Petition to the Invitation of AIPAC Member Mr. Arne Christenson
The Issue
The following is a relatively summarized version of our petition to be sent. If you are interested in reading the full petition, feel free to contact any of the organizers.
05/17/2016
Dear Administrative Board of the Institute for Freedom and Community, Board of Regents, and President David Anderson:
We are aware as a student body that Mr. Arne Christenson, a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is being invited to serve on the donor’s board for the Institute for Freedom and Community. From our understanding, this individual will have the ability to influence and serve as an advisor and assistant to donors which will put him in a position of power which could possibly influence the curricula and scholarship sanctioned by the Institute through financial means. While this issue has been addressed and President David Anderson has been said to assure that this individual will not have this influence, we as students believe this cannot be ensured given the biased perspective this individual utilizes in his work and the nature of his career as a persuader in policy making.
Furthermore, it is understood that this person spoke at the college in a “last minute” event two months ago (while his son was touring as a prospective student) that was advertised to be discussing the experience of having a professional career in Washington D.C. in which only a select group of students and faculty - excluding Palestinian individuals - were informed of the speaker’s presence. This event lacked transparency and seemed to be advertised in a manner that attempted to defuse any possible reactions to his presence on campus.
If Mr. Arne Christenson is allowed to serve on the board, St. Olaf College will be making a bold and detrimental statement that threatens the identities of students and faculty on campus. Given his controversial background, his role on the board concerns us as students that his political views will not only undermine the comfort and safety of students and faculty but will also tarnish the image of the college and depict it as an institution which supports a problematic and internationally critiqued ideology.
Addressing the matter of student/faculty comfort on campus, many minority students including international students and students of color have continued to express the sentiment of their identities being threatened due to the structure of the college that historically is built to fit a specific - majority status - individual. Allowing a person with a background in a highly controversial committee such as AIPAC would only expand this sentiment for this group of already threatened students and would create an environment that is difficult to succeed - or simply live - in. This consequence would arise as Palestinian individuals feel that the structure of the college further excludes and alienates them in supporting an individual who targets their very identity and history. Further, an ideology that stands to actively and aggressively disadvantage a group of individuals would be attached to the institution.. For these reasons, we, the undersigned students, petition against the invitation of this individual not because of his identity but for what he would represent on this campus and for the previous history of unsuitable instances occurring in the last few months.
The following points state our objections to the invitation of Mr. Arne Christenson and the past events that have transpired:
1. College promotion of an academically and globally critiqued discourse.
2. Possibility and probability of Mr. Arne Christenson’s political and Christian Zionist values influencing the institution of St. Olaf College.
3. Lack of transparency of the Institute for Freedom and Community when inviting Mr. Arne Christenson to speak at campus approximately two months ago.
4. Lack of general transparency of the Institute regarding its structure and efforts.
5. Lacking student and faculty representation in the Institute for Freedom and Community.
6. Lack of a Palestinian perspective in the events following Mr. Arne Christenson’s event.
7. Undermining of student and faculty safety and comfort with the presence of an AIPAC member on campus.
8. Perpetuating the silencing and marginalization of minority students and faculty on campus.
These are our objections to which more can be explained of each if necessary. By inviting Mr. Arne Christenson, the Institute for Freedom and Community and the institution of St. Olaf College itself is taking away safe spaces and opportunities for certain students and faculty. Identities are being attacked unnecessarily and unethically and a problematic perspective is being accepted and utilized on this campus.
In addition to these objections, we present the following demands:
1. The decline of an invitation to Mr. Arne Christenson as serving as an active board member for the Institute for Freedom and Community.
2. A public statement from the Institute for Freedom and Community and from the administration of St. Olaf College affirming their neutrality on the issue of Israel and Palestine and consequently refraining from supporting Zionist and pro-Israel ideology in any manner.
3. Creation of a widely publicized campus event portraying a Palestinian narrative in response to the two previous Israeli perspectives given.
4. Creation of a larger qualified student and faculty advisory group working within the Institute of Freedom and Community.
5.Greater outreach to Palestinian and other minority individuals on campus for their opinions and perspectives on events and occurrences related to such within the Institute.
6. A formal apology sent to Palestinian students and faculty for the lack of correspondence about the event two months ago in which Mr. Arne Christensen spoke.
7. Unwavering commitment to academic openness in all future pursuits of the Institute for Freedom and Community.
From these objections and demands, we show as a student body our dissatisfaction with the Institute for Freedom and Community and our insistence for change and amends. We primarily ask that you reconsider the invitation given to Mr. Arne Christenson and search for a different individual that meets the suggested criteria if the donors board is in fact deemed necessary. If this can be granted, students and faculty will be less threatened and feel more safe and comfortable within an environment that should automatically provide security. Furthermore, a positive image of the college will be maintained without a harmful and highly critiqued ideology attached. Consider this petition as we greatly urge you to reform your decisions and stances on this issue.
