W E E K Lthe

c e n t r a l e u r o p e a n u n i v e r s i t y

YAn independent newspaper by CEU students and alumni February 18, 2015, Year 5, Issue 57

In this issue:2 - Reflections on meeting Chancellor Merkel3-4 - Op-eds by CEU students 5 - Interview with Péter Molnár - The Hate Speech Monologues6 - Film reviews7 - Sustainable Universities Network

(www.hdwyn.com)

THE CEU WEEKLY

2

Hungarian News

Reflections on Meeting Chancellor Merkel

I’d like to consider myself as just another graduate student trying to make the most of her academic experience abroad. I’m cognizant of the role Budapest has in the crossroads between East and West as well as the wealth of opportunities

that come with living here. However, last week was possibly one of those days when I saw how special being a student at this university can be. Although over in the blink of an eye, being able to meet Chancellor Merkel during her quick visit to the Andrassy University is a moment from my year in Budapest that I will always remember.

Angela Merkel has al-ways represented a fas-cinating leader to me. Being half-German (the other side being American), I hold a strong connection to the German culture and country. I’ve lived in Germany for long periods before, and I can see myself po-tentially living there again. I’ve followed the Chan-cellor’s political leadership with great interest, both be-cause she represents a strong female leader and because of the power she currently com-mands on the world stage. Simply put, Angela Merkel is a powerful woman. Imagine my surprise then when my department told me that the event which I had previously thought would be attended by an ordinary German poli-tician would in fact host the Chancellor herself.After getting through the

heavy security lines at the An-drassy University, all students were seated and given a brief introduction to how the event would run. After a lengthy wait, the Chancellor arrived for her quick meeting. The

event was designed an open-forum to ask the Chancellor any type of question and its relatively small size proved extremely conducive to this end. After receiving an hon-orary title from the University of Szeged, the Chancellor gave a short speech discussing the history of German-Hungari-an relations and the important diplomatic milestones that both countries have celebrat-ed. The emphasis was then put on facilitating a conver-sation between the students and Chancellor Merkel, with reporters and administrators barred from participating. Over the course of the hour,

the Chancellor answered both political and personal ques-tions, not holding back or even shying away from dis-

cussing her earlier meeting with the Hungarian Prime Minister. Her forwardness, honesty and her down-to-earth answers were both re-freshing and fascinating to listen to. Questions were taken student by student and there were no specific topics off-limits, which added to the novelty of being there. Subse-quent questions ranged from the conflict in Ukraine and immigration into the Europe-an Union to how the Chancel-lor handles and relieves stress. In total, the event lasted

about one-hour, after which she went to the Dohany Syna-gogue. Chancellor Merkel’s speech lasted about ten min-utes and the question and answer period about thirty minutes. Various other Hun-

garian rectors spoke before and after. CEU itself was one of five universities present, and definitely one of the most active in ask-ing questions. This, though, shouldn’t sur-prise anyone in my opinion. All in all, I can say

without a doubt that this has definitely been one of the highlights of my year at CEU. I am extremely thank-ful to have been given the honor of attending and representing my university as well as department. For those interested

in watching the event, it can be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/merkel-an-andrassy-uni. The Hungarian

dubbed video can be found at http://www.ustream.tv/record-ed/58361765.

~ Christina E. Herrmann,

Public Policy, USA/Germany

CEU students in this picture:Christina E. Herrmann (first row, hands raised)Max Steuer, IRES (middle row, hands raised)Friederike Von Cölln, SPP (middle row, right side)

ISSUE 57

3

Op-Ed

Emotions flared high on Tuesday, February 3rd in the CEU auditori-

um. The Nationalism Studies program hosted, in collaboration with the Hun-garian Association of Sociologists, a panel discussion titled “Discourse on the Roma in Hungary.” In reaction to a controversial book written by József Debreczeni, the discussion was meant to tackle the issue of whether or not the way that stereotypes are presented in academia actually lend more merit to the stereotypes. Unfortunately, the event itself did the opposite of an-swering these questions; instead, CEU provided the platform for members of academia to make stereotypical claims against the entire Roma population. A sociologist-economist publicly claimed in the CEU auditorium that no Roma were killed in the Holocaust. Immediately after this statement, ten-sions rose as audience members, both Roma and non-Roma, reacted to such a comment. One gentleman, himself a Holocaust survivor, immediately yelled out in protest of the statement. Another member of the audience re-minded the panel discussant that it is a crime in Hungary to deny the Holo-caust, to which the panelist challenged the audience to call the police to come

arrest him. Some of us decided to leave, as the incident quickly proved that the panel discussion would not hold to the standards of an academic event.

