This afternoon, Claremont McKenna Vice President for Student Affairs Dean Huang informed the student body that tomorrow’s Athenaeum dinner with Condoleezza Rice will no longer be an Athenaeum dinner with Condoleezza Rice. Instead, Rice will speak to students in Ducey Gym. Those originally signed up for the dinner will be serveed a meal in the Athenaeum after the Ducey talk, but Rice will not attend the dinner.
David Edwards, manager of the Athenaeum, said that the Ath was not consulted in the decision to move the talk. Edwards first heard that Dean of Students was considering changing the location of the event yesterday. “I don’t know who they [Dean of Students] were in consultation with. We were just informed of the decision,” he told the Port Side. Edwards found out about the location change from the same email that CMC students received at 2:31 this afternoon.
This isn't the Ath.
So who decided to move the event, and why? A source involved in the decision says that Condoleezza Rice and her staff did not request the change or express concerns about the planned demonstration. Dean Huang, Claremont University Consortium Director of Campus Safety Shahram Ariane, Dorothy Buchanan of the Res Publica Society, and security consultant Henry Watkins made the preliminary decision, which was finalized at the CMC senior staff meeting this morning.
The Ath Fellows, Jake Petzold ’12 and Clare Riva ’13, heard last night that DOS was considering moving the talk and wrote a long email to the decision makers expressing their concerns, including that the decision to relocate the talk would energize the protesters. Huang offered to meet with Petzold and Riva early this morning. The group discussed the location change for an hour, but the Ath Fellows were not able to change the administration’s decision.
“As you may have heard, a group has organized an ‘unwelcoming’ demonstration against Dr. Rice. They are entitled to express their view. Their stated goal is to hold a peaceful event, and we expect that they will remain true to this goal,” Huang said in this afternoon’s email. He went on to explain that there is a “possibility” that outsiders will attend this demonstration. “Those individuals, whose numbers we cannot accurately estimate and whose intentions are unclear, may not care to abide by CMC’s rules or the rally organizers’ plans for a peaceful event.”
A source close to the decision explained that the administration was simply scared that something would go wrong. Ducey is easier to secure then the Athenaeum, and there are more exits.
In the email, Huang also wrote, “we remain true to our commitment to public discourse while hosting the event on campus rather than canceling or rescheduling it.” According to someone with knowledge of the discussions, canceling the event was on the table, as was holding it off campus or even live-streaming Rice’s talk from a remote location.
While those on the waitlist and 125 additional CMC guests will now have the opportunity to hear Rice speak in Ducey, the new location has quite a few flaws. There may be an opportunity to meet Rice at Ducey, but attendees will not interact with her in the cordial setting of the pre-dinner Ath reception. Additionally, the students who stood in line before 8am two weeks ago to sign up for the head table will not get to dine with the speaker.
Greg Zahner ’12 was supposed to be at the head table. “People who sit at the head table can interact with her, they can talk to her in an intimate setting that’s cordial, where she can’t run away from physical questions,” Zahner explained. “It’s easier for her to be honest in a small group of people. That’s what I was looking for in this forty-five minutes, to have that opportunity. I don’t agree with a lot of her viewpoints but I want to hear what she has to say. And I don’t want to hear it in some contrite, big audience fashion that I can just look up on YouTube. And so that was what I was really looking forward to that experience, and now we’re just doing what Pomona and every other school does with a big speaker. That is something that’s not personal at all, they’re just going to whisk her in, do her thing, and whisk her out.”
The Athenaeum’s intimate environment is unique, and in turn makes CMC unique. Ducey Gym, even with the “new backdrop” and floor seating Huang promises, is not the Athenaeum. It’s extremely unfortunate that the CMC administration is overreacting to the peaceful demonstrations, and did not even consult the Athenaeum staff in its decision to move the event. Tomorrow’s talk will likely set a precedent depriving CMC students of the intimate access to controversial speakers that was the hallmark of the Athenaeum – and of CMC.
Editor’s note: For more coverage of Rice’s visit to Claremont, see our investigation into 5C pepper spray policy, background on the planned protest, a defense of the demonstration, and a reflection on the benefits of peaceful demonstration. Check back tomorrow for updates on the Ducey talk and teach-ins.
Great coverage, Alyssa. Way to get it posted so quickly. Moving it to Ducey Gym is outrageous — it’s certainly no longer an Ath talk. I wonder if the Ath fellows will still attend and introduce Rice?
