Why welcome Ayers?

I find it hard to believe that 1970s domestic terrorist William Ayers will be the keynote speaker today at the Spring 2010 Conference of the University of Pittsburgh's Council of Graduate Students in Education. I would think that in the interest of education, intellectualism and ethics, the council would be concerned about the unethical life of its honored guest.

Bill Ayers was the co-founder of the radical Weather Underground, a self-described communist revolutionary group that participated in a series of bombings in the early 1970s, including the 1974 bombing of Pittsburgh's Gulf Tower. Mr. Ayers admits to participating in bombings at a New York City police headquarters in 1970, the U.S. Capitol in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972. Federal conspiracy charges against him were dropped in 1974 because of illegal surveillance.

Surely the University of Pittsburgh group could have found some other speaker who has values and loves our country, instead of a criminal. By paying this person to speak, is it honoring his behaviors? Why have someone from Chicago education circles speak on educating students? Have you seen the statistics of Chicago schools?

 

MARTHA McEVOY
Franklin Park