Thank you very much and welcome to Drew University.

As I was thinking about what to say today, I kept reflecting on the fact we are approaching the one year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. I think that the events of September 11th, and particularly, the ensuing developments, can lead us to reflect on what the meaning of a liberal arts education is.

When the Pentagon and the World Trade Center were attacked, people started asking a lot of questions: How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why is the mainstream media suddenly paying attention to the Taliban's maltreatment of women? Why would people hate the US enough tokill innocent civilians?

Why were people raising such questions?

Well, many people began to realize that there are whole areas of the world, peoples and religions that they knew nothing about. And, that ignorance (contrary to the saying) is not bliss. In fact ignorance is quite costly.

How can leaders of our democratic political system figure out how to respond, let alone how to prevent future incidents, without people who are knowledgeable of the histories, languages and concerns of those with whom we are engaged? Knowledge of our "friends" as well as our so called "enemies" is important.

From my perspective, they can not.

So, September 11th reinforced for me the immediate and pressing need for inquiry, for learning, and for asking hard questions in order to determine appropriate answers to the questions we have and to formulate reasoned and effective foreign policies based on that information.

However, at the same time that we are asking more questions and desirous of more information, and at the same time that we are turning to universities to help answer the questions we have, as well as looking to universities to educate the next generation of citizens, political leaders and scholars about the issues at hand, the fear of learning, of exploring things that are new is also clearly evident.

It seems to me that you are beginning your college careers here at Drew in a confusing time. A time when the pressures to learn, to ask questions, to inquire about what is unknown to you has never been greater. Unfortunately, it is also a time when the pressure to conform, to agree without questioning decision-making, policy-makers, and your peers is quite significant.

Let me explain by way of example: How many of you have followed the controversy that engulfed the beginning of the academic year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill?

For those of you who haven't followed it: UNC assigns all new incoming students a book to read over the summer (much like Drew's program) and this year they assigned a book entitled Approaching the Quran by Michael Sells, a Haverford College professor of comparative religions. The assignment has produced an outcry that has led to a court case and action by the North Carolina Legislature to try and stop the University from assigning the book.

A Virginia-based Christian fundamentalist organization called the Family Policy Network brought a suit in a low level federal court and then at the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals contending that the students' 1st Amendment right to religious freedom was being violated by requiring them to read the book. The organization lost their legal case as the courts turned down the attempt to limit the University's decision to require the book.

Let us not forget that in 1962 and '63 when the Supreme Court banned prayer and devotional readings from public schools, it was clear that the study of religion or of a religious text, like the Bible, "when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, was not only permissible, but part of a broad-based education." And, I would add that at this point in history, some familiarity with mainstream interpretations of the Quran are imperative to challenging the more radical, conservative or fundamentalist interpretations. And, unlike other major religions in the US, most non-Muslims don't have a basic working knowledge of Islam and this isn't as true of other religions. So, although I am Jewish, I do, for instance, have a working knowledge of Christianity.

But, what's most interesting to me about this case and, I think, instructive to us, as we begin another year here at Drew, is not the outcome of the court case, but some of the debate around it. Joe Glover, the president of the organization that brought the litigation
was quoted in the LA Times as saying "The majority of Americans find it offensive to teach about Islam" and suggesting to North Carolina State Legislators that teaching about Islam will only undermine national unity while the United States is at war.

In addition, I've also seen some reports where students at UNC had been harassed over the summer by people in their communities "for going to a university that would make them read this book."

I use this example (although I could use others like the debate over whether there should even be a national debate about the US going to war with Iraq), to illustrate just how dangerous education can be seen to be. Education, inquiry, debate, and dissent are, as this country's founding fathers and mothers knew, absolutely essential to a healthy, functioning democracy.

Here, I'd also like to suggest, that a thirst for answers, a desire to ask questions in order to debate or clarify your point of view is essential to a vibrant liberal arts education.

Here at Drew, I hope that you learn and nurture your inquisitiveness, your desire to know more. Learning is about being challenged to think-to think hard about the familiar and the unfamiliar. Learning is about dissent, even when this means challenging your professors (except me, of course).

What I am trying to get at is that you are not just citizens of a country, but in an era of globalization, we are citizens of a world. You've heard the phrase think globally, act locally, and it is in that spirit that you are also citizens of the University, and have the responsibilities thereof.

In the words of the poet Adrienne Rich, your time at Drew should be spent working to "Claiming an Education." Rich explains what she means by "Claiming an Education" by saying "...you cannot afford to think of yourselves as being here to receive an education; you will do much better to think of yourselves as being here to claim one. One of the dictionary definitions of the verb "to claim" is: to take as the rightful owner, to assert in the face of possible contradiction. "To receive" is to come into possession of; to act as receptacle or container for, to accept as authoritative or true. The difference is that between acting and being acted upon..."

So, what I leave you with here is a challenge-to ask difficult questions, have intense conversations, and generally push yourself outside of your comfort zone (whatever that may be) because doing so is what "Claiming an Education" is all about.

Thank you.