Just because you’re an aspiring, frustrated liberal administrator
of a tiny college in a tiny city in the middle of the vast,
thinly populated (less than a million) state of Montana doesn’t
mean you can’t play like the big boys at prestigious colleges and
universities when it comes to bullying people with opposing
political opinions, or even shoving around people who present
factual knowledge you are uncomfortable with.
Last week in my home town, Helena’s Carroll College
President Thomas Trebon and his faithful hive of a half dozen
carefully selected V.P.’s, perhaps envious of University of
Ottawa’s provost François Houle’s efforts to nix Ann Coulter’s
speech, maneuvered a last minute cancellation of a public speech
and Q&A session on the highly provocative and potentially
mayhem-inducing subject of the…. U.S. Constitution! No
doubt President Trebon will highlight this noble community
service when applying for a position at a larger institute of
higher learning.
The speaking event was organized by Chris Shipp, a senior
at Carroll College and head of the Carroll College Republicans
(which unlike other campus clubs receives NO FUNDING from the
school or student government). Shipp would arrange for the campus
venue and publicity and was fortunate to have the local Tea Party
provide the minimal funding.
The speaker was to have been Rob Natelson.
Mr. Natelson happens to be the only law professor in
Montana who teaches the only class on the U.S.
Constitution at Montana’s only law school. Further, he
is a recognized national expert on the document’s original intent
and edits the webpage, The
Scholarship of the Original Understanding of the
Constitution. In demeanor
and appearance, he reminds you of a very gentle William Macy. He
is articulate and well able to explain constitutional law to the
layman. One wonders why he isn’t regularly featured as an expert
guest on radio talk shows.
But President Trebon and his hive of VP’s perceived
dangerous emanations from Natelson’s penumbra that are invisible
to us lesser mortals. Indeed, in defending the cancellation of
Natelson’s discussion of such incendiary topics as the commerce
clause, the necessary and proper clause, privileges and
immunities clause, and perhaps even (God Forbid!) the coinage
clause (all of which he has published articles on), one VP
stated, “The Committee [the aforementioned Hive] was very worried
that the ‘Town Hall Meeting’ would look much like scenes we have
seen on T.V. across the nation the last few months.”
What channel were they watching? Oh, those people trying to
get information about the Obamacare bill?
These Carroll College administrators really need to turn
off the tube and get out more. The last Tea Party event I
observed in Helena, on the steps of the Capitol, was dominated by
old codgers leaning on walking canes and moms chasing after
youngsters. They barely had the energy to applaud, let alone hurl
a Molotov cocktail more than five feet. (If only more people
would make the good effort they are!)
And besides, the students at Carroll College are hardy
souls. They can hear an idea without fainting.
A Catholic school, Carroll College is a diocesan school of
the Helena Diocese. Its enrollment has exploded to 1,400 students
in recent years due in large part to the astounding success of
The Fighting Saints football team. They’ve won five NAIA National
Football Championship, and eight straight Frontier Conference
Championships. Carroll’s Debate team is an even more impressive
powerhouse: The Carroll College Talking Saints are number one the
northwest, boasting 19 running regional championships and over 40
regional tournament championships. I will take a not so wild
guess that former Montana Governor and former head of the
Republican National Committee Marc Racicot was a member of the
Talking Saints when he was an undergrad at Carroll College. Bobby
Petrino, coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, is a Carroll grad, as
is John Gagliardi, the winningest coach in
college football history. As I said, a hardy bunch.
Yet President Trebon and the hive decided that a speech
about the U.S. Constitution might lead unsavory “scenes.” So much
for the Carroll College Mission Statement, which states:
As an academic community, Carroll College affirms its
commitment to the principle of freedom of inquiry in the
process of investigating, understanding, critically reflecting
upon, and finally judging reality and truth in all fields of
human knowledge. As value-oriented, Carroll College is
committed to and deeply involved in the further dimension of
free deliberation and decision making regarding values and
personal commitment. Each student at Carroll, through personal
and institutional means, is exposed to value systems with which
one can readily identify, including secular values such as the
worth of work and the use of the intellect, humanistic values
centering on the uniqueness and dignity of the person, and
religious and moral values concerned with one’s relationship to
God, self, and others.
Let’s hope the Helena Diocese Bishop Thomas, who is also
Carroll College Chancellor, was not involved in the decision of
the hive. He’s a man of sense, as illustrated last December when
Montana Judge Dorothy McCarter ruled in favor of protecting
physicians who knowingly and intentionally provide drugs to
patients wanting to commit suicide. During the hearing, “Judge
Dottie” posed that if we put to sleep pets who are aged and ill,
then why shouldn’t the government be so humane as to provide that
courtesy to humans? (Fill in this space with your own acerbic
quip on Judge Dottie’s reasoning powers).
“We are extremely disappointed in Judge McCarter’s
decision,” said Bishop Thomas. “[This is a] …blatant disregard
for human life.” I pray that Bishop Thomas will issue a similar
statement on the decision of President Trebon and his hive.
Perhaps, “We are extremely disappointed in President Trebon’s
censorship of speech. It is a blatant disregard for Carroll’s
Mission Statement.”
Trebon’s exercise of power, as you might expect, is
inconsistent and arbitrary. I think it was two years ago I
attended a speech at Carroll College given by Sherry Jones,
author of the novel Jewel of Medina. The novel is a
purple-prosed burkha-buster about the prophet Mohammed’s marriage
to the very young Ayesha. Random House reneged on its contract to
publish the book after an Islamic studies professor in Texas
warned it might incite violence! (Beaufort Books later
published it). Nonetheless, Trebon and Carroll College saw fit to
invite danger into their campus by allowing Ms. Jones to speak,
and even provided several ARMED GUARDS at the event!
Apparently Trebon thinks Carroll’s Catholic ‘Fighting
Saints’ can handle any gaggle of Islamic terrorists, but not a
contingent of cane-wielding and stroller pushing Christians
intent on learning about the coinage clause.
Chris Shipp tried his best, but Trebon wouldn’t allow
Montana’s only Constitutional law professor and the campus
Republicans the use of an empty and waiting room with seating for
120. A good thing, perhaps, for the speech was moved to an off
campus location where over 200 showed up!
Natelson gave a great speech and answered diverse and
sundry questions on constitutional law with an emphasis on
original intent. He made two points (among many) that I
appreciated. One, that when the Constitution was written and
adopted, it was intended that ALL people be involved in
understanding and interpreting it, not just the self-appointed
experts. Two, that representatives at the time were far more
honor-bound to represent the people—-as opposed to
today’s representatives, who consider themselves our betters and
dictators of what is best for us (e.g., Pelosi, Trebon).
For the next few weeks, Shipp’s publicly stated intent is
to lie low and making certain he graduates. He’s learned
firsthand that liberals won’t hesitate to tighten the raw fist of
power, even in the most trivial of affairs. He was visibly shaken
and upset at the events. Welcome to the real world of real power,
Mr. Shipp.
And President Trebon and his hive will have an amusing
anecdote to chortle over at the next conference of college
administrators in Hawaii or Vegas or Aspen.
A FOOTNOTE: In 2004, after teaching at the University of
Montana Law School for 17 years, Natelson requested to teach a
course in Constitutional law, of which there was none. The hive
at the law school refused him. Only as the result of outside
influence and legal maneuvering did the powers relent and allow
Constitutional law to be taught at the law school! Natelson
retires this year and will take a a position at Independence
Institute, a Colorado-based think tank that promotes free-market
solutions to public policy issues.
