Thursday marked a low point in my life as an academic, as dean of Milano, and as a member of The New School community. A month or so ago, Milano got into contact with Tom Ridge’s office. Tom Ridge, as you probably know, was twice elected Governor of Pennsylvania and was the first Secretary of Homeland Security. He has just published a new book and was interested in discussing it at our school. I knew that many in our community would not agree with Ridge’s politics or positions, but agreement with all the positions of any guest speaker isn’t really the point. What matters most is the opportunity to hear the perspectives of the speakers we bring in, to ask questions, and to debate.
As a faculty member I taught Policy Analysis—a required course for all of our Urban Policy students—for seven years, and when I read TomRidge’s book I realized that his job entailed him to make the kinds of decisions we are training our students to make. Decisions about how to allocate finite resources -- for example, whether to fund more cancer research or to stockpile anthrax vaccines. In short, I anticipated Tom Ridge’s visit to Milano eagerly as a terrific learning opportunity for our community.
At Milano, we are very intentional about providing our students with both management and policy tools. As an official charged with getting a range of disparate agencies to cooperate and with making policy in a post-9/11 world, I knew that Tom Ridge had certainly confronted serious challenges involving how to integrate management and policy. His offer to speak to our community, and to answer questions, seemed to me a terrific opportunity for our students to engage with what they are learning in a very real way. Making the classroom permeable is central to my teaching philosophy and I saw this morning’s event as one of many opportunities we provide to our students to learn about how things really get done in the world.
What happened was far from what I expected. Soon after Tom Ridge completed his formal remarks, and Bob Kerrey began to moderate the question and answer portion of the program, a small group heckled and harassed both of them, preventing any questions from being asked or answered, and stifling meaningful dialogue. President Kerrey, who had indicated his intention to give the floor to Milano students, had no choice but to shut down the event. For my own part, I was literally shocked by the disrespect shown by this small group—none of whom I recognized as Milano students; I wish I had had the presence of mind to act more swiftly. The deplorable behavior exhibited by this small group flies in the face of the academic values we hold dear and that lie at the center of The New School’s identity. Shutting down a conversation, a legitimate debate is anathema to me. I remain deeply troubled by what happened on Thursday and am committed to working with my colleagues across the university to find ways to preserve the ability for all of us to engage in a free and open exchange of ideas.
The hecklers left as soon as the President terminated the event; they thought they had achieved their goals, which clearly did not involve learning, or challenging their own ideas.
What happened next, however, gives me hope. Secretary Ridge remained with those of us who stayed, and talked with a group of at least 25 students and other members of our community. He stayed for over an hour, long past when the formal program would have ended, and answered every question. He was gracious, open to taking challenging questions, and thoughtful in his responses.
It was not the program we envisioned, but the conversation took place nonetheless. Many will dwell on the theatrics—and indeed, the university will need to respond appropriately to the actions of those who disrupted the program. And while I believe it is important to condemn their behavior, I also want to shine a light on those students who came to learn, and who persisted in that goal.
Be well-
Lisa