Friday, September 23, 2005Controversy Surrounds Riner Convocation SpeechA summary of the fallout, as reported in The Dartmouth.Wednesday: A news article refers to the speech as "resembl[ing] a sermon" and quotes only freshmen who disliked it. Yesterday: A comic by Paul Heintz '06 (the runner up in last spring's Student Assembly race) featuring Riner and Jesus portrays the former as a crusader who wants "to vanquish all those infidel looters and rioters" and Jesus at pot-smoking pottymouth who tells Riner to "Take a hit off this s--- and chill the f--- out." An op-ed by Brian Martin '06, who finished third to Riner in the race for student body President, contends that "It is fine to believe whatever you want, but Convocation is neither the time nor the place to proselytize." In a news article about his priorities for Student Assembly, Riner defends his speech: "I realize that I have a very specific perspective on the issue of character. And by adding my perspective, I hope that it'll give other people the opportunity to examine their own perspectives and to add those to the Dartmouth dialogue." Today: A news article reports the resignation of Student Assembly Vice President for Student Life Kaelin Goulet '07. "I consider his choice of topic for the Convocation speech reprehensible and an abuse of power. You embarrass the organization; you embarrass yourself," she reportedly wrote to Riner. A letter from John Stern '05 points out the hypocrisy of publishing Heintz's comic: " I dare say it was equally offensive to Christians, if not more so, than Riner's speech was to non-Christians." The paper's editorial board condemns the speech: "The problem with Riner's speech was his insinuation that turning to Jesus is the only way to find character...Riner had every right, as a member of a community that values the freedom of speech, to speak freely about what matters to him. The forum he chose, however, was inappropriate." An op-ed from Hillel president Libby Sherman '06 denounces the speech and "invite[s] Noah Riner to the Multi-Faith Council to learn to work with the diversity that makes Dartmouth such a wonderful place to be, rather than divide and offend." Sherman writes: "Invoking imagery of the cross, using the word "us," but not me -- these are inappropriate for a speech opening the new school year and welcoming all students...Presumably, the Student Body President is elected to represent the entire Dartmouth community. Alienating and offending a few students is, unto itself, something that a campus leader should avoid at all costs." Sherman doesn't explain how it's possible to please all students, and her piece also contains this incredibly contradictory sentence: "Part of the value of the Dartmouth experience is learning about and embracing diversity and this disrespectful action is the complete antithesis of the values that Dartmouth espouses." An op-ed from David Glovsky '08, a Jewish student, notes that he was not offended by Riner's speech, despite his disagreement: "Many of us in the Dartmouth community proudly disagree with that and other aspects of Riner's religious beliefs, but our disagreements do not give us the right to limit his speech." Posted by Scott at 11:39 AM Comments What exactly is offensive about Riner's speech? Posted by I was amused by the guy who objected saying Jesus wouldn't have wanted to make faculty "uncomfortable." Posted by Glovsky is right, in that students should be allowed very broad discretion to speak their minds. But student presidents have different standards; by speaking about his own personal beliefs while CLEARLY acting in his student president role, he ignored this. Posted by Wait a second. . . Did I miss something? Has Riner only appointed Christians to SA leadership? Has he proposed created a Ten Commandments monument on the Green? Is he trying to limit class sizes to biblical numbers (7, 40, 12, 3)?What has he done (not said) in his official capacity that has not been secular? Posted by Here's the real question - has Riner cited Mohammed or Buddha instead of Jesus, would there have been such an uproar against him? I highly doubt there would have been such a response. Posted by I take issue with Riner's moral relativism. He described the New Orleans rapists', looters' and gangsters' behaviors post Katrina comparable to the behaviors of any or all of us at some points in time. Posted by The best part of conservative self-righteousness is when they say, "If he had said 'Mohammad' would anyone be offended?" What's hilarious is that the answer is, yes, YOU would have been offended. Posted by And, "extreme position" is clearly contextual. His position may be mainstream for the country, but it clearly is NOT for Dartmouth, just as the Academy's liberal foolishness is extreme for America but fairly mainstream for Western society. Posted by It seems to me that the Review is more amused than upset by the outrage. Posted by A fantastic speech! Posted by Why are you cons always talking about the mainstream of the country? Aren't you usually supporters of local cultural and political control (federalism, etc.)? If you want to be immersed in a culture that is mainstream to the country, there are other institutions you could have attended. Love it or leave it. Posted by I agree with everyone. No one is right. No one is wrong. Everyone has something meaningful and profound to say to everyone else. Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed are all the authoritative and definitive prophet. Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed are all liars and frauds. One is telling the truth. The others are not. Conservatives are right; liberals and extremists are right. There is a God. There is no God. I am. I am not. Is everyone happy? What were we discussing again? Posted by Am I the only one who finds this controversy boring? SA president is a meaningless position and Convocation has historically provided egotistical student politicians an opportunity to promote his or her cause, be that Jesus or "Vote for me for State House." Riner is a good politician who knows how to keep himself in the news - end of story. Posted by God forbid you so-called intellectuals here something outside an extremely narrow "mainstream" of secular and materialist thinking. The "courage" of the academe the constant whining about censorship is a joke compared to what religious people face on campus. Posted by Since when did a student, with the tenacity and soundness of mind to stand in front of a group of his own peers promoting goodness and personal character, become wrong? In a world where everyone stands for something and no one stands for anything it is refreshing to see a leader willing to take a position championing uprightness and moral accountability. Mr. Riner was challenging the Dartmouth student to do more than learn during his or her four years, but to be—to be all that he or she was meant to become. Often we are not aware of who we are or are not until we look into the face of another. To present the face of Christ as a cornerstone of reference and truth is not wrong…it is revealing. Posted by Since when did a student, with the tenacity and soundness of mind to stand in front of a group of his own peers promoting goodness and personal character, become wrong? In a world where everyone stands for something and no one stands for anything it is refreshing to see a leader willing to take a position championing uprightness and moral accountability. Mr. Riner was challenging the Dartmouth student to do more than learn during his or her four years, but to be—to be all that he or she was meant to become. Often we are not aware of who we are or are not until we look into the face of another. To present the face of Christ as a cornerstone of reference and truth is not wrong…it is revealing. Posted by Congradulations to Dartmouth University for a job well done. It is a amazing to hear of a young man with such courage, integrity and character. One who is not afraid to stand and be counted. The signs of a TRUE LEADER. Posted by Unfortunately, almost everybody missed the point of Mr. Riner’s address; obviously, his speech was concerned in fact with the real purpose and mission of Academic education in general. Keeping the proportions, his speech may be considered in the light of notorious Alan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, Buckley’s God and Man at Yale, and Marsden’s Soul of the American University. The immature (over)reaction that followed seems to indicate that instead of joining a serious intellectual milieu, Mr. Riner landed rather in a sort of a pretentious kindergarten. Posted by Honestly, why does it freak people out when a guy decides to speak the truth? Everyone seems to talk of "tolerance" and "diversity" but the moment a person says something that doesn't coincide with what they believe, oops, there goes all their supposed tolerance. And they accuse Christians of being hypocritical? Take a look in the mirror. Posted by Post a Comment (we enforce our comments policy) |
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