No speech evolves into a free speech

Although not at the invitation of Florida Gulf Coast University officials, Utah writer Terry Tempest Williams will still speak there Oct. 24: FGCU students who heard the school's administration wanted to postpone the speech until after the Nov. 2 election banded together and asked that she keep the appointed date.

Now Williams will be speaking without compensation from the university, and students will not be required to attend her presentation. She heard Friday that her talk will be held at the student union on the Florida campus.

FGCU President Bill Merwin earlier this week decided to delay Williams' speech. It had been scheduled for a convocation that is mandatory for freshmen. Merwin's reasoning stemmed from an anti-Bush statement Williams made in her recent book, "The Open Space of Democracy."

"He was concerned about the opportunity for balance," said FGCU spokeswoman Susan Evans.

Previously, Merwin had asked Williams to provide an advance copy of comments from her speech or to put in writing that her speech would be nonpartisan in nature. Williams declined on both counts.

Merwin's decision was backed Wednesday in a 10 to 1 vote by the FGCU Board of Trustees. Donna Price Henry, the lone "no" vote, said Merwin told the board he feared the fallout from state lawmakers if Williams were allowed to speak before Nov. 2.

"I hate the thought of the university bowing to some political threat," said Henry, who is the FGCU faculty senate president.

When students caught wind of Merwin's decision, several groups, including college Republicans, launched a bipartisan effort to get Williams to speak as planned. The Oct. 24 date coincides with the school's "First Year Experience" convocation.

"What moves me deeply as a writer is to have the ideas that are at the core of this book embodied by the students themselves," Williams said Friday by phone from Colorado.

Williams returned the $5,000 check originally given her — money that came from state funds — to the school when it became clear Merwin wanted to postpone the convocation. Students are required to read three books, including Williams', and to discuss them during the semester. It's unclear at this time who will speak at the actual FGCU-sanctioned convocation.

Williams said she wants the $5,000 to go toward creation of a campus forum for freedom of speech. She, along with students, has invited Merwin to her appearance as an act of "reconciliation."