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This Tuesday, the University of Maine College Republicans will be bringing in leading conservative writer and political commentator David Horowitz to speak to students at UMaine. The speech will take place at 7 p.m. in the Bangor Room of Memorial Union.
Horowitz is most well-known for his drafting of the Academic Bill of Rights, a bill introduced into many state senates, including Maine, which would give conservatives fair treatment in state universities.
“There needs to be more academic freedom on college campuses,” says Mia Dow of the UMaine College Republicans. “It’s unfair to have to sit through a class where a professor just goes on about their personal political beliefs.”
Last April, members of the UMaine College Republicans went to Augusta to testify on Horowitz’s bill. The bill was not passed in the Maine Legislature.
Throughout his career, Horowitz has done a complete turnaround as far as his politics are concerned. Growing up in New York City and being raised in a Stalinist environment by his parents, Horowitz attended Columbia University. Later, he went to the University of California, Berkeley to obtain his master’s degree in English literature. During the 60s and 70s, Horowitz was one of the leading supporters of the New Left movement.
Through his participation in this liberal group, he came to work with many leftist groups and causes, including the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and the Black Panthers. In the mid-70s, Horowitz became less than satisfied with the tactics of the New Left movement. The murder of a close friend heightened his dissatisfaction with the movement, speculating that her death might have ties to the Black Panthers. Horowitz came to identify less with the New Left and soon became a leading advocate for conservatives.
Throughout his career, Horowitz has made waves with his comments, speeches and essays on controversial topics such as AIDS, the Vietnam War and slavery. While speaking at UMaine this week, Horowitz is expected to discuss mainly the Academic Bill of Rights. “We are not worried what else he might talk about,” said Dow. “We hope he’ll stick to discussing the bill, and on that, we are behind him 100 percent.”
In addition to being one of the leading conservative speakers in the United States, Horowitz is a writer for the conservative newspaper NewsMax and runs his own online publication, FrontPageMag.com. He recently helped launch a project called Discover the Networks, a conservative group that monitors the economic and political activities of leftist groups and their ties with communist, or socialist groups and prominent liberal individuals.
In past visits to colleges across the country, Horowitz has been criticized heavily for his view. While speaking at Butler University discussing what he feels is a leftist domination of college campuses, Horowitz was hit in the face with a pie by a student. There have been similar incidents of opposition to Horowitz speaking at other universities he has visited, although most have been less severe.
The UMaine College Republicans are hoping that no such demonstrations will take place during Horowitz’s visit to Orono. The group has hired security for the event.
Horowitz’s appearance was booked through the Young Americans Foundation, a group that promotes conservatives’ ideals on campus. The lecture was funded by Student Government and the Dean of Students Office.
Bangor Daily News