NEWTON

Angry parents pan forum

Residents attack Zinn's talk as unpatriotic, inappropriate

By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff Correspondent, 11/29/2001

ngry residents packed a Newton School Committee meeting Monday night, unleashing a torrent of criticism over controversial remarks made by historian Howard Zinn at a school-sponsored forum about the Sept. 11 attacks.

More than 70 people, some spilling into the hallway, attended the public comment period before the committee meeting. A concerned parent informed police that the meeting could be controversial, and an on-duty captain sent the officers as a precaution, said Newton Police Lieutenant Paul Anastasia. Neither the School Department nor the School Committee were consulted, he said.

More than a dozen people took advantage of the public forum to air their views on the Nov. 9 presentation at Newton North High School.

At that forum, the longtime peace activist reportedly told students that the US bombings in Afghanistan ''put us on the same level'' as the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

''The death of 6,000 New Yorkers is very real to us,'' said Zinn, according to news reports of the speech, which include the high school newspaper. ''The death of thousands of Iraqi children is not. Until the death of children in other countries is as real to us as the death of our children, we will continue to have a real problem.''

Although many students and parents felt Zinn's comments, while controversial, were worthy of discussion, others believed his opinions were poorly timed, inappropriate, and unpatriotic.

''What on earth did you hope to accomplish by bringing this traitor, this maggot, to lecture our community's children?'' an angry Marsha Ciccolo asked the committee. ''Don't ever stoop to this again.''

Student attendance at the Zinn forum was optional, but some parents said their children did not realize that.

''I feel very strongly, however, that when opposing viewpoints on very controversial issues are not given equal consideration, your teaching becomes an agenda, not an education,'' said Cindy Spitell, whose nephew attended the forum.

Several speakers accused School Superintendent Jeffrey Young, Newton Mayor David Cohen, and members of the committee of foisting liberal agendas and pacifist ideals on Newton's youth.

Zinn, 79, is a former Boston University professor and World War II veteran, and the author of several books. Some in attendance at Monday's meeting recalled disagreeing with Zinn's anti-war sentiments during Vietnam, and said school officials were ''old enough'' to know how controversial Zinn's opinions were.

''The '60s are over,'' one audience member sneered.

Anthony ''Fat'' Pellegrini, an active fund-raiser for veterans' causes, also gave the School Committee an earful, although his children graduated from the public schools long ago. He criticized the Zinn speech, and accused the department of not doing enough to comply with a state law that requires American flags in every classroom. ''That screwball [Zinn] spoke at my son's graduation 20 years ago, and I walked out,'' Pellegrini said before the meeting began. ''I can only teach my grandkids so much, then they go to school and learn this ...''

School officials did not respond directly to the comments, but Young reiterated to the crowd that no student was forced to attend the Zinn talk, and that the historian was invited to speak first because of scheduling considerations, not because of any departmental support for his sentiments. A group of veterans, including former POWs, came to speak to high school students just a few days later, he said.

''In no way do Zinn's comments represent a bias,'' Young said. He also said a survey of which classrooms were missing the required US flags had been completed, and the flags had been ordered. The shipment is expected within the next four weeks, he said.

Some parents and students defended Zinn's presentation, saying it was the first of many planned discussions about the current conflict in Afghanistan, and exposed students to a valuable perspective from a world-renowned historian.

Benjamin Heidlage, a Newton North senior, said that while he disagreed with Zinn's comments, he supported the school's desire to expose students to a wide variety of opinions, even unpopular ones.

''He was not saying that the United States was as bad as terrorists. He said we can't bomb innocents. ... He's a pacifist,'' Heidlage said. ''It was made clear that it was [the voice] of Howard Zinn, not the voice of the school.''

Heidlage commended Newton North principal Jennifer Huntington for encouraging diversity of thought and said other speakers, including conservatives, would be invited to talk to students.

Faye Ruopp said she had attended the public comment session of the meeting intending to speak about class sizes, but she instead addressed the Zinn controversy and lent her support to the school department. ''Some of us moved to Newton because it prided itself on diversity of opinion,'' she said. The horror of Sept. 11 should encourage residents ''to support each other, not tear each other apart.'' she said.

Erica Noonan can be reached at enoonan@globe.com.

This story ran on page W1 of the Boston Globe on 11/29/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.