Kissinger’s own logic. His office felt that potential hecklers would destroy the academic atmopsphere of the lecture, and ruin the chances of dialogue. Kissinger, however, assured there would be no discussion of ideas by refusing to speak.
