Merits of Duke Debate Are Up for Debate

David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and a U.S. Senate candidate in Louisiana, has been invited to a Cal State Northridge debate on affirmative action.

But the controversial stature of Duke is not so much the issue in his appearance at the school--scheduled for Sept. 25--as are the circumstances under which he has been invited.

The debate was meant as a general discussion of affirmative action, and initially the student government organizers said a wide range of speakers had been invited. However, the event has boiled down to a meeting between Duke and Joe Hicks, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Multicultural Collaborative.

Critics of the forum say that the debate is unfairly balanced by using such a controversial speaker to represent conservatives on the issue. But student leaders have defended the action, saying that a university setting should allow controversial views to be heard.

And, the debate has also been tied into the campaign to pass Proposition 209, the California Civil Rights Initiative, which would end racial preferences in admissions, hiring, promotions and contracting.

Should David Duke participate in a debate on affirmative action at Cal State Northridge?

Vladimir Cerna, student senate president, Cal State Northridge: “The answer is definitely yes. . . . Our interest from the beginning was to express two opposing views on affirmative action. We never set out to get the most popular speakers. We only claimed we were going to have two opposing views. . . . One of the major issues here has been about free speech. We all seem so eager to defend free speech when it’s a message we agree with. When it’s a message we disagree with, we are not quick to defend it.

Ramona Ripston, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union in Los Angeles:

“I think that David Duke is consistent with his philosophy. He has always felt that way. He has the right to articulate it at Cal State Northridge. . . . I think it’s interesting conservatives have a vested interest in not having David Duke speak at Cal State Northridge because it points out what kind of people support this initiative. . . . But if he were prohibited from coming by someone who had the authority, as much as the ACLU hates what David Duke stands for, we would sue to protect his rights.”

David Horowitz, president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture:

“This is a thinly veiled attempt to associate the support of an initiative which is anti-discriminatory in its spirit with a member of the Ku Klux Klan. . . . I don’t think any speaker can be banned from campus. But what’s happening is becoming an effort to politicize the campuses. . . . Instead of upholding a discourse, this is a circus.”

James Goss, Cal State Northridge faculty president:

“Let me use a hypothetical situation. I’m a member of the Sierra Club and I care a great deal about the environment. I share some things that the Unabomber would also think, but would that be reason for someone to invite the Unabomber on campus so they can say, ‘See, all environmentalists are like the Unabomber.’ . . . We’re questioning the judgment of the students in bringing him in because he is not a recognized expert in the field.”