Matt Hale at Northwestern

Pres. Bienen's letter

Matt Hale, an avowed white supremacist, has said that he plans to come to the Northwestern campus Friday. I ask all of you to join me in boycotting his presence near campus.

As I have said on previous occasions, I find the beliefs espoused by Hale to be repugnant. I strongly believe Northwestern University should continue to be a place that encourages open discourse and intellectual exploration. Hale's ideas, however, bring nothing of value to the Northwestern community and are not worth discussing. Northwestern is a private university. We can, and do, routinely regulate who is allowed to come to campus to use our facilities or make public speeches. To our knowledge, Hale has not been invited to campus by any recognized Northwestern student group or University official, nor has he received the necessary permission to make a public address on campus. Therefore, he will not be allowed to use this campus as a place to attempt to publicly recruit members of his organization.

If Hale chooses to use public property adjoining our campus for his purposes, the University does not have the authority to prevent him from doing so. We do, however, have the power to demonstrate our contempt for his ideas by ignoring him. Therefore, I request that all members of the Northwestern community simply stay away from any demonstration that he may attempt to organize.

We have previously and will continue to provide other forums for students, faculty and staff to voice their opinions regarding Hale and his ilk. There is nothing to be gained, however, by engaging in a public confrontation. Doing so will only give Hale the media attention he appears to be seeking. Appropriate University officials will be assigned to handle whatever situation may arise. For the rest of us, it will be much more helpful -- and undoubtedly more productive -- to be elsewhere.

Finally, I'd like to thank our students and faculty who have not fallen into the trap of providing Hale a platform at Northwestern to disseminate his hateful ideas. Boycotting his appearance, combined with intelligent conversation at other forums regarding race and commitments to equality, will send a strong message to Hale. As I've said before, Northwestern is indeed a special place; your conduct on this issue can once again prove that to be true.

Sincerely,
Henry S. Bienen
President

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