The beginning was the invitation to an event, hosted by a local fraternity and taking place on university's premises. The topic : Terrorism and its trends. The speaker: a colonel from the United States Marine Corps.
The problem: the invitation was sent to everybody connected to the university network by the 'administration' mailing list. Since then, everybody's mailboxes keep filling up by the most interesting replies, of which I will show some here. (It has to be noted, that none of them was in favor of the event)
guten tag, noch etwas verblüfft von der gerade geöffneten mitteilung erlaube ich mich nachzufragen, warum über "Administration" solche mitteilungen hochschulweit versendet werden.
I miei "complimenti" per la raffinata iniziativa culturale e per il relatore, la cui obbiettività scientifica è certamente fuori di dubbio.Spero sia un caso di umorismo involontario.Cordiali saluti
Gentile colleghe, gentili colleghi!Mi sono posto la stessa domanda del preside Prey. Me la sono posta, a dir la verità, anche per la mostra del repubblichino nella guerra civile di Spagna. Senza alcuna pretesa di moralità, ma "Guernavaca docet!"Werte Kolleginnen und Kollegen!Ich habe mir dieselbe Frage gestellt, die sich auch Dekan Prey gestellt hat. Der Wahrheit zuliebe habe ich mir die Frage bereits zur Fotoausstellung des "Söldners" im spanischen Bürgerkrieg gestellt. Ohne jeden moralischen Anspruch möchte ich an "Guernavaca" errinnern.
Sehr geehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen,ich darf dazu von meiner Seite - und ich bin bisher nur Contract Professor an der FU Bozen - nachdrücklichen Protest gegen solche Veranstaltungen an der Uni Bozen einlegen. Das widerspricht jeder Haltung der politisch-sachlichen Unabhängigkeit einer Universität!Ich möchte hiermit - u.a. auch als Buchautor zur "Nachhaltigen Demokratisierung des Irak", Passagen Verlag Wien 2005 - im Sinne gelebten Pluralismus davor warnen, derartigen Veranstaltungen, die potentiell rufschädigend für alle Lehrenden an der FU Bozen sind, jemals wieder Raum zu geben.Ich erbitte dazu höflichst eine Stellungnahme derjenigen, die diese Veranstaltung genehmigt haben!
Anch'io sono rimasto alquanto "stupito" nel vedere che ospitiamo un
evento di questo tipo. Non credo che giovi in alcun modo
all'immagine della nostra università e del suo corpo accademico.
Personalmente, prendo decisamente le distanze.
Gent.ma Rettrice, gent.ma Direttrice Generale,
Mi associo con le voci di quanti hanno espresso perplessità rispetto
all'incontro che si è tenuto ieri presso la nostra Università.
Aggiungo che quando ho letto l'informazione ero talmente stupita che sono
andata a sentire di persona.
Aula magna affollata, cappellini rossi, credo appartenenti alla
confraternita organizzante.
E per quanto riguarda il relatore, penso di non andare molto lontano dal
vero a definirla pura propaganda.
Non vorrei essere equivocata, il problema NON è il tema, ma le modalità.
A maggior ragione a proposito di una questione tragicamente centrale oggi
come dimostrano le cronache degli attentati di Algeri occorsi due gg fa.
Dear Rector, Dear General Director,
I agree with my colleague Tagliavini. I had already noted in the past, with reference to law conferences organized by local associations and held in our lecture rooms, that people think that these events are somehow related to the University. The organizers do expect professors and students to attend, and in the general public perception the event is "University certified". This create problems.Moreover, if academics from other universities are invited, this might become a source of embarassment. Imagine a law professor in corporate law invited to give a presentation at a conference organized by the Bar Association and taking place in our premises. He expects me to welcome him, maybe to have a dinner together, to talk with him about the conference but also about positions to be opened for young researchers, etc. etc. Unfortunately, I does not know anything about the event, or I am out of Bolzano in the relevant days, or I simply do not to want to discuss those issues or to meet the person.
Something similar happened to me two years ago, when the local Bar Association organized a civil procedure conference here in Bolzano. The organizers expected the "law professors" to attend and students to be in the audience. Unfortunately, I discovered that the event was taking place here only few days before its start, I had another conference in another place, we had no people in the civil procedure area (we are not a law school indeed), students of economics were not interested at all in a conference concerning forced executions (esecuzione forzata). My colleague Stefano Lombardo was nevertheless forced to attend the conference, because the organizers wanted to have a sign of the "University presence" and we felt we were cornered into a situation in which someone of us had to be present.
In short, a University is not a neutral place were people can hold events and give lectures.
Dear Rector, Dear General Director
I have attended the lecture on Terrorism and its Trends by Colonnel Prat in an University lecture hall.
I do believe that our University should ask itself and open an internal discussion on:
1) the possibility to have such external events organized within its spaces;
2) the need for a selection of topics and/or speakers (e.g. related to our expertises);
3) the necessity for maintaining these events clearly separated from University activities as there is the risk of being associated to them.In this respect, in agreement with other collegues (see e-mails), I am also unconvinced our Administration should have sent the advertisement of the yesterday lecture to professors and students.
