Gerry Adams’ Visit

Gerry Adams is clearly a controversial figure: one of political and personal courage to some, one of compromising and complicit political activity to others.

Whatever one’s ultimate judgment about Mr. Adams may be, he continues to be a key figure in advancing a platform for peace in Northern Ireland, and the political party he leads, Sinn Fein, presents itself as an alternative to armed conflict. Additionally, the role of the United States, particularly through the work of Sen. George Mitchell, in helping to broker a lasting piece in Northern Ireland is deeply significant. Mr. Adams’ visit to John Carroll University provides the University and Cleveland community the chance to probe his political positions more deeply and to understand the American role in Northern Ireland more completely.

Guest Speakers at John Carroll University

John Carroll University defines its core mission as “the transmission and extension of the treasury of human knowledge with the autonomy and freedom appropriate to a university. “ It further defines itself as a Catholic University, committed to seek and synthesize all knowledge,” and it acknowledges that the search for this integration of knowledge is “enriched by scholarship representing the pluralistic society in which we live.” John Carroll University Undergraduate Bulletin, 5.

In consonance with this mission, the University provides many opportunities for members of the University community, especially students, to engage in dialogue with representatives of various perspectives and commitments. Hosting speakers is one such opportunity, and the University is proud of its record in bringing distinguished speakers to campus. These presentations and the dialogues they encourage, in venues from the classroom to the lunchroom, are an important form of educational engagement, one which asks students to hone the skills of critical and ethical judgment that they will carry with them after graduation into their careers and lives. Guest speakers to the University are not invited to campus in order to promulgate particular platforms but rather to contribute to the necessary conversations in which differences of opinion and viewpoint can be heard and evaluated.