Faculty members speak out against Bush

At a faculty meeting earlier this month several members voiced their opposition to the choice of George H. W. Bush as the Fares Lecturer.

At the AS&E Faculty Meeting on Feb. 6 faculty members questioned the choice of Bush and the entire selection process for the Lecture Series. One of the complaints was the lack of balance in the selection of speakers -- the majority of them hold conservative views. Faculty called for more "balanced representation."

After the meeting, a member of the political science department, who asked to remain anonymous, said that there were definitely "strong reactions among the faculty" at the announcement of Bush as the lecturer.

Bacow responded to faculty concerns at the meeting, saying that the roster of previous speakers from the lecture series shows that Tufts strives for "intellectual diversity." He said that there were similar reactions when former President Clinton spoke as part of the lecture series last year -- at the time those complaints stemmed from Clinton's moral character.

"It is an interesting time to have [Bush] here," Bacow said.

The controversy surrounding the Bush lecture is not limited to just faculty -- students have also voiced opposition and in conjunction with some faculty members and local activists will be protesting the lecture. The majority of the protestors are using this as a platform to demonstrate their disagreement with the conflict in Iraq; they have pointed out that the current administration contains many elements of Bush Sr. and that many of the policies being pursued resemble those of his term as president.

Other students are pleased to see a high level personality coming to campus, "I think it is great that he is coming to Tufts," freshman Scott Lustig said. "And regardless of anybody's political preference, it would be terrible not to take advantage of his being here. He's not likely to change anybody's mind, but it's nice to have him here."

The lecture series was started by Fares I. Fares (LA '93), a Tufts trustee and a member of the University's International Board of Overseers and the Board of Overseers for Arts & Sciences. The series is funded by the Fares Foundation and is held in honor of his father Issam M. Fares. The older Fares is a former Tufts trustee and the Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon.

Previous Fares lecturers have included Former President Bill Clinton, current Secretary of State Colin Powell, Lady Margaret Thatcher, James Baker, George Mitchell, and former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.