In her letter to the editor on Monday, College Republicans Chair Erica Christenson voiced criticisms concerning political bias and the speaker choices of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Errors in Erica's assertions must be rectified before this issue can be meaningfully addressed.
First, Erica claims that Michael Moore was invited to campus in the fall of 2004. In fact, his visit was part of a tour of campuses that he himself had planned, and DLS was asked to co-sponsor by renting out the Terrace and providing security. Moore requested no money for the event.
Considering potential attendance, DLS felt that the nominal fee was a good use of funds. Let it be known that a conservative would be given similar consideration under comparable conditions.
It should be noted that the Moore arrangement was separate from our nominations process that takes place each spring, in which we choose the following year's roster.
Second, Erica claims that DLS ""approached [her] last fall saying if the Union Theater was not filled to capacity for the next conservative speaker they brought, [DLS] may not invite conservative speakers to campus in the future.""
For Dinesh D'Souza's January lecture, DLS attempted a positive outreach to the College Republicans. The CRs responded that D'Souza was not a big enough name and we received minimal support from their group. Nevertheless, requiring that a group fill the Union Theater to capacity in order to be given future consideration for lectures is absurd and definitely not a policy of the Distinguished Lecture Series.
Eric Dodge
Associate Director
Wisconsin Union Directorate
Distinguished Lecture Series
