Anyone who regularly walks past the Memorial Union is sure to have seen lively, if not uncivil, arguments over any number of issues. In the academic realm, the University is a seemingly natural setting for scholars and thinkers to present controversial work.
This week is no exception, as controversial Israeli-Palestinian conflict scholar Norman Finkelstein comes to the Tempe campus on Tuesday. Finkelstein, known for his strong criticism of Israel, is speaking to students about the U.S.’ role in the conflict.
While he’s not the first speaker to ruffle some feathers at ASU (think Peter Singer or Joe Arpaio) and certainly not the last, the stir Finkelstein’s visit is creating among activists and non-activists has caught our eye at the State Press.
While it’s great that non-required reading is getting students riled up, the majority of the buzz is more reactionary and confrontational than the sort of educated discourse one would expect to find at a university of our caliber.
While it’s important to bring the yin and yang to campus, it’s equally important to tune into these visitors or at least acknowledge both sides of important social, economic and political issues.
It’s not a matter of tolerance or a question of whether or not someone should visit our University. We provide one of the largest platforms for speakers and should all take advantage of the opportunity that gives us.
Intolerance, or at least not educating yourself about the topics at hand, will force you to shut out the other side of the story.
We need to be more than reactionary. Even if you want to abstain from a debate or internalize your views, you’re one of 70,000 here. In such a large community, there’s going to be quite a bit of disagreement on just about every topic.
All response holds the potential for preemptive dialogue, and approaching these educational opportunities encourages an openness that is often overlooked in media outlets and their representation of the general public.
Campus outreaches and going beyond the classroom allows for exposure to an experience and point of view that may not be otherwise vocalized or understood as well by a classmate.
Just like a photograph becomes clearer the longer it’s exposed to light, so can one’s argument about social, political or personal issues.
So go expose yourself to the light, Sun Devils. Sit in on a lecture you may not agree with and take some time to understand that the other side has its values too. Even if it doesn’t change your mind about something, maybe it will help you strengthen your own argument.
At the end of the day, a better understanding of the other point of view can be just as constructive to discussion, and the University setting is the best place to go exploring.
