Daily Cal chastises Dean for being partisan at Free Speech Rally

This is an interesting interpretation of the event. The chancellor spoke about his dinner with Henry Kissinger, and 'political correctness' on campuses.
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http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=16473
Editorial: FSM Should Mean Free Speech for All

While the motivation behind last week�s Free Speech Movement events was commendable, the fact that the keynote speaker used the celebration as a springboard to further his political leanings is disheartening.

In using his speech as a platform for bashing our current president, former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean cheapened the message of the Free Speech Movement and presented a partisan call to arms, rather than what event planners had anticipated, an unbiased rally for freedom of speech.

Although the Free Speech Movement has gained a reputation as a leftist movement, it is more of a forum for the exchange of all ideas�be they popular or extreme, liberal, conservative or anarchist. Dean did not embody this kind of free exchange in his speech; indeed, he may have marginalized event attendees who hold differing political views from those he espoused.

Event organizers and attendees have expressed concern with the way Dean brought partisan politics and ideology into his speech, and we join them in expressing our disappointment with the way he chose to express himself on Friday.

While many people in the campus community may dislike the policies of the current administration, last week�s Free Speech events were intended to celebrate freedom of expression for everyone, not only those with whom we agree. As a largely liberal campus, we must not suppress others� unpopular or misunderstood ideas, especially not in the very month that we celebrate 40 years of free speech on this campus.

To carry on the magnificent tradition of the Free Speech Movement, we must let every idea be heard. An open mic on Sproul Plaza last week could have been one such venue for the discourse and sharing of ideas; barring this, at least the keynote speaker should have kept political ideology out of his speech.