University trustees echo condemnation of 'un-American' forum
By The Associated Press
10.08.01
NEW YORK — Trustees of the City University of New York plan to endorse a statement by Chancellor Matthew Goldstein denouncing the professors' union for sponsoring a forum that blamed U.S. foreign policy for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a spokesman has said.
Some trustees had drafted a resolution condemning the union's "un-American" and "seditious" statements at a forum at City College, but they instead decided to back a strongly worded statement released by Goldstein, said Jay Hershenson, vice chancellor for university relations.
"The trustees praised Chancellor Goldstein for his statement on the matter and have indicated their support for his approach," Hershenson said Oct. 5. "They are deferring to the chancellor's statement because they feel the statement speaks on behalf of the university."
In his statement, Goldstein denounced the Oct. 2 forum, saying there was "no sympathy for the voices ... who seek to justify or make lame excuses for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon with arguments based on ideological or historic circumstances."
The trustees are to vote on endorsing the chancellor's statement at their Oct. 22 meeting and drop consideration of the resolution, Hershenson said.
Two trustees, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld and John Calandra, were at the forum, attended by some 200 people. Both said they learned of the meeting's content from other CUNY members, the chancellery and a newspaper article.
In an interview Oct. 5, Wiesenfeld said the teach-in, "Threats of War, Challenges to Peace," had a title "that enticed radicals to come and spew forth their venom toward the United States."
Had the forum had a title defending the United States, "you wouldn't have attracted these people," he said.
"The idea that this country is somehow responsible for these terrorists attacks ... is horrendous," Calandra said, specifically referring to a statement made at the forum by Walter Daum, a mathematics lecturer at CUNY.
The New York Post on Oct. 3 quoted Daum as saying: "The ultimate responsibility lies with the rulers of this country, the capitalist ruling class of this country."
A phone message left by the Associated Press at Daum's City College office wasn't immediately returned.
In an interview in the online edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, a publication for college and university faculty, Daum said he had been quoted accurately, but that he had been trying to explain what may have led to the attacks, not justify them.
"In no way am I sympathetic to what was mass murder," he said.
Union President Barbara Bowen, in a phone interview Oct. 5, said the Professional Staff Congress itself had passed a resolution before the teach-in, condemning the attacks.
The trustees' draft resolution had called for the Professional Staff Congress "to disassociate itself from the sentiments expressed" at the forum and stated that the board "stands in support of the president and government of the United States in coordination and execution of a plan to root out and destroy terrorist capabilities throughout the world."
For the union, Bowen said, "Our position is very clear: we condemn the attacks. But we've created forums for people to talk about them. We defend absolutely the First Amendment rights of our students and our members. Scholars and teachers have a responsibility to seek understanding of even the most horrific acts. It's the essence of democracy to have the right to inquire, debate and disagree."