Horowitz Says Amherst Is an
'Il-Liberal College'

By Izzy Lyman
May 2002


David Horowitz, the author of Radical Son and Hating Whitey, told a crowd of Amherst College students last month that the alma mater of Calvin Coolidge is an "il-liberal college," one that promotes only left-wing ideologies.

"Half the country is conservative, and you can't get a good education if they only tell you one side of the story," said Horowitz. "[You should] test yourself against other points of view."

He noted that out of 160 professors at Amherst, only one is a conservative. That lone figure is Dr. Hadley Arkes, a political science professor who has taught at the college since 1966. Arkes, whose articles often appear in National Review and who attended Horowitz's lecture, has testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act."

"How the Left Undermined America's Security" was the topic of Horowitz's talk, which was delivered at Amherst College's Johnson Chapel. He was in no hurry to discuss national security concerns, since he began his presentation decrying the lack of diverse viewpoints among the Amherst College faculty.

The former leftist, clad in a suit and leather sandals, told the attentive audience that a recruitment program to include more conservatives on the Amherst faculty should be created to correct the imbalance.

When Horowitz got to the gist of his talk, he said that the first time the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993 by al-Qaeda terrorists, the response from the Clinton administration to that tragedy was indifferent. President Bill Clinton never even toured the bomb crater. "He [Clinton] is the most wretched human being who has occupied the White House," said Horowitz, a statement that drew loud applause.

The lecture was sponsored by Young America's Foundation and the Amherst College Republicans. Ted Hertzberg, an Amherst College sophomore and an outspoken conservative activist, served as the master of ceremonies. Before introducing Horowitz, Hertzberg ridiculed the politically-correct atmosphere of his school by noting that Amherst is "a little school in a little town."