A day after terrorists attacked New York and Washington, DC and the nation's air transport system screeched to a halt, former vice president Al Gore cancelled a visit to Tufts that was scheduled for today.
Gore was stranded in Vienna, Austria after the Federal Aviation Administration banned all flights over US air space. He was scheduled to speak to undergraduates this afternoon as part of a nationwide tour on family-centered community building. A related symposium for youth development experts planned for tomorrow was also cancelled.
Gore also cancelled a speech to the Internet Services Providers Austria on the future of the Internet.
According to Deborah Bobek, the managing director of Applied Science Initiatives and one of the organizers of the Tufts event, Gore's visit to campus has not been rescheduled. In an e-mail addressed to President Larry Bacow, Bobek wrote that the event may take place in December, but she has since declined to speculate on a new date.
Bobek said she was not surprised that Gore postponed his visit. "With all that has happened, it is not the foremost thing on the former vice president's mind," she said.
Child development professor Richard Lerner, who was a guest lecturer last year at Gore's classes at Fisk and Middle Tennessee State universities, said that "it was not the right time to ask people to get on planes."
Several major events were cancelled in addition to all commercial air traffic. The Latin Grammy Awards, scheduled for Tuesday evening in Los Angeles, CA and all professional sporting events have been postponed.
Scheduled flights gradually resumed yesterday with tighter security in place, although Logan Airport was still closed last night.
One hundred and fifty students and faculty were invited to converse with Gore as part of his project to develop a masters program in family-centered community building. Similar conversations are scheduled throughout the academic year at other universities participating in the initiative.
Some students had complained that more people should be allowed to attend the discussion. "This is the former vice president and former presidential candidate coming to Tufts," Tufts Democrats President Sarah Molenkamp said last week. "It's an opportunity that a lot of people could benefit from."
Yesterday, Bobek said the limited audience will encourage interaction between Gore and the attendees. "The format for the event is consistent with the guidelines for all the participating schools," Bobek said. "We intend to respect those guidelines," she said.
