To the Editor:
I extend an invitation to the Dartmouth student body to hear William F. Buckley speak this Wednesday evening. This event was born out of Buckley's New York Times editorial of November 18 titled "God and Man at Dartmouth," in which he questioned whether or not Dartmouth College had departed from its historic Christian mission.
I am delighted to announce that Dartmouth Hillel has agreed to both co-sponsor the event (along with the Navigators and Voces Clamantium) and to host a reception open to the public following the lecture at the Roth Center for Jewish Life. I applaud the grace of the Jewish student community to welcome Buckley.
A clarifier is necessary. The title I selected for Buckley's talk, "Anti-Semitism, Jesus and Dartmouth" as it appeared in The Dartmouth on January 8 ["William F. Buckley to visit campus"], reflects the turn of events that led him to submit his editorial to the New York Times and my subsequent invitation.
Other than giving brief reference to an anti-Semitic bias of Dartmouth during the middle of this century as revealed at the dedication of the Roth Center for Jewish Life, Buckley will not be addressing anti-semitism per se. His focus will be on the academic secularization of the College. His central question is, "What is Dartmouth's responsibility to its Christian past?"
This topic is obviously controversial. I trust that in the spirit of goodwill, Buckley will wield his wit, outspokenness, courtesy and razor-sharp intellect. Although I don't necessarily endorse all of his views, I appreciate his willingness to bring the tensions of religion and intellectualism to the national table. These issues affect all of us in the Dartmouth community.
