With a new salon-styled platform, the Open VISIONS Forum: Espresso lecture series will transform ýƵƹۿ’s Quick Center into an open classroom and set the stage for lively debate and civil discourse.
“The challenge on our campuses today, is how to protect and defend the sacred values of civil and open discourse, which is central to the academic mission...."
— — Richard Greenwald, PhD, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
On Wednesday, February 7 at 8 p.m. , the “American Dialogues: Divided?” series will open with conservative political commentator and writer Derryck Green addressing the question: “Who is a Racist? The Left? The Right?” Green is a highly visible member of Project 21 – the Leadership Network of Black Conservatives, and will offer analyses on topics at the intersection of culture and race in a campus visit supported by the College Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom.
“In today’s world, it is almost impossible to engage in ‘water cooler’ talk without race being brought up,” notes Dr. Gayle Alberda of ýƵƹۿ Department of Politics. “Launching from the 'race card' is a hot button issue on the current political landscape. Please join us for a topical and lively sharing of views as America searches for its heart, mind, and soul.”
A month later, on Thursday, March 8 at 8 p.m. , attorney and CNN legal analyst Michael Zeldin will continue the series with : “Mueller vs. Trump: The White House on Trial.” As the White House settles in for “a long winter” according to The Washington Post , former FBI Director Robert Mueller and his Office of the Special Counsel are doggedly pursuing and expanding the probe into possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian interests, as well and interference in the 2016 elections by Russian officials.
Bringing his insider knowledge of Washington’s complicated legal mechanisms, Zeldin will share his observations of the political and judicial maneuvers behind the headlines. As a former assistant to Mueller in the Justice Department, he will offer his insight and speculation about the revelations, and address the question: “What’s going to happen next?”
“Championing the value of respectful conversation is the mission of the Open VISIONS Forum,” comments founder/director Dr. Philip Eliasoph of the upcoming series. “And we are ever more vigilant to sustain this platform at our University within our currently fractured, polarized national conversation.”
“The challenge on our campuses today,” adds Dr. Richard Greenwald, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, “is how to protect and defend the sacred values of civil and open discourse, which is central to the academic mission, when weighed against the push for unlimited – and yes, uncensored – expressions of free speech.”
Due to seating capacity in the Quick Center’s Wien Experimental Theater, limited tickets to these two speaker events are available on a first-come, first served basis for $10.00 each. To purchase tickets, contact the Box Office at 203-254-4010 or visit .
