California State University at Fresno has come under fire for planning a conference on “revolutionary environmentalism” whose participants include people associated with extremist environmental groups that have been tied to numerous acts of arson and vandalism, some of them against research facilities at universities.
Fresno State officials are defending the conference as a tool to help students and scholars understand a strand of the environmental movement, but following the criticism, the university announced that it would close the event to the public.
The conference, titled “Revolutionary Environmentalism: A Dialogue Between Activists and Academics,” will be held February 13 and 14.
Confirmed participants include Rodney A. Coronado, a convicted arsonist and former member of the Animal Liberation Front. Mr. Coronado spent four years in prison for his role in the fire-bombing of two animal-research offices at the Michigan State University in 1992, which caused $200,000 worth of damage (The Chronicle, March 24, 1995).
Also scheduled to attend the Fresno event are representatives from the Earth Liberation Front, which encourages the use of “direct action,” including sabotage and arson, for what it perceives to be threats to the environment, such as genetically modified crops. The group claimed responsibility, for example, for starting a fire last year at the construction site of a $20-million plant-genetics building at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (The Chronicle, January 31, 2002).
The Center for Consumer Freedom, a group that represents food and beverage companies, criticized Fresno State for “inviting terrorists” into an academic community. “We are astonished and appalled that a public university that operates with public funds welcomes these folks with open arms, and secondly, that they would hide behind closed doors,” said David Martosko, research director at the center. “There’s a real danger to the community from people who try to put themselves above the law in a radical nature.”
U.S. Rep. Richard W. Pombo, a California Republican and chairman of the House Resources Committee, has also criticized the university. A spokesman for the congressman called the conference “outrageous.” “This ‘revolutionary environmentalism’ includes sinking ships, burning universities, tree-spiking. That’s a far cry from an organizing a recycling drive,” said the spokesman.
Ellen Gruenbaum, dean of the College of Social Sciences at Fresno State, said the conference was the result of concern over the tactics used by revolutionary environmentalists. “Where is this movement going? How can we prevent additional violence?” said Ms. Gruenbaum. She said the conference was a chance to have “dialogue and debate” about the issues. “It’s controversial,” she said, “but it’s an important thing to try to deal with.”
Bruce S. Thornton, a professor of classics and humanities at Fresno State, said that if the university wanted true dialogue, it would have invited people who oppose “eco-terrorism,” as some have called the tactics of extremist groups, in addition to those who support such tactics. “When you have such an imbalance, it seems you’re not after the truth,” said Mr. Thornton. “It’s political advocacy rather than an intellectual activity.”
Mark Somma, a professor of political science who organized the conference, said that scholars from many fields and representing many points of view would also attend. “It is a special conceit of conservatives that there are only two sides to any debate -- their side and anyone who disagrees with them,” he said. “Environmental conflict has many sides across the world.”
According to a university statement, the department of political science and public administration, which is sponsoring the event, invited “selected academic and activist representatives,” including faculty members from Fresno State and other universities with expertise in policy, ethics, criminology, science, and other fields.
Ms. Gruenbaum said that the university received a great deal of negative publicity following what she called “the hostile characterization of the conference” by the Center for Consumer Freedom, so administrators decided to turn the conference into an invitation-only event. Attendance at panels will require university identification. Normally, such events are open to the public.
Ms. Gruenbaum also said that campus police officials were involved in the planning process, but that the university never felt that the event would pose any kind of danger. “It was never intended to be a rally,” she said, and the university does not encourage violence in any way. “Our goal was to have professors and activists talking together,” she said. “It’s a commitment to experiential learning for our students.”
Background articles from The Chronicle:
