Life: a work in progress

By Ian Van Anden
Asst. Sports Editor

Bill Ayers’ much-anticipated visit to Monmouth College lived up to the hype, kind of.

As the campus buzzed with anticipation, alumni voiced their opinions and faculty discussed whether Ayres should be allowed to speak,  his arrival was inevitable. At 11 a.m.. Thursday, Nov. 17, Ayers was introduced to the podium in Dahl Chapel.

Despite some rumblings and objections to his presence, few people came out to object to Ayers when he spoke.

However, Ayers was pleased to meet freshman Ben Sauer. Sauer was a strong advocate against Ayers who took the opportunity to question Ayers about his life choices in the 60s and 70s.

Contrary to the rumors that filled the campus, Ayers was much more than just an avid activist during the 60s and 70s. He still passionately protests against the wrongs he sees in our great county.

Ayers’ impact went far beyond the simple sharing of a 60 year old life and onto impacting a campus. While here, Ayers inspired students to start making a difference and look to make an impact. There is something to be said for a person who can come and do this to students in such a short period of time.

There were two disturbing facts of Ayers’ visit, one more evident and the other more disturbing: telling of the generation living in today’s college dorm.

First, was the objection to Ayers’ visit and the fact that countless members of the MC campus and community were writing this man off as a terrorist before listening to what he had to say.

The second is equally reprehensible. While visiting with Ayers for the five hours I was able to spend with him there were mumbles around, about and behind me of excitement over what he was to say next.

Now this excitement was not about some knowledge that he was about to divulge, but rather about some statement he would make to “bash conservatives,” said an anonymous student.

This kind of idea or statement is repulsive. At the same time it is exactly how we as a generation act. We are always looking for someone else to stand up and say “NO” before we have to.

Now this is no attack on the many of you that are standing up and that are introducing change, this is a statement to those who talk about it and wait for others to act.

Ayers, who is a professor of education at the University or Illinois at Chicago, has lived an exemplary life.

Ayers started out his life as an activist against the Vietnam War and an avid supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.

Ayers then became a leader in an organization known as the Weathermen Underground. This organization preformed several questionable acts of “protest,” which includes bombings. However, these bombings were not aimed at killing people.

The only deaths caused by these bombs were three members of the Weathermen Underground, when a bomb was accidentally set off.

Prior to this loss the Underground members were planning to attack and take human lives, but changed their minds after the accident.

Ayers stated himself that he was not here to talk about any specific current events or even the Vietnam War and his actions during that era. He was simply at Monmouth to share his life story.

After the hour session in the Dahl Chapel, Ayers made three more stops on his “tour” of the MC campus.

First he had a luncheon where students filled the room with questions ready and ears open. Ayers discussed his views on America’s current standing in the world. He focused on protest events and issues that he felt were prevalent to speak out against.

Being a teacher, as well as a father, Ayers discussed the education system extensively at every stage of his day.

However, at the luncheon he focused on how certain professors, high school administrators, were preventing learners (us) from hearing opinions and voices like his.

At 1 p.m., Ayers moved to Wallace where he sat down with several students and talked about classroom management and atmosphere. He took the time to connect with each student discussing methods of how to reach future generations.

It is here where Ayers really stepped into his teacher shoes.

Although one may argue that he is always looking for an opportunity to teach., it is simply in his nature; and this was very prevalent during his visit.

Ayers last stop was one where he focused on his past the most: Professor Judi Kessler’s Comparative Societies class.

For maybe the third time all year the class  had full participation and was packed with the anticipation of Ayers’ arrival. That is right, everyone was even on time, if not early.

It was at this time when Ayers said some of the most memorable things. When asked if he regretted his actions during his time with the Weathermen Underground Ayers seemed to over analyze the question.

His response, “There is no benefit of hindsight; yeah what I did was bad…I don’t regret doing the extreme acts; in fact, I don’t think we did enough.”    

It was this kind of response that is taken out of context that makes so many cringe.

At the same time, Ayers admits that he and his group did get “caught up but we were never crazy.”

“I mean, yeah, we used some sketchy tactics, we were just determined and very caught up.”

Ayers’ biggest regret is that he felt he set out to “make the world a better place” and he really feels like “the world is in a worse place than it was 30 years ago. I feel like I have failed, my children.”

Ayers finished his convocation speech and his day with two fairly simple statements.

First, he emphatically said, “Don’t let your life be a mockery of your values.”

The  second, and most likely the motto for his life, is “The only way to relieve a problem is to stand up and face it.”

With this quote, Ayers makes his most profound statement: let us not leave it at what we have today. As a generation, we need to stand up and let our voices be heard.

In closing, Ayers had this to say, “Effecting change is what life is about and the time is now. We are making history TODAY.”