Welcome Mats for Ashcroft

When controversial former Attorney General John Ashcroft arrives on campus Wednesday night, a coalition of liberal student groups plans to greet him with questions, not roadblocks.

"This is going to be the biggest protest of the year," said Aaron Hess, CC '05, an alumnus of the International Socialist Organization. "This event-these questions-have real national importance."

The John Ashcroft Welcoming Committee was created about a month ago by the College Democrats and the Columbia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which extended an invitation to every liberal group on campus to join. Originally conceived as a vehicle for campus liberals to respond to Ashcroft's arrival as a group, members later agreed that the main focus of their actions should be to inform and bring up relevant issues, rather than prevent his ideas from being heard.

"We just want to educate Columbia students about his record, and ask some questions we feel need to be asked," said Michael Nadler, CC '07, a representative from the College Democrats.

The committee has planned a series of events that will take place throughout the day, leading up to Ashcroft's speech at 7:30 p.m. in Roone Arledge Auditorium. Students will put flyers up around campus, distribute resumes of the "highlights" of Ashcroft's career, and hold signs during high-traffic hours to promote the culminating event: a rally on the Broadway sidewalk near Alfred Lerner Hall.

The rally, planned for 6 p.m., will feature several guest speakers, including New York Civil Liberties Union Board of Directors President Claudia Angelos and City Council Member Bill Perkins. Student speakers from a variety of liberal groups on campus will also give short presentations, followed by an open mic period when audience members can bring up pertinent issues.

The rally will focus on 10 questions the committee would like to ask Ashcroft about his record and his opinions. Topics range from Ashcroft's religious views to his support of the USA Patriot Act. The entire event will conclude before his speech begins.

"We all agreed that it was best not to ... try to keep people from seeing the speech," said Emily Crow, CC '07, a representative from Students for Choice. "It's important for even us to hear what he has to say."

Students said selecting the right questions was no simple task. Without central leadership, the committee struggled to find its direction at first. "In the beginning, I felt like the Dems were taking charge," said David Judd, SEAS '08, a representative from the Campus Antiwar Network. "That changed as other people got more involved ... It ended up decentralized, and everyone's issues are being addressed."

"It's a big coalition, so of course there were differences of opinion," said Nickole Miller, CC '08, a representative for the College Democrats. "It's a big deal to have such a prominent and controversial speaker coming to such a leftist campus, so we're all trying to work as a team to address the right issues."

Some hope that the team spirit will remain intact beyond Wednesday's events.

"I think it's great that the left at Columbia is doing something as a unified front," Judd said. "I hope that coming out of this we can be revitalized as a group, and work together on common goals more in the future."