Bill Ayers Not Welcome Here
"Highly-charged" reaction to engagement forces Naperville school to renege
Monday, Mar 30, 2009 | Updated 1:00 PM CDT
AP
Bill Ayers, founder of the 1960s-era radical group the Weather Underground, a former fugitive, former Chicago Citizen of the Year and current professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is not welcome in Naperville.
University professor and former 60s radical Bill Ayers was scheduled to speak at Naperville North High School next week, but outrage from area parents has led to the cancellation of that engagement.
On Friday, the school district announced that they were reviewing the objections to the event and considering possibly moving the speech to another venue.
But a message released by Naperville School District 203 on Monday stated that it became clear over the weekend "that this issue was not really about where Dr. Ayers was speaking, but that he was speaking at all."
The email message sent by School Superintendent Dr. Alan Leis, said that "the level of emotion and outrage" increased, evident by an growing number of emails and phone calls received by the district.
The superintendent said that he found it unfortunate that many of the angered residents directed their rage at the well-regarded high school and an "award-winning teacher who encourages students to think for themselves."
Leis said that many parents and outsiders had also written to encourage the district to stick with the Ayers appearance, but as the fury grew, it became "clear that any value to our students would be lost in such a highly-charged atmosphere, and that any debate of issues or viewpoints would be overshadowed by media coverage and anger over the event itself."
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