Before the venue was changed, I was told that people who didn’t sign up for dinner can still attend the speech on a first-come-first-serve basis. Is this still the case?
You must have a CMC ID and go to the Ath to get added to the list to get into Ducey. They only have 125 spots, first come, first served. The talk will be simulcast in McKenna, and I don’t think you need to be a CMCer to get into that.
One wonders whether students will even be able to ask Dr. Rice questions after her talk. At least when Pomona shelled out money for renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben to come to campus, they arranged him to teach a seminar and engage with students. Normally the Athenaeum’s intimacy makes up for this lack of programming, but I think the administration should be embarrassed by their lack of imagination.
Not to mention their lack of respect for the Athenaeum staff. Perhaps we need to hire Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey to help the administration with its decision making process.
Moving it to Ducey is a smart move. The last protest of an Ath speaker, the protestors did everything in their power to disrupt the event and prevent the Rove from leaving the Ath. Learning from that experience, DOS moves it to Ducey where they can accommodate more attendees, protester can’t disrupt the event, and Rice can leave campus in peace. Your disappointment at not having it at the Ath should be directed at the protester who agitated at the Rove event and showed that the Ath can’t be used as a venue if there is a possibility of a disruptive protest. If the protest of Rice is actually peaceful, my guess is that the next protested speaker will be able to be hosted at the Ath. Let’s see how the protestors handle themselves.
Also, Dave Edwards manages the food and beverage at the Ath. He’d be consulted on the evening’ s menu, not whether a former Secretary of State will be treated with the respect she deserves as our guest.
Finally, I find it ironic that Rice can be a Stanford faculty member and that diverse community can accommodate her point of view without rancor, but the elements at the Claremont Colleges need to protest her speech here. But then again, the Colleges are not Stanford.
Actually, Condi has faced protests at Stanford.
1.) Condoleezza Rice Faces Unwelcome at Stanford University
2.) Stanford Anti-War Protesters Want Condi Booted for War Crimes
3.) Activists Confront Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University
Thanks for those links. I realize that when she first returned to Stanford 2 years ago there were some objections, but since then she has been treated respectfully. As a note, I believe the video you attached clearly shows the type of disruptive “shout down” protest DOS is trying to guard against. Again, it will up to the protestors to determine how they choose to express their point of view
This teach-in will not be disruptive like the Karl Rove event was.
We respect Ms. Rice’s constitutional rights, but the protesters must also be free to express their own.
Please realize that all of us are on the same side, ultimately. Investigate the controversy surrounding Condoleezza Rice, and decide for yourself! We mean no harm, and seek only to preserve the democratic (representative republican) ideal. Thank you.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I hope that all the protestors are of your same mindset. I think the challenge will be the potential attendance of those who do not share your constructive approach. In any case, I still believe that if this protest is not disruptive, future controversial speakers can go back to being hosted at the Ath.
My only question on the teach in is wouldn’t it be more effective immediately after the event so that those who attended Rice’s speech could hear and discuss the counter argument? There is something to be said for getting in the last word.
I wanted to apologize for my comment sounding rude in reference to Pomona. I was just thinking about a specific big name speaker they had a couple years ago in Bridges Auditorium. They pre-screened questions which I didn’t think was cool. But a lot of colleges do that. My comment wasn’t meant to single them out. Lo siento.
Secondly, Dean Huang and Co. care about safety above all else. I disagree with their decision but we should recognize that they do have everyone’s best intentions at heart. There is a possibility that they had some intel we don’t regarding potential threats, but lets continue to make our voices heard so that in the future the Ath won’t shy away from bringing big name, controversial speakers to the Athenaeum. Hearing and meeting people I disagree with politically is one of the big reasons why I came to CMC.
All things considered, I think today’s event went really well. Dean Huang, President Gann, Dorothy Buchanan, and the Athenaeum staff did a very good job with today’s events. While Ducey is still not the Ath, I think many students still got something valuable out of the talk. Hopefully the administration will avoid moving events away from the Ath in the future, but Dr. Rice’s talk was NOT contrite. I really enjoyed the Q&A session and she is a very personable speaker.
Now lets get pumped for next semester’s Athenaeum lineup! #BonnieSnortumRocksMySocks
how petty can we get?? seriously, does this actually matter?