The Issue
The following is a relatively summarized version of our petition to be sent. If you are interested in reading the full petition, feel free to contact any of the organizers.
05/17/2016
Dear Administrative Board of the Institute for Freedom and Community, Board of Regents, and President David Anderson:
We are aware as a student body that Mr. Arne Christenson, a member of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is being invited to serve on the donor’s board for the Institute for Freedom and Community. From our understanding, this individual will have the ability to influence and serve as an advisor and assistant to donors which will put him in a position of power which could possibly influence the curricula and scholarship sanctioned by the Institute through financial means. While this issue has been addressed and President David Anderson has been said to assure that this individual will not have this influence, we as students believe this cannot be ensured given the biased perspective this individual utilizes in his work and the nature of his career as a persuader in policy making.
Furthermore, it is understood that this person spoke at the college in a “last minute” event two months ago (while his son was touring as a prospective student) that was advertised to be discussing the experience of having a professional career in Washington D.C. in which only a select group of students and faculty - excluding Palestinian individuals - were informed of the speaker’s presence. This event lacked transparency and seemed to be advertised in a manner that attempted to defuse any possible reactions to his presence on campus.
If Mr. Arne Christenson is allowed to serve on the board, St. Olaf College will be making a bold and detrimental statement that threatens the identities of students and faculty on campus. Given his controversial background, his role on the board concerns us as students that his political views will not only undermine the comfort and safety of students and faculty but will also tarnish the image of the college and depict it as an institution which supports a problematic and internationally critiqued ideology.
Addressing the matter of student/faculty comfort on campus, many minority students including international students and students of color have continued to express the sentiment of their identities being threatened due to the structure of the college that historically is built to fit a specific - majority status - individual. Allowing a person with a background in a highly controversial committee such as AIPAC would only expand this sentiment for this group of already threatened students and would create an environment that is difficult to succeed - or simply live - in. This consequence would arise as Palestinian individuals feel that the structure of the college further excludes and alienates them in supporting an individual who targets their very identity and history. Further, an ideology that stands to actively and aggressively disadvantage a group of individuals would be attached to the institution.. For these reasons, we, the undersigned students, petition against the invitation of this individual not because of his identity but for what he would represent on this campus and for the previous history of unsuitable instances occurring in the last few months.
The following points state our objections to the invitation of Mr. Arne Christenson and the past events that have transpired:
1. College promotion of an academically and globally critiqued discourse.
2. Possibility and probability of Mr. Arne Christenson’s political and Christian Zionist values influencing the institution of St. Olaf College.
3. Lack of transparency of the Institute for Freedom and Community when inviting Mr. Arne Christenson to speak at campus approximately two months ago.
4. Lack of general transparency of the Institute regarding its structure and efforts.
5. Lacking student and faculty representation in the Institute for Freedom and Community.
6. Lack of a Palestinian perspective in the events following Mr. Arne Christenson’s event.
7. Undermining of student and faculty safety and comfort with the presence of an AIPAC member on campus.
8. Perpetuating the silencing and marginalization of minority students and faculty on campus.
These are our objections to which more can be explained of each if necessary. By inviting Mr. Arne Christenson, the Institute for Freedom and Community and the institution of St. Olaf College itself is taking away safe spaces and opportunities for certain students and faculty. Identities are being attacked unnecessarily and unethically and a problematic perspective is being accepted and utilized on this campus.
In addition to these objections, we present the following demands:
1. The decline of an invitation to Mr. Arne Christenson as serving as an active board member for the Institute for Freedom and Community.
2. A public statement from the Institute for Freedom and Community and from the administration of St. Olaf College affirming their neutrality on the issue of Israel and Palestine and consequently refraining from supporting Zionist and pro-Israel ideology in any manner.
3. Creation of a widely publicized campus event portraying a Palestinian narrative in response to the two previous Israeli perspectives given.
4. Creation of a larger qualified student and faculty advisory group working within the Institute of Freedom and Community.
5.Greater outreach to Palestinian and other minority individuals on campus for their opinions and perspectives on events and occurrences related to such within the Institute.
6. A formal apology sent to Palestinian students and faculty for the lack of correspondence about the event two months ago in which Mr. Arne Christensen spoke.
7. Unwavering commitment to academic openness in all future pursuits of the Institute for Freedom and Community.
From these objections and demands, we show as a student body our dissatisfaction with the Institute for Freedom and Community and our insistence for change and amends. We primarily ask that you reconsider the invitation given to Mr. Arne Christenson and search for a different individual that meets the suggested criteria if the donors board is in fact deemed necessary. If this can be granted, students and faculty will be less threatened and feel more safe and comfortable within an environment that should automatically provide security. Furthermore, a positive image of the college will be maintained without a harmful and highly critiqued ideology attached. Consider this petition as we greatly urge you to reform your decisions and stances on this issue.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on May 16, 2016