The GLiB Co-Chairs' Statement on General Peter Pace's Visit to the GSB
It's Time to Take a Stand
by Laura Barnard, Jacob Rothschild, & Patrick Wacker, '08
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: GSB Life
The Chicago GSB Gays & Lesbians in Business (GLiB) group is extremely disappointed by the GSB's invitation to General Peter Pace to speak at the upcoming 55th Annual Management Conference. General Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has labeled gay behavior immoral and equated homosexuality to adultery. Despite widespread outrage over his comments, Pace has refused to apologize for his remarks.
We respect General Pace's service to our country and in no way seek to diminish his achievements. At the same time, however, we believe the GSB's and the University's values and reputation are ill-served by providing an individual such as General Pace a platform to express his bigotry, and worse, by holding him up as an exemplary leader.
We have raised the issues surrounding General Pace's visit repeatedly with the deans over the last six weeks. These interactions have resulted in a statement from the deans, which you may have seen on the main GSB website or over email. The statement does not distance the University or the GSB from General Pace's bigotry. While the statement correctly identifies that people in the community are offended, it stops short of condemning Pace's comments. General Pace publicly - in uniform as a representative of the United States Armed Forces and the Federal Government - has espoused a position that is in fundamental conflict with the GSB's values, as defined by the GSB's diversity policy.
The deans defend Pace's visit as part of the school's mission to promote free speech and as a part of making the GSB a "stronger institution by including people with wide-ranging views and encouraging dialogue." We believe the deans fail to appreciate the crucial distinction between free speech and the extension of a platform for speech. An offer to give a keynote address is a privilege and, often, a way universities honor a public figure. As one of our faculty pointed out, "Some think that removing Pace or even sending a statement that the school does not endorse Pace's views should not be sent, not because they agree with Pace but because of 'freedom of speech.' The argument is wrong: people confuse the legal right to free speech with the notion that one can speak without consequence."
We respect General Pace's service to our country and in no way seek to diminish his achievements. At the same time, however, we believe the GSB's and the University's values and reputation are ill-served by providing an individual such as General Pace a platform to express his bigotry, and worse, by holding him up as an exemplary leader.
We have raised the issues surrounding General Pace's visit repeatedly with the deans over the last six weeks. These interactions have resulted in a statement from the deans, which you may have seen on the main GSB website or over email. The statement does not distance the University or the GSB from General Pace's bigotry. While the statement correctly identifies that people in the community are offended, it stops short of condemning Pace's comments. General Pace publicly - in uniform as a representative of the United States Armed Forces and the Federal Government - has espoused a position that is in fundamental conflict with the GSB's values, as defined by the GSB's diversity policy.
The deans defend Pace's visit as part of the school's mission to promote free speech and as a part of making the GSB a "stronger institution by including people with wide-ranging views and encouraging dialogue." We believe the deans fail to appreciate the crucial distinction between free speech and the extension of a platform for speech. An offer to give a keynote address is a privilege and, often, a way universities honor a public figure. As one of our faculty pointed out, "Some think that removing Pace or even sending a statement that the school does not endorse Pace's views should not be sent, not because they agree with Pace but because of 'freedom of speech.' The argument is wrong: people confuse the legal right to free speech with the notion that one can speak without consequence."
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