“One gentle-man, himself a Holocaust

survivor, immediately yelled out in protest of the statement.”

As we departed, a professor who was also among the audience followed us. He said that we should respect the discussant’s freedom of expression by sitting back down and listening to his remarks. If committing a hate

WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE?

~ Written by concerned CEU students from Departments of Public Policy, Political Science and Legal Studies

speech crime is considered freedom of expression, then where do we draw the line? Are we required to sit back complacently as a professor denies the death of our grandfathers, who were killed by Nazi soldiers and sympathiz-ers on the streets we walk everyday? What would you say or do if I denied the death of your family members? In a short two weeks time, the CEU community has witnessed a number of events that have raised controversy in the debate of the genocide of Roma during the Holocaust. On January 27th, despite a request by Roma activ-ists to be included in commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust, the United Nations failed to mention the Roma population in their Holo-caust Remembrance Day ceremonies. In response, a petition was created on the website Change.org to recognize the plight of Roma during this historic tragedy, as well as to establish an In-ternational Day of Resistance against Nazism and Fascism to pay tribute to the Roma rebellion at Auschwitz-Birkenau on May 16th. On the same day, January 27th, CEU students organized their own Holo-caust Remembrance event in which they visited the Roma Holocaust Memorial in Budapest to honor the Porrajmos, the Romanes word for the Holocaust. This event occurred alongside a daylong exhibition regard-ing the Roma Holocaust. As you can see, CEU is host to con-flicting events regarding the history of the Holocaust. Perhaps it is time that we start a conversation to determine where we, as an intellectual commu-nity, draw the line between freedom of expression, and hate speech.

~

CEU Students React to the Controvery Surrounding a Recent Discussion Panel Hosted at the CEU Campus

Regarding the Roma in Hungary

memorialmuseums.org

THE CEU WEEKLY

4

Op-Ed

A SHOT AT FAME: A PROPOSED OP-ED FOR THE ONION

Have you heard about the hot-test Hollywood trend to hit the

streets of California’s hippest city in LA? Everyone is or isn’t (shall I say) doing it. Donald Trump, Jenny Mc-Carthy, Hugh Hefner, Alicia Silver-stone, Charlie Sheen, and even ru-mored the Queen of Pop Ms. Britney Spears have formed Hollywood’s new-est elite force, dubbed the Anti-Vaxx-ers Club. What, you haven’t heard of it? Well for those of you that are not in the know, let me fill you in on this “to-die-for” trend, which has literally gone viral. It is, opting out of vaccinating your infants and children. Statistics have shown that 1 out of 4 children en-rolled in school from affluent, edu-cated communities are not vacci-nated. Across California, parents are joining the likes of Hollywood celebs and choosing to not vaccinate their children. As a result of this infec-tious trend, the Hollywood reporter has reported“…thousands of children and babies coughing so violently that their bodies convulse, uncontrollably wheezing and fighting to breathe for weeks. Nearly 8,000 pertussis cases have been reported in 2014 to the state’s Department of Public Health as of Sept. 2, and 267 of those patients have been hospitalized, including 58 requiring intensive care, and three in-fant mortalities.” Come on, don’t you want to join Hol-lywood’s hottest parenting club? Well it is wickedly easy, thanks to the Cali-fornia Health and Safety Code Section 120365 which was recently amended earlier this year. All that is required of parents who wish to seek an exemp-tion is to claim that vaccinations are against their personal belief, consult a medical practitioner and obtain the physician’s signature on a single-paged form. If you are concerned about finding a pediatrician who is up to date on the latest health and lifestyle trends don’t worry, just ask Dr. Robert W. Sears. Dr. Sears, a renowned pediatrician and

