Renowned Political Scientists Stirs Controversy at Messiah

Hundreds of people flooded into Boyer Hall last night to see one woman.

She's petite and nearly eighty. Her hair is greyed; her withered appearance doesn't let on to the controversy her visit has caused between students, faculty, and community members as they disagreed over her presence on campus and political views.

Last night, Dr. Frances Fox Piven, a self-titled "radical Democrat," spoke to a packed house about what she sees as the true meaning of democracy -- with a few jabs at the President Barack Obama and the Tea Party included.

Piven, a political scientist who teaches at City University of New York, was invited to Messiah College by the School of the Humanities in conjunction with the Politics Department to deliver their yearly Democracy in America lecture. Dean of the School of the Humanities, Pete Powers, said he has fielded about 100 calls and emails from individuals concerned or upset with Piven's visit to campus.

Powers said friends of the college expressed concern that "this kind of speaker could damage students."

Piven is known in the political science community for her work on election politics as well as an article she wrote with her husband in 1966 , which asserts that "if people overwhelmed the welfare roles ...  stress on the system could force reform."  

Robin Lauermann, Chair of the Politics Department, said Piven was not invited because of "the specific of her ideology" but because she has made significant contributions in her field.

Piven's article on welfare and poverty brought her to the attention of right-wing radio and TV host Glenn Beck, who attacked Piven on his show earlier this year. The New York Times reported in January that Beck's criticism of Piven brought her death threats.  

President of Messiah College Republicans Derek Petrella said he is for freedom of speech and thinks "anyone who has an articulate view of how to help the poor and the role of the government in that, should be able to present their view in public, but I disagree with her views."

Petrella has helped to organize a visit by author Jason Mattera on October 18 to counter Piven's lecture.

Leading up to the event, some students criticized the college for taking down posters that advertised the event, seeing it as a step back from their invitation to Piven.

Kathie Shafer, Vice President for Operations, said the posters were taken down because the college decided to stop advertising for the event, afraid it would reach capacity. She said the college also did not want admissions staff to have to answer questions regarding the event during an Open House on Monday.

Posters or not, Piven spoke to an audience in Parmer Cinema and two overflow rooms Wednesday.

Her lecture, entitled "The Corporate War on the American People," was attended by students and faculty as well as community members, some whom said they heard about the event from Beck's web site, The Blaze. Others said they came to broaden their horizons.

"This lady does not purport the views that I would necessarily support but I wanted to hear first-hand what she has to say," said Mark Barninger, from Grantville, PA.

In her talk, Piven spoke about the history of franchisement in America, saying in a democracy,  there should be a equal election sphere.

"What counts in a democracy is personhood," Piven said. "The equal right to hold government accountable. We haven't succeeded in creating that protected sphere. It's not protected. Money, the influence of great fortune, seeps in from all sides."

This influence prevents all votes from counting equally, she said.

Citing the expense of running a political campaign, Piven said it's not possible that officials are not influenced by donations. She pointed specifically to Obama saying he has pro-Wall Street decisions after receiving large donations from the financial industry.

These policies are among the laments of protesters at Occupy Wall Street, a movement spreading across the U.S. that demands a reduction in economic inequality. Piven visited these protests two weeks ago.