Word: illingworth
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth ’71—who must approve of any bid made by the HCC—initially expressed concern about bidding on Outkast...
...perplexing thing about the OutKast dispute is that, in the past, Illingworth and other administrators have regularly recognized the importance of free expression. In fact, the administration is usually so laissez-faire that, according to Harvard Republican Club (HRC) President Brian C. Grech ’03, the administration does not require students groups to seek pre-approval before inviting speakers to campus. Instead, the administration merely asks for notification after a speaker has been invited in case that person is deemed important enough for an official University welcome. Indeed, Grech states that HRC “never notified anyone?...
Thus, what has administrators on edge, Illingworth says, is the question of size. According to Illingworth, a controversial concert is more troublesome than a controversial speaker “because a concert is open to a lot of people.” Yet, Illingworth’s claim holds little water. In November, over 6,000 people crowded the Albert H. Gordon indoor track and tennis facility to hear the words of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, a far from uncontroversial figure. Moreover, the Clinton audience was more than double the size of the expected OutKast audience, which is capped...
Hence the administrative hesitancy to approve OutKast clearly rests on dubious grounds. Yet, Illingworth is a smart man, and I suspect that he knows that his arguments are specious. In fact, so do members of the HCC. Indeed, HCC members see Illingworth’s comments as a foil for other more problematic administrative intentions...
Perhaps the HCC is well-founded in its suspicions. Perhaps it is completely off-base. But if the latter is true, the administration needs to start talking straight and providing legitimate, non-biased, and factually-grounded reasons for failing to accept the OutKast bid. Tell us, Dean Illingworth, this time for real...