~ Shirlene Afshar-Vogl-Public PolicyUnited States

author, has published a book entitled “The Vaccine Book” which provides you with a list of “vaccine-friendly” doctors near you. But if you are like most of us who are constantly on the go and cannot find time to go through books or be bothered with valid medi-cal articles and studies, you can sim-ply visit Dr. Sears’ website for the list of pediatricians and doctors near you who as stated on his website “sincerely want to help”. (http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/vac-cines/find-vaccine-friendly-doctor-near-you) We are fortunate enough to be living in modern civilized times where doctors listen to and adhere to their patient’s needs. Medical research carried out by organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and WHO (World Health Organization) that have clinically proven and dis-credited “false” studies connecting vaccines to cause autism is nothing but urban legend. In case you may not have time in your packed schedule to visit your “Vaccine Friendly” pediatrician in between tak-ing your kids to their soccer games and maintaining your social life, you can rely on California’s Health and Safety policy to simplify tough decisions such as vaccinating your children and affecting those in your community. Article §6051 of the California Health and Safety Code Division 105 states, “A personal beliefs exemption shall be granted upon the filing with the gov-erning authority of a letter or affidavit from the parent or guardian or adult who has assumed responsibility for his or her care and custody in the case

of a minor…that such immunization is contrary to his or her beliefs.” So in actuality this recent amendment which requests parents or guardians to consult a physician is just a sug-gestion. You can simply claim that it is against your personal belief to vac-cinate your child relieving you of the burden of making an appointment with your pediatrician and essentially exempting you from making an in-formed medical decision. Addition-ally, if you needed more confirmation you can rest assured that your respon-sible neighbors who vaccinate their children regularly will act a safeguard against preventable-diseases, protect-ing your child’s health. Never mind the decades of scientific research that has, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proven to (ahem, cough):• Save Your Child’s Life• Minimize Pain, Discomfort, and Trauma • Protect Others You Care About• Save Your Family Time and Money• Safeguard Future Generations It’s all about being organic and keep-ing up with likes of Hollywood’s elite. You could even look at this as the lat-est raw lifestyle, benefiting the entire family and bringing you back to your caveman rustic basics. After all who wouldn’t want to join the ranks of bil-lionaires, the Queen of Pop and the King of Playboy?

americanpreppersnetwork.com

ISSUE 57

5

Interview

THE CONTENT AND CONTEXT OF CHARLIE HEBDO

How do we understand freedom of speech in the wake of Charlie

Hebdo? Public debate has been awash in opinions. Some personify Char-lie Hebdo as a classic work of satire, a French tradition. Others claim it is a bigoted leaflet espousing hatred to-wards Muslims. Outside of these two views lie a myriad of others: some nu-anced, some not.

CEU’s Peter Molnar discussed the issue in London on Friday, Febru-ary 13th at the Free Word Centre (freewordcentre.com). He recently co-edited The Content and Context of Hate Speech: Rethinking Regulation and Responses, published by the Cam-bridge University Press. The book has garnered notably favorable reviews: Aryeh Neier wrote of the book’s title, “To the extent that this can be done in a few words, it encapsulates an impor-tant part of the debate over what to do about hate speech. The essays reflect a broad consensus that hate speech is one of the afflictions of our era and that there is a need to counter it.” On the panel as well was Timothy Garton Ash (notable historian and director of freespeechdebate.com) and Rashad Ali, Director of CENTRI (Counter Extremism Consultancy , Training, Research, and Interven-tions) and Institute for Strategic Dia-logue Senior Fellow. The discussion was moderated by Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship. I talked to Peter the next day to ask a few ques-tions about the panel and the upcom-ing performance of the Hate Speech Monologues he’s been directing at CEU since 2013. How did the panel go? It was an inspiring discussion in a very nice space like a theatre, with a full house. We began with a reception and some slam poetry on the subject, then the discussion. The audience got many opportunities to raise questions. The director of the Free Word Centre, Rose Fenton, said it was one of the best events there in a long time. The debate was about how to deal with the

free speech implications of the attack on Charlie Hebdo. We titled the event The Content and Context of Char-lie Hebdo from the title of the book I co-edited as the title captures, in two words, content and context the main division in approaches on dealing with so-called “hate speech”, that ei-ther focus on the content, or the con-text of speech. I was wondering if you could clarify your position on the panel question: “How do we respond to audiences who do not recognize satire as a legit-imate form of free expression, with-out increasing this pressure?” I agreed with the panel members, and others in the room that restric-tions based on offensiveness cannot be accepted. Offensiveness cannot jus-tify restricting freedom of speech be-cause then all types of people can say the same thing about any expression. I think Timothy (Garton Ash) said “If we follow this logic, then goodbye Free Speech”. Were there any points of contention amongst the panelists or was it more of a consensus building activity? Actually, I think it was more consensus building. We met before the panel and Jodie Ginsberg was wondering how to avoid violent agreement in which ev-eryone passionately agrees with one another. We raised some ideas that seem to be worth-considering and both Timothy and I raised doubts and counter-arguments in regard our fol-lowing own points. Timothy Garton Ash proposed that cartoons like the ones in Charlie Hebdo could be pub-lished in a safe haven in cyberspace created for this purpose, as a last re-sort for those who, considering also the context of their publication, would rather just provide a link to such a safe haven. I argued that Charlie Hebdo has been an example of speech in case of which instead of a primarily con-tent-based approach, surprisingly, the primarily context-based imminent danger-test could support exceptional restriction of such speech, if the por-

