Activist sparks debate

Right wing advocate David Horowitz said Saturday that he believes the American left was "jumping up with joy" following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The controversial remark -- which sparked a shouting match with a student activist -- was part of a symposium called "Enemies Within -- Responding to Anti-Americanism in the Wake of 9-11."

Organized by Accuracy in Academia, a conservative pressure group, the symposium's focus was the supposed liberal bias at America's universities in light of the recent attacks on America.

A series of speakers, including Horowitz and History Professor Arthur Waldron, addressed an audience of 60 students from various universities and community members at Houston Hall.

Horowitz's heckler, College of General Studies student Melissa Byrne, shouted back at the speaker after his remark.

"How dare you say I was jumping up and down!" she yelled. "I was crying!"

Conference organizers asked Byrne to leave her comments until question time.

Earlier, Byrne had twice interrupted Waldron and called the conference organizers "a front group for the Klan."

Waldron, who spoke before Horowitz, condemned the left-wing ideology that he believes dominates many universities. He claimed that this left-leaning bias affects teaching, grading and recruitment.

"I would not dream of grading a paper based on its ideological viewpoint... but there are people who do that," he said.

Waldron, who taught at Princeton University for a decade before coming to Penn, recalled how he was denied tenure there based on criticism of his conservative views. Focusing his argument on minority recruitment, he claimed that some universities only hire black faculty who have liberal views.

Byrne challenged the validity of Waldron's remarks.

"He couldn't provide a citation," she said.

Waldron criticized "the silence of the intellectual class" in the wake of Sept. 11. He claimed that academics' distaste for military affairs has led many of them to have "nothing intelligent to say" on the war on terrorism.

But Waldron was quick to warn his audience.

"You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you," he said.

Horowitz -- who attracted controversy last year after trying to place anti-slavery reparations ads in college newspapers across the country -- decried the liberals who blame America for the Sept. 11 attacks during his lecture.

"Students have a privilege and right to be stupid... but professors have no such excuse," he said.

Calling the American left "an enemy within," Horowitz lambasted former President Bill Clinton for failing to deal with al-Qaeda.

"To boil this man in oil would be too good for him," he said.

After the talk, Horowitz attempted to justify his controversial remarks.

"The academic left has demonized me," he said. "My style is my response. I would talk to them in exactly the same way they talked to others, and show them how it feels."

College freshman Marcel Debayle, a self-described moderate, had mixed responses to the symposium.

"Horowitz was an excellent speaker... but I think he was far too explosive... he pushed it so hard, and that's the type of stance that pushes people away from his point of view," he said.

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