Dov Friedman

By mandating when prospective campus leaders may begin expressing their ideas to the campus at large, the Elections Board has embroiled the University in yet another free speech controversy.

In Egypt, I stumbled upon a cultural case study that was impossible to ignore. At the heart of the matter is a fundamental question: can one essentialize culture in a productive but evaluative manner that sheds light on both its strengths and weaknesses? I’m sure as hell going to try.

If the events of the past two weeks have shown us anything, then they have shown us the flaw in our community. That flaw is the arrogance of certainty.

In the aftermath of President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s campus visit, I certainly expected to read criticisms of University President Lee Bollinger and his handling of various aspects of the planning and execution of Monday’s event. However, I was unprepared for criticism that condemned Bollinger’s introductory critique of Ahmadinejad as too harsh.

In his recent "Ground Up" column ("Family Matters," April 12), E. Alex Jung wrote that he was exhausted by the intolerant bullshit that he puts up with every day. I am exhausted as well. I am exhausted by repeated demands that I apologize for my race, and I am exhausted by outside assumptions that I have no standing to discuss issues of politics and social justice because I am white.

In his recent "Ground Up" column ("Family Matters," April 12), E. Alex Jung wrote that he was exhausted by the intolerant bullshit that he puts up with every day. I am exhausted as well. I am exhausted by repeated demands that I apologize for my race, and I am exhausted by outside assumptions that I have no standing to discuss issues of politics and social justice because I am white.

In high school, I heard a moving presentation by a man named Daryl Davis, a black man who has devoted his life to "converting" members of the KKK. Davis recalled his friendship with Roger Kelly, former Imperial Wizard of the KKK, and proudly displayed uniforms he was gifted by Klansmen whom he influenced to renounce their memberships and racist views.