Benjamin Sarlin follows up on the ongoing Marty Peretz controversy for the Daily Beast. He reports:
Robert Paul Wolff, a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst who is being honored at the same event as Peretz, joined in the criticism. He “thought seriously about canceling,” he wrote in a blog post, deciding to attend only after the organizer agreed not to seat him next to Peretz.
Pretty juicy stuff. Harvard has also been forced to deal with the situation head on and has released a statement. It reads:
As an institution of research and teaching, we are dedicated to the proposition that all people, regardless of color or creed, deserve equal opportunities, equal respect, and equal protection under the law. The recent assertions by Dr. Peretz are therefore distressing to many members of our community, and understandably so.
It is central to the mission of a university to protect and affirm free speech, including the rights of Dr. Peretz, as well as those who disagree with him, to express their views.
We are ultimately stronger as a university when we maintain our commitment to the most basic freedoms that enable the robust exchange of ideas. The undergraduate research fund donated by friends, former students, and colleagues of Dr. Peretz was established earlier this year to recognize his teaching and scholarship as well as his stewardship of the social studies program from its inception in the 1960s through the 1990s. The fund will enable undergraduates to undertake significant research experiences as part of the social sciences curriculum and strengthen our commitment to rigorous intellectual inquiry.
When asked by Sarlin to respond to the growing criticism of his bigoted remarks Peretz simply said, “The notion that after teaching 45 years at Harvard and people giving money in my honor that I have to defend myself—please.” Just as a point of reference, here are the people giving the money in his honor. I wonder if Al Gore, EJ Dionne and the rest think he should defend himself?
