Congressman
Frank Honored
by Ariella Cohen
Barney
Frank, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts, will address Oberlin
community members on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. in the lecture
hall of the new science center. Brought to Oberlin as the first
recipient of the Cole Distinguished Lecturer in Electoral Politics
Award, his talk is entitled America and the World.
The Oberlin Initiative for Electoral Politics, a committee including
members of the Politics Department, selected Frank for this honor
because of his innovative role in American electoral politics.
Frank focuses much of his political efforts on fighting discrimination,
providing fair treatment for immigrants and improving healthcare.
He is also the first openly gay U.S. congressman
Barney Frank has been a leader in protecting civil liberties
in the aftermath of Sept.11. He has also been a leader in insuring
that America can have economic growth while respecting economic
fairness and environmental concerns, Professor of Politics
Ronald Kahn said.
Kahn last worked with the congressman in the spring of 1973 when
Frank, then a Massachusetts legislator, spent one week at Oberlin
teaching a course on the possibilities of electoral politics. The
students loved him, he was very smart, with a way about him. The
students found him inspiring, Kahn said.
While Frank was chosen to receive the Cole Award last spring, this
weeks talk will occur at a time when Franks role in
Congress is especially significant. Vocalizing much opposition to
Bushs anti-terrorism legislation, Frank has supported initiatives
to add several new provisions to the House bill including one to
allow people to sue the government if information gathered with
the bills new electronic surveillance powers is leaked to
the public. Frank has also backed a sunset provision
on the bill, requiring Congress to approve the anti-terrorism package
again in 2003 or let its increased police powers automatically expire.
Many Oberlin students share Franks fears that the new legislation
may infringe on civil liberties by allowing police and governmental
agencies increased electronic surveillance powers and permitting
the indefinite jailing of non-citizens suspected of ties to terrorist
groups.
Its a crackdown on civil liberties. This policy reminds
me of McCarthyism and other excuses for the government to use political
events and fear for their own interest. Policies like this just
create more fear, President of the Oberlin Democrats and first-
year Matthew Kaplan said. The Oberlin Democrats will spend the weekend
gathering signatures on petitions that will be sent to Congress
as opposition to the ant-terrorism bill.
Originally Frank was scheduled to speak more generally on American
electoral politics but in light of the Sept. 11 events he will address
the current state of U.S. and international politics. I think
he will talk on the affect of Sept. 11 on civil liberties, military
planning and Congress bipartisan relations. We asked him to speak
on the impact of that tragedy on American life, Kahn said.
Frank serves on several Congressional committees and subcommittees
including the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution as well
as subcommittees focused on global issues such as immigration and
claims and international monetary policy and trade. He also serves
as the senior minority member on the Trade Financial Services Subcommittee
on Housing and Community Opportunity.
Widely considered among the most liberal members of Congress, Frank
opposed Republican impeachment efforts stemming from the Clinton-Lewinsky
scandal, and has fought for abortion rights and gun control measures.
I think its important to hear a politician like Frank
speak. We get caught up a lot in our own interpretations, its good
to get grounded in reality. People relate more to Frank than other
politicians. As a Democrat, as an openly gay man and from Massachusetts,
a state that is considered politically liberal and that has a large
Oberlin representation, he will start on a different level with
students, senior and Massachusetts native Jen Katz said.
Franks political career began 10 years after his 1962 graduation
from Harvard, when he was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature.
During the eight years he served there he attended Harvard Law School
and taught politics at various schools, including the University
of Massachusetts in Boston, Harvards John F. Kennedy School,
and Boston University. It was in this period that Frank taught at
Oberlin. In 1979 he became a member of the Massachusetts Bar and
in 80 Frank was elected to represent the Fourth Congressional
District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He has published numerous articles on politics and public affairs,
including the essay Speaking Frankly, an influential
document on the role the Democratic Party should play in the 1990s.
research done by staff writer Dwaipayan Sen.
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