Cherishing the same values of the First Amendment, Brandeis University has welcomed many contentious figures including former President Jimmy Carter to speak about his new book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. Brandeis tries, as its mission statement suggests, to, "[be] a nonsectarian university that welcomes students, teachers and staff of every nationality, religion and political orientation. Brandeis renews the American heritage of cultural diversity, equal access to opportunity and freedom of expression." In a day and age when promises are rarely expected to be fulfilled, Brandeis acts as an example in honoring its almost 60-year-old code. Having previously hosted other high-profile speakers, the University was privy to the publicity and the sentimental value of such controversies. Figures with controversial pasts or radical partisan beliefs have been welcomed to the University, whether summoned by the president or invited by the student body. A few memorable and recent speakers have been Senator Ted Kennedy, former Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, former radical and avowed Communist Angela Davis '65, former president of the NAACP Kweisi Mfume, famed anti-tobacco lawyer Scott Harshbarger, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Steve Grossman.

A number of current and former faculty members have also been highly criticized for their opinions, such as Robert Reich, President Clinton's secretary of labor and a former professor in the Heller School; Prof. Dessima Williams (SOC), who was a member of Grenada's former Communist regime; Prof. Anita Hill (Heller), who was made famous through her accusations of unjust conduct by Clarence Thomas and now teaches social policy, law and women's studies; and Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC), who began the Faculty Coalition Against the War and is chairman of the Peace, Conflict, and Coexistance Studies Program.

President Carter's recently published book unleashed a paroxysm of criticism, which included the resignations of 14 of his staffers at the Carter Center and harsh allegations of anti-Semitism. Most of the criticism and blame in Carter's book is placed on Israel, though he does partly blame the Palestinian government and the United States, among others, for their failures to bring peace to the Middle East. Nevertheless, when a political figure who was once considered a world Samaritan writes an anti-Israeli book, the response from the leading non-sectarian University founded by the American Jewish Society was not only laudable, but refreshing. The University welcomed the speaker regardless of how deeply derogatory his message was. That's just a recent example of Brandeis' open-door policy.

But even when some students invited President Carter, others decided in turn to invite one of his major critics, Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor known most notably for his radical pro-Israel and conservative beliefs. The balance between a controversial former president and an outspoken and respectably right-wing professor harmonized and produced an evening of collective wisdom and differing opinions. Yet acceptance was in the air.

If global problems were resolved by debate among interlocutors-whether their beliefs or opinions were accepted by society or not-then there would be potential to reach peaceful conclusions. In addition, there would be hope for a battleground as disheartening as the Middle East. If a resolution could be made that embodies what President Carter proposes and satisfies the logical and brilliant proposal that Dershowitz made, then the University would have provided an even greater historic moment in helping solve a crisis in the Middle East that has been going on for too long.

The acceptance and interest invested in that evening is monumental in Brandeis' history, but it also acts as an example of how free speech is justified and practiced at Brandeis and other universities. The standard has been set at Brandeis to continue inviting speakers with varied beliefs and opinions, regardless of how the student body or school may feel, to remind ourselves we are living the American heritage of culture and diversity.