trayal of prophet Muhammad would not be only an excuse for violence as it seems to be. In this extremely difficult context, I raised the option that “defy-ing the assassin’s veto” (in Timothy’s words) may be possible paradoxically by accepting it with a strategic self-restraint, while clearly sustaining the position that there is no justification for such a restriction to free speech. I compared it to the strategic silence in the only situation when we should not react to “hate speech”, when reacting to it would give opportunity for vio-lence. I added that this strategic move could be also considered as a gener-ous reflection on legitimate post-co-lonial frustrations. I raised this only for consideration, and I emphasized that blaming the cartoonists is simi-lar to rape blame, that it is the fault of the person who is raped. Rashad Ali emphasized the importance of con-sensus building, that different people with different religious and other backgrounds and group belongings should join forces and fight those who are using violence against speech. My comment on Rashad’s point was that we need to create powerful narratives to counter the standard story that the West is in a clash with Islam. continued on page 6.

cambridge.org

THE CEU WEEKLY

6

Film Reviews

Near the end of this film, Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turning,

asks to be judged in the manner of his famous ‘Turing Test’, as a man or a ma-chine: a war hero, responsible for saving millions of lives; or a criminal, a cold and calculating apotheotic, so divorced from normal human ways of thinking he now sits in front of a policeman to be charged for gross indecency: the old English legal term for homosexual be-haviour. Turing was sentenced to chem-ical castration, and committed suicide by eating a poisoned apple in 1954. History has judged him now. Back home in Britain, he’s been elevated to a national hero: posthumously pardoned in 2013, recognised as the inventor of the computer, and, by using it to crack the Enigma code, is credited with short-ening the Second World War by two years and at least 14 million casualties.

8.2 IMDb

~ Dan Hartas Philosophy

United Kingdom

What role does art and performance playing in countering hate speech? Tell us about the coming project (March12th) of The Hate Speech Monologues at CEU? How can we join forces across differ-ent religions and other ways of human consciousness, nationality and ethnic backgrounds to fight prejudices and promote appreciative cooperation? In order to do this we need to be able to effectively push back demagogic speech that pits groups against each other and can also incite violence.

We need to be able to have positive impact on people in emotional ways: that reaches their dreams, passions, and heart. I believe that art and especially partic-ipatory art forms can do a lot for this. In the Free Word Centre on Friday, I did three texts and the last one was my monologue from last year’s perfor-mance of the Hate Speech Monologues. It was very well received.. I encourage everybody who wants to participate in this year’s performance of the “Hate Speech” Monologues (on the 12th of

March in the Auditorium) to contact me. Do not worry if you have no the-atre background or have stage fear. All members of the CEU community can participate in this self-reflective play that I hope to take to other major Hungarian universities as well.

THE CONTENT AND CONTEXT OF CHARLIE HEBDO (CONTINUED)

~ Jacob Verhagen Nationalism Studies

Canada

THE IMITATION GAME - A FILM REVIEW

It’s a hell of a story, and watching it told through the talents of Ben Cumber-batch, Kiera Knightley, and Charles Dance is reason enough to see this film. Cumberbatch is on absolutely top form, giving Turing a touch of his manic, impersonable detective from Sherlock, while forging a unique, piti-able, and deeply frustrating character for this role. The mood of the whole picture is done very well: you never forget that there’s a war on, or the ur-gency of the task at hand, even while watching an awkward gang of cross-word experts and academics build machines and do maths in an English

country house. It’s not the most historically accu-rate film in places, and the Polish in-ventors on whose work Turing’s was based only get a passing mention, which is perhaps the most glaring problem. But go for the performances, the mood, and a fantastic story told to be entertaining, and you won’t fail to enjoy yourself.

C E R T I F I E D FRESH ROTTEN

TOMATOES

digitalspy.co.uk/

ISSUE 57

7

Sustainability

Sustainable University Network

For the students at CEU with environmental initiative, the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded peers now extends to a network of universities in Hungary, thanks to a program coordinated by Sustainable CEU (and sup-

ported by the U.S. Embassy Regionial ESTH Hub) called the Sustainable Universities Network. The network supports partnership of up to 10 Hungarian university student groups and so far has included Corvinus University, (BME) the Technical University of Budapest, (ELTE) Eötvös Loránd University, Szent Istvan University in Gödöllő and CEU.

