St. Thomas won't host Tutu
By Randy Furst, Star Tribune
October 04, 2007
A plan to invite Desmond Tutu to speak at the University of St. Thomas next year was scuttled by university officials who did not want to offend the Jewish community over the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, university officials confirmed Wednesday.
In addition, Cris Toffolo, an associate professor who supported inviting the South African archbishop and activist was removed as director of the St. Paul university's justice and peace studies program in August.
She remains on the faculty.
Tutu's visit will be shifted to Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, according to a local group that had planned to bring him to St. Thomas.
Doug Hennes, vice president for university and government relations at St. Thomas, said the Rev. Dennis Dease, St. Thomas' president, made the final decision not to invite Tutu after consulting with his staff.
"He [Tutu] has been critical of Israel and Israeli policy regarding the Palestinians, so we talked with people in the Jewish community and they said they believed it would be hurtful to the Jewish community, because of things he's said," Hennes said ...
Full article:
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1463394.html
The ideal guest speaker (literally embodying the conjunction of opposites) for the alchemically transmuted "University of St. Thomas."
On another topic, however, Coulter was lucid, succinct, and perfectly accurate. "I'm more of a man than any liberal," she said.
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