About 25 people attended the Provost’s Luncheon in the Driscoll Ballroom on Thursday afternoon to protest former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, who is a professor in the Institute of Public Policy Studies, and his controversial comments about black and Hispanic cultures.
During the luncheon address to about 350 members of the DU community, Lamm reiterated his controversial opinion that the values of Latino and black cultures contribute to the statistically lower success rates of Latino and black students. Many of the attendees were Hispanic or African American.
“Just as individuals have traits, which lead to their individual success, so also do different groups have traits and cultural values, which can heavily impact how they do in work, school and life,” Lamm said.
The audience listened quietly throughout the talk. The closing remarks were met with polite applause. The talk was scheduled as the address for the October Provost’s Bridges to the Future Luncheon.
During his lecture, Lamm cited several black and Hispanic columnists and scholars who have voiced similar opinions.
He also suggested that a dialogue about what could be done to improve the success of black and Hispanic students needed to be opened.
“It is imperative that we expand the dialogue to cultural factors beyond racism discrimination. This doesn’t substitute the civil rights agenda. It supplements the civil rights agenda. We can’t look at all problems in our minority community through the lens of civil rights. Both civil rights and culture must be considered. We have to care enough about these kids to have this conversation,” Lamm said.
The protesters, who did not represent any campus organization, listened at the back of the ballroom. They held signs that read, “Is this what DU thinks of me?” Most did not stay to listen to the question and answer session.
Lamm encouraged discussion during the question and answer session.
One attendee pointed out that Lamm’s argument was based on a study that had used income as the only measure of success, while another commented that because culture is not static it is difficult to say that the values of a culture can be classified as “not success producing.” Lamm accepted both of these challenges without dispute.
Alfredo Abada, a sophomore political science and Spanish major who attended the talk to protest, said his views on the topic were somewhat changed when he heard Lamm expand on his comments.
“We came to protest the talk assuming it was going to be an ‘us/them’ talk. I formed my opinion about halfway through that this was not about racism, but about the need to promote dialogue. I think that calling someone a racist is the easy way out,” Abada said.
