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| William Ayers Speaks at Monmouth College |
One of the featured players in the past election has spoken to students at Monmouth College. William Ayers, a self described political and social activist, and former member of the 1960's radical group Weather Underground, spoke to an auditorium full of students and teachers Thursday, bringing his message of becoming an active participant in social change.
Ayers spoke to the group for about an hour and fielded questions from numerous students on a range of topics including gay marriage, his feelings on John McCain, whom he alleges called him an "old washed up terrorist," and his past influences. He told students there he felt overjoyed and a sense of relief when he celebrated with a million others in Grant Park in Chicago the election of President Elect Barack Obama. Ayers told the audience his relationship with Obama was blown out of proportion by the media and opposition.
"The relationship that I had with Barack Obama is exaggerated, way beyond what existed," Ayers said. "I knew him as well as thousands upon thousands of other people. Like millions upon millions of other people, I wish I knew him better."
Ayers explained to students in the audience that he was disappointed with certain events in the recent election. He says he wasn't the devil and also explained the risks of labeling people with guilt by association. He suggested students should share ideas with groups that may not have the same interests as them.
Ayers said he isn't a watcher of television, but was bothered when he found out people were calling him a terrorist. He also told the crowd he wasn't a quiet individual but explained that he didn't talk to the media every chance he got during the election because he didn't want to participate in the "2 minute sound bite culture".
(William Ayers speaks to students at Monmouth College Thursday morning. WGIL News story and photo by Dominic Fortini.) |
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| 11 20 08 by Newsroom |
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