Speaker selection process leads to lack of clarity for US students
By Anousha Greiveldinger ‘20
The Catlin Gabel School (CGS) brings in speakers to address Upper School (US) students through different departments, but there is no defined set of guidelines regulating who can address students and who cannot.
“There is no policy about bringing a speaker to campus,” said Aline Garcia-Rubio, Head of the Upper School.
She also said that speakers are chosen through programs, like the Distinguished Writers program run by Barbara Ostos, the Assistant Head of School. That program specifically targets authors and has its own set of requirements.
CGS’ Inclusion Office also invites speakers, mainly for the annual Diversity Summit, a day of workshops led by a mix of students and guest lecturers, and assemblies with an inclusion focus.
Jasmine Love, the Director of Inclusion and Outreach at CGS, said her department works to bring in speakers that educate students about topics they have indicated they want to learn more about. Although there are no set requirements to speak at an inclusion event, a speaker would be denied if they were associated with a known hate group or if they promote violence of any sort.
“For me, it’s really important that somebody has actually seen the speaker speak before, mostly so we know that they’re engaging or appropriate for high school,” said Love.
If students want to suggest a speaker, they should contact an adult on campus who works in a field similar to the speaker or Brandon Woods, the Upper School Dean of Students, Garcia-Rubio, or Love. The CGS adult will generally work within their departmental budget to offer the speaker an honorarium.
After a speaker is requested, it may be some time before they are able to speak because of planning requirements and other time constraints. Assemblies need to be planned and students may need background knowledge before the speaker comes so they can better understand the information being shared.
One student hoped to share a speaker with the community, but was unable to do so because there was a lack of information about him, potentially due to gaps in the proposal process.
At an inclusion assembly on Oct. 20, 2017, Ned Roche, a member of Jewish Voices for Peace, was invited by the Inclusion Office and current senior, then sophomore, Helena Khoury to speak about the Isreali-Palestine conflict. During the assembly, Khoury announced that he would not speak in front of everyone and would instead present at an optional session.
Steps to proposing a speaker at CGS. Graphic by Anousha Greiveldinger.
Khoury sent an all-school email on Oct. 19, 2017 introducing Roche, which contained a link to an anti-Semitic website, sparking concern that Roche was a member of that group. The school permitted him to speak at an optional session after assembly but felt it was inappropriate for him to speak in an assembly (which students are required to attend) without investigating his possible connection to hate speech.
Roche had been on multiple panels before, including one at Lincoln High School. CGS had received his presentation materials and background information well in advance of the talk, but he was still not allowed to speak.
“The morning of the assembly, I got a call from Jasmine saying that the assembly had been canceled due to its topic upsetting students … To me it felt like the voices of some were valued more then [sic] mine and the important topic I was trying to bring to the school. In the end, administration said that the ‘proper vetting process’ had not been followed,” said Khoury via an interview conducted via text message.
There are some inconsistencies between the administration’s statements and the information that Khoury received.
Roche’s planned presentation “became controversial because there was a concern about potential hate speech,” said Garcia-Rubio.
“There was some confusion about whether or not [Roche] was associated with a certain website that had some hate speech on it. And because it was right before the assembly that we found out that information, Tim made a decision that [Roche] wouldn’t speak and we told that to the students,” said Love.
Love continued to explain her view of the speaker-selection process.
“I do not make unilateral decisions about any speaker students would like to bring to campus. I met with Upper School administration and we had some questions about Ned Roche,” said Love. “The intention was to put things on pause with that assembly while we did more research. It was not about valuing one group of students over another.”
Per student requests, this year, CGS is focusing on bringing in more conservative voices for an upcoming inclusion assembly.
“With our conservative voices panel, we are going to start with our internal community members. We never want to put any of our students in a position of feeling offended by who we invite to campus, so we are careful,” explained Love.
Inclusivity Coordinator and senior Kenya Sei worked to find a panel of moderates and conservatives throughout the Portland area who would be educational and uphold the community guidelines of acting “with honesty and integrity in all their actions at the school.”
“I emailed Lars Larson, Christine Drazan, Kim Thatcher, a lot of representatives and senators, and different conservative moguls,” said Sei.
He also sent an email to the Multnomah County Republic Party and found James Buchal, who is the organization’s chair.
James Buchal is the only member outside of the CGS community who will be on the panel. Buchal is currently defending the leader of Patriot Prayer, a far-right group with ties to the Proud Boys in a civil lawsuit after protests in downtown Portland in May.
The Proud Boys have been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As Love and Garcia-Rubio said, CGS does not want to bring speakers associated with known hate groups. However, there is no clear definition of what it means to be “associated” with a group.
“In the future I hope Catlin actually establishes a concrete vetting process and does not simply implement or bring it up as a means of censorship,” said Khoury. “I hope that all narratives and stories will be equally valued and the process to bring in speakers will be streamlined and made consistent so that no one undergoes what I went through.”
Love agrees that a clear process would benefit the school.
“I do think we need to have a specific process that includes students about how speakers are chosen to come to campus and where we draw the line,” said Love.
Having a more defined and clear speaker selection process could enable a wider variety of students to suggest speakers, resulting in a more diverse group of people who address the school community.
Having a wider range of speakers could help CGS fulfill its goal of developing “a community of diverse learners with different perspectives and life experiences.”