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2 1 April 10, 2015 The Guilfordian MEWS WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM/NEWS Chris Hedges speaks on rebellion, violence BY SOMMER FANNEY Staff Writer War journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of multiple books Chris Hedges had been invited to speak at the University of Pennsylvania at a peace conference on April 3. That is until one particular article of his was published on Truthdig, a long journalism news site. According to an email from a member of Pennsylvania’s International Affairs Association student group, the invitation was revoked because he would not “be suitable as a coexistence speaker based on this stance he’s taken.” “He had written a column that compared Israel to ISIS,” said CCE junior and peace and conflicts studies major Michelle Harris. “Criticism of Israel is equated with anti-Semitism.” In a later article, Hedges responded to his revoked invitation. “The charge of (University of Pennsylvania student Zachary Belnavis) and the Internationa Affairs Association that I do not believe in coexistence between the Palestinians and Israel is false,” wrote Hedges. “I oppose violence by either party.” Just a day before Harris learned of Hedge’s revoked invitation, Peace and Conflict Studies Chair and Visiting Professor Jeremy Rinker had asked Harris for any suggestions for speakers for the annual Fleming lectures, sponsored by the PECS department. Harris, who regularly follows Hedges’s column on Truthdig, sent him an. invitation. “To me, it seems really important to support people who have been disinvited for speaking the truth,” said Harris. “If you bring someone to Guilford that I don’t agree with, I have an opportunity to ask questions ... and have a dialogue. “(There is) no opportunity to create dialogue where you might come to an agreement (if you prevent them from coming to speak in the first place.)” Hedges accepted the invitation and spoke on April 2 as a part of the Fleming lecture series. His talk focused on America’s history of violence, particularly vigilante violence, and the need for rebellion and revolution. “Tonight’s talk was (focused on) how violence works^ in American society and that our tradition is one where we don’t use - violence against the state,” said Hedges in an interview with The Guilfordian. Hedges explained how this tradition needs to be altered, albeit without violehcej in order to break down state-sponsored violence against weaker groups of people, such as minorities and radicds, and to put put pressure during times of distress on groups with power, such as corporations, in order to eliminate corruption. Furthermore, he explained that the existing structure of violence widens inequalities between more powerful and less powerful groups. Hedges also met with interested students, staff and faculty the Award-winning journalist Chris Hedges spoke on campus on April 3 about the tradition of violence and the state. following day for a lunch meeting during which he had an open discussion. Those present asked questions about the actions he takes in his work towards awareness about the effects of war on society. Junior Leah Meservey, a community justice studies and psychology double major, attended the lunch. “He talked about the work that Ale's done, despite a lot of criticism, about being so radical (in) bringing awareness about war and what we want to do about it as a people so our voices are heard,” said Meservey. “He talked about his participation in the newspaper (in college), through which he made radical and extreme publications on social justice issues. “A lot of it was criticized by the school, but he was doing it for what he believed in and would not let anyone, stop him, so I really admired that.” Both in his talk on Thursday night and at the Friday lunch, Hedges discussed the power of mass movements directed at the state and those in power, such as the' Occupy movement, to redistribute power evenly and to break down traditions of violence in America against certain groups of people. Rinker, who has helped organize the Fleming lectures since he came to teach at Gudford in 2011, was pleased to have Hedges as a part of the Fleming lecture series. “I think he’s one of these public intellectuals who is trying to challenge our apathy, and the values we hold and we don’t interrogate,” said Rinker. This was the first time a Fleming Lecture speaker has been invited by an interested student. Rinker hopes that this gesture precipitates more widespread student and staff involvement and awareness of the Fleming lectures, so that curious students can suggest particularly relevant speakers in the foture. This week^s developments Community Senate this week held a forum on presidential and vice presidential candidates. Similar to last week’s forum, all candidates were asked a series, of questions by the current senate leaders, followed by questions from the community. Questions addressed increasing student retention, promoting equal rights on campus and creating a stronger community for the college as a whole. Student senate elections are Monday, April 13, so make sure to come out to Founders Hall md let your voice be heard! Have an idea? Concern? Great recipe? It’s important to us. Email: senate@guilford.edu or visit guilfordsenate. wordpress.com Compiled by Robert Van Pelt, business manager Community excitedly anticipates Cooper 's visit TV JOURNALIST WILL OFFER UNIQUE PRESENTATION BY WILLIAM BURTON Staff Writer “Be honest about what you see, get out of the way and let the story reveal itself,” said journalist Anderson Cooper on his 360 blog. On April 19, Cooper will be the last speaker for the Bryan Series at the Greensboro Coliseum. : Cooper has an extensive background in news and is most popular for his CNN primetime news program, “Anderson Cooper 360.” Cooper has also been on the CBS news program “60 Minutes.” He has won numerous awards for his work including several Emmy Awards, a National Headliners Award and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism. “I am excited about Anderson Cooper coming for the Bryan Series because he is a nationally and internationally known news investigator,” said Guilford College President Jane Fernandes. “I think that it gives student reporters and students who are studying media a chance to meet someone in the field.” Cooper will also be meeting with students, faculty and staff from Guilford in a Q&A session on the day of the event from 1-2 p.m. in the Community Center’s multipurpose room. The excitement surrounding the event is building not only on the Guilford campus but in the entire Greensboro community. “When I heard he was coming into town, I was just really excited,” said Lauren Everette, an alumna of North Carolina A&T’s journalism program, in a phone interview. “Just the fact that I get to be in his presence and hear him speak really excites me. Somebody that’s my role model ... I just have to go see them because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.” The overall layout of the presentation will be slightly different from that of previous Bryan Series speaker events. It will feature a longer Q&A period than other lectures and less time for Cooper to talk. According to Associate Vice President of Communications and Marketing Ty Buckner, this is the layout that Cooper prefers. “We’ll hear him speak for about 30 minutes, which is little less than what we normally have, and then what he prefers to do ... is have a sort of extended Q&A,” said Buckner. “We do it generally for 20 minutes; this time around you can expect that to be about 40 minutes.” Getting somebody like Cooper to come to Greensboro is not an easy feat to accomplish. A lot of work and planning goes into scheduling the event. “We work with about six to eight of the best speaker agencies in the country,” said Buckner. “Anderson Cooper is actually not exclusively with one agency or another, but the one we worked with in this case was the Washington Agency.” People who subscribe to the Bryan Series help support the event and play a big role in keeping the series going. “It’s a complicated process,” said Suzanne Ingram, associate director of the Bryan Series. “Since most of our expenses are paid by our subscribers, it’s important to us to bring someone who our subscribers would be interested in.” Cooper is an iconic role model for a lot of people, not just aspiring journalists. For many, Cooper has made an impact in the journalism industry and inspires people to get the story right. “I like how he’s not afraid to ask very bold questions, and, at the same time, he gives people a chance to tell their story,” said Everette.
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