Guest Column: IDS made wrong call

Guest Column:\nThe Student Alliance for National Security deeply regrets the cancellation of Tuesday’s event featuring former Deputy National Security Advisor Meghan O’Sullivan. This was a program that students and faculty alike were very much looking forward to. The reasons for this cancellation must be clarified.\nLike many former high-ranking government officials, O’Sullivan requested that her lecture be “off the record,” meaning that the press would cover the event, but not report on the details of her talk by quoting her. This way, O’Sullivan believed she could be very candid with students about her experiences in Baghdad, the White House and with the President. This is common practice for public officials, and the press typically honors such requests so that an official can give an “insider’s account” of what their job was like.\nLet us be very clear: What happened Tuesday night had nothing to do with obstructing First Amendment rights or banning the press from attending the event. The First Amendment prohibits the passage or implementation of laws by the government that infringe on free speech or the freedom of the press. At the time this article was written, the legal issues surrounding off-the-record talks remain unresolved by IU administration officials. Regardless, no one involved with this event argued that the press could not be present at the program or that any law prevented them from attending or reporting on the program. Rather, the press was asked to respect the wishes of the speaker to treat the talk as “off-the-record.”\nHowever, the Indiana Daily Student chose not to honor this request, and despite having been sent a press release well in advance, waited until precisely five minutes before the event to inform SANS that its reporter would not be respecting O’Sullivan’s request for the lecture to be off-the-record. As this was the only way that she could speak according to the agreement SANS had made with her, there were few options available to us as event planners. Nor was there any time to try to find an authoritative answer from the University’s Office of General Counsel regarding the legal issues. This forced SANS to cancel the program. Had the position of the IDS been made known to us even the day before, there would have been time to find compromises, or at worst, cancel O’Sullivan’s trip and save several thousand dollars.\nIt is our view that allowing a top government official to speak “off-the-record” should never be seen as an affront to the press; in fact, it is typically regarded as a courtesy that the press affords such officials so that an audience might benefit from a unique perspective and a high degree of candor. Sadly, this courtesy was not afforded to O’Sullivan and the paper waited until the last minute to make that clear. Regrettably, this may make it more difficult in the future for other student groups to bring experienced professionals to speak on campus.