John Wiley and Oliver Holmes

Tuesday evening, the Dean of Students Office hosted a forum on the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a terrorist and The Badger Herald's decision to print one of the images. It was one of the most extraordinary events I have been privileged enough to attend while at the University of Wisconsin, and an evening I will not soon forget.

The panel assembled, myself withstanding, was comprised of a group of intellectuals of the highest caliber. While I disagreed with most of my fellow panelists and ended up facing the majority of the evening's questions myself, I was astounded by the philosophical contributions offered by UW professors, journalists and representatives of the Muslim community.

Brad from Letters in Bottles blogged the event and while I was certainly present, I had neither a notepad nor a computer, so I will rely on his accuracy (which seems proficient based on my memories). He quotes Chancellor John Wiley as beginning the evening by noting:

“I can promise you this – you’ll take away from this evening memories and experiences you can’t get in an ordinary classroom (this is what a university is all about – real issues that are on us in the moment.)”

Dr. Wiley was brief in his opening remarks and declined to take a side on the matter of contention. Yet I can assuredly say that rarely have I been so proud to go to this university as I was when the chancellor was setting the evening's tone. Indeed, Dr. Wiley was supremely impressive and established the highest of bars for the debate.

Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam was the moderator and she, too, managed matters in the most superb of fashions. Her questions for the panel were well-meditated and her neutrality never came into contention.

The majority of the evening was dedicated to a question and answer session with the audience. And while many of those who approached the microphone opted instead for a verbal assault on the Badger Herald and/or myself, I still believe the experience to have been overwhelmingly positive insofar as it allowed a community to vent, freely exchange ideas and address an important topic.

Early in the forum, I was hissed at rather notably for making an allusion to the “marketplace of ideas” (the audience did not seem much a fan of intellectual capitalism). I can only say that I find this ironic, for that famed Oliver W. Holmes reference may well be the finest description for the evening's discourse.