For a long time I have been arguing amongst my friends that one of the biggest problems with the University of La Verne is the lack of good speakers.
Naturally, when I found out that Eldridge Cleaver, a former member of the Black Panthers, was going to speak on campus, I was thrilled. A high profile figure such as Cleaver has the potential to spark debate, open minds and provide learning outside of the classroom, an important element of the college experience.
Fortunately, I was right. Much has been said about the apathy of students at ULV, but to see college students stay still, voluntarily, in their seats for a two-and-a-half hour speech enforced my belief in the importance of inviting speakers on campus.
There are many different elements which combined to make Cleaver’s visit a success. First, there was the promotion.
Last year, Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, was invited and, unfortunately, was greeted with low attendance from students at ULV. Partially because she was only speaking to one class. The sad part is, I did not know about it until after the fact. I was program director of KULV at the time, so it was not as if I was entirely out of the campus scene. If anybody should have known about it, I should have.
Just this year, I have had friends come up to me who went here last year and did not even realize that Bhutto spoke on our campus.
Yet it was different with Cleaver. A reaction, which at first was “Eldridge who?” quickly changed by word of mouth and various other forms of promotion. By the end of the speech, people were running to get copies of Cleaver’s old FBI “Most Wanted” poster. It was a lesson. People learned.
Second, groups were willing to put forth the money to bring him to campus.
While it is usually a lot of money to have a well-known speaker, the value of the education received is even greater.
It should not only be the faculty’s responsibility to provide such experiences. Students should request it and, even more, demand it. Hence, organizations such as ASF should reconsider such activities as Fun Flicks, which consistently draw few people. Hopefully, the Cleaver experience provided a lesson. People do want to learn.
I admit that I was one of the people a few years back who was very against the idea of the Afrikan-American Student Alliance bringing Tony Muhammad, who worked for Louis Farakkhan, onto campus due to his controversial beliefs. Yet since then, I have changed my mind. Experiences like that provide debate among students and a learning experience.
Furthermore speakers bring a sense of school pride. Students begin to feel that their school is important enough for somebody of Cleaver’s caliber to want to speak. One of the best parts of having somebody like him speak is that ULV is a small university which allows for personal interaction. There is not the wall set up between speakers and students as there is at most big universities. You can learn more.
College is higher education. Much of the learning has to be provided outside of the classroom through social interaction and debate. Hopefully, we have all grown mentally since last Monday. Speakers like Cleaver allow people to think. While I did not agree with some of the things that Cleaver said, that is not the point. I learned.
Rob Strauss, a senior broadcast major, is editorial assistant of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at straussr@ulv.edu.
