Dinesh D’Souza, a commentator known for his conservative views on topics such as racism, religion and politics spoke to an audience of students and community members on Monday about diversity. NU College Republicans brought D’Souza to campus as their spring quarter speaker. D’Souza, who has authored among others a best-selling book called The End of Racism, is widely known for his controversial stance on the issue of race. He believes the success of different races stems from the cultural inferiority of certain races, rather than from biological differences or racial prejudice.
D’Souza began his talk by introducing himself as an immigrant who found cultural confusion when he arrived to the U.S. as an Indian foreign exchange student in the ‘70s. After this short explanation of his own background, D’Souza went on to condemn affirmative action, the process of “agitating” for a change in racial status rather than “working” for it, as well as what he sees as a lack of diverse intellectual viewpoints on racism at college campuses.
“If any of you were to repeat any of what I have said in a discussion in class, or in the college newspaper, and so on, you’d suddenly be walking on egg shells,” D’Souza said. “‘Did anyone hear me say that? Let’s shut the door when I talk to my roommate.’ Just from that alone you know that something is wrong.”
NUCR President Rebecca Schieber echoed D’Souza’s sentiments about the importance of including a diversity of views about racism as the reason for selecting D’Souza as the NUCR spring quarter speaker.
“The College Republicans decided to bring in Mr. D'Souza to continue the conversation of diversity and bring new arguments to campus,” Schieber said. “We hope that students can listen to his arguments and understand the other side of this conversation. It is important to me that students attend this event whether they agree or disagree with Mr. D'Souza. Challenging an opposing opinion is an important step in becoming a well-informed student.”
Regardless of the intent behind bringing D’Souza to campus, it was clear from the often uncomfortable environment in the room, particularly during the Q&A session, that many were not pleased with his presence.
“I know you really, really hate facts, but I’d love if you could use them in your answer,” one student said before D’Souza addressed her question regarding a range of issues such as Jim Crowe laws and racial profiling by the police.
Other students were so outraged by the messages D’Souza is known to spread that they chose to protest the event outside Tech Auditorium.
“We were there in solidarity to show that we weren't going to support his racist, homophobic and Islamophobic ideologies nor were we going to be in direct attendance at the event so that the group hosting the event would receive more funding in the future,” Ellyn Peña, a SESP sophomore said. “Primarily, we were there to show support for those students who felt attacked by this man's racist views on ‘diversity.’ We saw several students walk out frustrated, angry, and in tears at having their experiences invalidated by this man and wanted to be a support for them. ”
While the event allowed some students to express negative opinions, other students used the event as a forum to lend support to D’Souza’s views.
“It’s not a question, just a response that my white male privilege is paying full price for tuition so that people from the South Side of Chicago working two part-time jobs going to school can afford to a great school like this,” one student said at the very end of the Q&A.
Other students such as Harrison Flagler, a Bienen freshman, represent a more middle-of-the-road reaction to the content of D’Souza’s talk and the contentious nature of the Q&A.
“From unnecessary audience interruptions during questions, to the fact that this topic runs very deep in people's consciousness, the Q&A turned into a heated affair,” Flager said. “I give props to people who asked him objective questions. I'm always seeking out new perspectives; so, I'll be reaching out to members of the community who I saw were present, and visibly upset.”
D’Souza’s lecture comes amid an ongoing debate about the importance of diversity and how to best implement measures to make members of the NU community feel safe. Whether or not D’Souza’s opinion makes a lasting impact on this dialogue is unclear, but it’s evident that what he said at least made impressions, both favorable and unfavorable, on audience members.