Student environmental groups in Hungary face similar challenges; balancing extracurricular activities with academic responsibilities, keep-ing interest and participation high, creating a dialogue with administra-tions and our campus community, finding financial support for activity and much more. In spite of this, the existing groups have accomplished a great deal based on their individual efforts and creativity alone. SUN came about last year through a network of students promoting events and activi-ties organized by their individual stu-dent groups which led to serious dis-cussions about taking on community projects together.

Discussions evolved into the devel-opment of a unified body of students with the mission to promote social and environmental issues in Hungary and as of 2015 a new structure has been set in place to move forward with the support of a U.S. State Depart-ment grant. Students will engage in both local and global initiatives; from recycling & waste management and energy efficiency, to climate change mitigation and sustainable develop-ment. Student will work to develop active relationships with university administration to influence progress in smart resource consumption, waste reduction, active participation in sur-rounding communities and spreading innovation through education and outreach.

Students from the network share a number of beliefs and attitudes about

environmental and social participa-tion. They understand that climate change mitigation strategy is integral to building smarter, prepared, and conscious communities. The partners of the network agree that they have responsibility to model socially-con-scious behavior and low-impact de-cision-making within their university setting and their local communities.

“a unified body of students with the mission to pro-mote social and environmental is-sues in Hungary.”

Sustainable CEU will host a series of speakers and events including work-shops and practical outreach pro-grams on the CEU campus; beyond attending events active student partic-ipation is the driving force within this network. One of the most anticipated aspects of the network’s programming is the direct exchange between stu-dents from different universities. The involvement of CEU students from every department will be the foun-dation for creating momentum for change in our wider community.

If you would like to see more com-mitment from our institutions in de-velopment management strategies which integrate sustainable develop-ment principles, see administrative support for community-driven life-styles, or are interest in forwarding the dialogue on environmental issues, you may contact Logan Strenchock to discuss ways to participate at Stren-chockL@ceu.hu.

~ Logan Stranchock, Sustainable CEU, United States

&Lindsey Zemler,

Environmental Sciences, United States

8

The CEU Weekly is a student-alumni initiative that seeks to provide CEU with a regularly issued newspa-per. The CEU Weekly is a vehicle of expression for the diversity of the perspectives and viewpoints that in-tegrate CEU’s open society: free and respectful public debate is our aim. We offer a place in which current events and student reflections can be voiced. Plurality, respect, and freedom of speech are our guiding principles.

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Editor in Chief: Eszter Kajtár Managing Editor: Aaron KorenewskyContributors: Giavana Margo, Alexandra Medzibrodszky, Jacob Verhagen, S.A. Siwiec, Tamara Szűcs, Lindsey Zemler, Daniel Hartas, John McLean, Shirlene Afshar-Vogl, László Olivér Jakab, Logan Strenchock, Erik Kotlárik, Christina E. Herrmann and Anna Varfolomeeva.

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Taste the Best

a

Upcoming events in Budapest

Torkos Csütörtök - Fat Thursday is approaching! This week you will get a chance to try Hungarian and international dishes with 50% discount in any of the participating restaurants. Don’t miss the opportunity to fulfill your wildest gas-

tronomical dreams. When: February 19

Where: Check the website for the full list of restaurantsMore info: http://torkoscsutortok.itthon.hu/torkos-csutortok-vendeglatohelyek

Meet Foreigners and LocalsThe largest meeting of expats, Erasmus students, couch surfers and their friends in Budapest - International Meeting Point - invites us all for chatting, mingling, a lottery and, last but not least, dancing. When: February 18, starting from 20.00Where: ANKER’T (Paulau Ede utca 33)Costs: Free, welcome shot for the first 50 guests More info: http://www.internationalmeetingpoint.org/

We all know that Hungary is a country of meat-eaters, so isn’t it nice to have a whole weekend devoted to fish - for a change? Besides, many dishes will be dis-

counted - thanks to Fat Thursday!When: February 19-22

Where: Vajdahunyad castle (Varosliget park)More info: http://www.budapestihalfesztival.hu/

Devote Some Time to Fish

t

k ~ Anna Varfolomeeva, PhD candidate, Environmental Sciences, Russia

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