Academic Cowardice at Pacific
Image of the original flyer used to publicize the Zoom version of the lecture. Acquired by Zak Baker.
Pacifican Staff Writer Zak Baker sheds some light on the recent Teach-in/lecture on the history and geopolitics of Gaza hosted by University of the Pacific.
At a moment when the world needed institutions of higher education to step up to the plate, when the public at large needed objective truths, the University of the Pacific and universities across this country bowed to pressure and allowed extremists to dictate what we do in our own spaces. Last week the School of International Studies announced that it would be hosting a teach-in/lecture on the history and geopolitics of Gaza. Originally intended to be an in-person event open to the community, the university administration pressured the school to move the lecture to Zoom. When President Callahan’s office was asked why the change was made, the Pacifican received this reply from a university media representative.
“It is important for universities to hold discussions such as these about critically important international issues. Like most United States universities doing so, we are having our forum in a virtual-only format. We are aware of the problems that can be caused by external actors coming onto campus. It is crucial that we ensure the safety of our students.”
The University of the Pacific is one of only two private universities in the entire state of California whose public safety officers have full police authority. The question then becomes, what is the point of having such a force if it cannot secure a small building such as George Wilson, where the event was originally intended to be hosted. It seems as if the university had a wide array of options available to provide for the protection of its student body, yet it chose the easy way out.
Other actions taken by the university seem to indicate that rather than fear for the safety of its students, they may have, in fact, been afraid of negative press. The School of International Studies was instructed to remove their original flyer from all areas. Apparently, the image of a mother and her two children navigating a debris field proved too controversial a photo despite many similar photos being used by the university at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
Additionally, while it is unclear what, if any, safety concerns there may have been, this author believes that even a real security threat would not constitute a legitimate reason for pluralism to hide behind a computer screen. In fact, the mere possibility of disturbance may show that an in-person instructional period is needed, rather than indicating a need to move to an online-only format. If an event is so controversial that people are willing to oppose it, the only morally correct thing to do would be hold it anyways. Important ideas can make for difficult conversations. We discuss them not because they are easy but because they are hard. Ideas can be dangerous; they can even be deadly. But to shirk from our responsibility to talk about them in person, face to face, is cowardly. When extremism tries to shut you down the only way to counter it is to stand your ground and express your ideas even more. This university abandoned its integrity and chose the expedient solution rather than the correct one.
The University of the Pacific and universities across America may have kowtowed to fear, but the students here did not. While most attendees logged onto the Zoom meeting on Thursday, a select few chose to attend a watch party in the very room in which the lecture was originally intended to be held. Those 20-some individuals put their butts in their seats and watched the lecture live on the projector screen. By doing so, these students demonstrated that they would not allow fear or the administration’s apprehensions to dictate their actions. These students served as exemplars of what all academics should aspire to. They were fearless in their belief that the free exchange of ideas is essential for the continued survival of a pluralistic society and willing to stand (or in this case, sit) for that belief.
FACTUAL ERROR CORRECTION: This article previously stated: “Originally intended to be an in-person event open to the community, the university administration pressured the school to move the lecture to Zoom and limited attendance to current and former students.” In reality Dr. Ahmed Kanna made the decision to limit attendance to current and former students. Dr. Kanna states that this decision was made to “…balance our responsibility as Middle East and world history experts to educate our students and colleagues while simultaneously ensuring our community's safety in this time of heightened emotions around Palestine and Israel.” The article has been corrected to reflect this fact.
Corrected on 10/26/2023.