We are pleased to announce that we are bringing Dinesh D’Souza to speak at Brown on April 26. Below is our press release with more information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Stephen Beale                                                                            sbeale@idiversity.org

Noted Conservative Commentator Dinesh D’Souza to Speak at Brown U. April 26

PROVIDENCE, RI – Noted author Dinesh D’Souza will be speaking at Brown University April 26 in an event sponsored by the Foundation for Intellectual Diversity and the Brown College Republicans.

The speech, entitled ‘Is God the Problem’ will be delivered 8 p.m. April 26 at MacMillan Hall Room 117 on the Brown University campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Many people, notably atheists, allege that belief in God is not merely unscientific and irrational but also dangerous. They argue that religion is the cause of many of the evils in the world, from the Crusades and the Inquisition to 9/11 and the current unrest in the Middle East.  In his talk, D’Souza will challenge this critique of religion and show that God, far from being the problem, is actually the main part of the solution. He will not just be making case for the utility of religion, but also an argument for the truth of religious belief.

“In the past year, we have consistently criticized Brown University for its lack of intellectual diversity,” said Stephen Beale, President of the Foundation for Intellectual Diversity. “Our purpose is not merely to criticize, but also to provide constructive alternatives to the dominance of left-wing ideology and pervasive political correctness on campus. We think this speech is the perfect example of an event that brings intellectual diversity to Brown.”

Student organizers said the event would debunk common misperceptions of religious belief and highlight the personal and societal benefits of faith in a Creator.

“I am extremely excited for Dinesh D’Souza’s arrival. His topic, “Is God the Problem?”, is ever pertinent in our current age of rampant, baseless criticism against the presence and role of religion within society,” said Anish Mitra, the vice president of the Brown College Republicans. “While there have been many unsavory actions fueled by religious fervor (which currently continue) throughout history, I am confident Mr. D’Souza will not only elucidate the myriad misconceptions of past religious behavior, but reveal the true evils of society, and ultimately show how dangerous a world without religion can be.”

“Though the buildings, letterheads, and merchandise of Brown University are adorned with its motto, ‘In Deo Speramus,’ most Brown students do not understand the paramount discipline of hoping in God,” added Keith DellaGrotta, the president of the College Republicans. “Such a principle was integral to the foundation of the country in which we reside, not to mention America’s continued political successes since. In bringing Dinesh D’Souza to lecture on campus, the Brown Republicans seek to promote discussion of the most valuable quality of faith in a Creator.”

About Dinesh D’Souza

Dinesh D’Souza is a best-selling author, leading conservative commentator, and former policy analyst for the Reagan administration. He is the author of the widely acclaimed Illiberal Education and The End of Racism. His more recent works include What’s So Great About Christianity, The Enemy at Home, Letters to a Young Conservative, and What’s So Great About America. His articles have been published in every major magazine and newspaper, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, New Republic, and National Review and he has been a guest on The Today Show, Nightline, The News Hour, and the O’Reilly Factor. D’Souza has been called one of the “top young public-policy makers in the country” by Investor’s Business Daily and The New York Times Magazine named him one of America’s most influential conservative thinkers.

For more, visit. http://dineshdsouza.com/more/about.html

The event is scheduled for Columbus Day, 12-2pm on Main Green. See below.

Press Release
September 30, 2009

WPRO’s John DePetro Announces Rally against Brown University’s Planned Boycotting of Columbus Day Holiday

Contact: John DePetro
401.433.4200 x. 288
john@630wpro.com

John DePetro, host of the WPRO Morning News, in conjunction with the Brown Spectator and Brown Republicans, announces he is organizing a rally to protest Brown University’s unprecedented decision to boycott the Columbus
Day Holiday and drop the Columbus Day name in favor of “Fall Weekend”. DePetro, who will host his rally on Columbus Day, October 12, 2009, said the decision by the faculty at Brown University to change the name of the Columbus Day holiday is “a tremendous insult to all Italian-Americans.” DePetro said he would be happy to accept the resignations from members of the Brown faculty at the rally,” to clear their conscience of teaching at a school built upon the slave trade.”

” This grossly misguided farce to try to ignore and destroy the historic contribution made by one of the world’s greatest explorers is not only insulting to Italian-Americans, but is a very disturbing reminder of how America’s traditional heritage is under attack in many quarters of the Ivy League and on other college campuses,” DePetro says.

” It is the height of arrogance and grossly hypocritical for faculty and students at a University whose substantial endowment had its origins in the Brown family fortune, which was built on the slave trade, to instigate a movement to dismantle the Columbus Holiday and recognition of Columbus.”

The Brown decision to drop any recognition of the Columbus Day holiday has been justified by the University as a form of symbolic protest of the explorer’s clashes with Native Americans at the time of the historic discovery.

The Brown Spectator’s Editor-in-Chief, Sean B. Quigley, expresses great concern over the changing of the holiday name. “Our European political heritage is a precious treasure whose rejection by modern ideologies stems only from abstract statements of feeling. At so esteemed and ancient an institution, we should be less concerned with such slop, and more with the duty to preserve.”

Keith Della Grotta, President of the Brown Republicans adds, “In an era of secularization, the name change of Columbus Day Weekend to Fall Weekend is just one more step toward complete religious apathy in America. Judeo-Christianity and the Protestant work ethic are the reason for America’s success, and we should honor the man that helped bring
Christianity to the new world.”

The rally will feature readings about Columbus, Italian music, and present an opportunity for the school to reconsider the slight.

The rally will take place on Columbus Day, October 12, 2009 on the Brown University campus.

The list of speakers, time, and location TBA closer to event.

John DePetro and the WPRO Morning News is heard weekdays from 6am-10am on WPRO Radio, Providence, RI 63OAM and 99.7FM.

John DePetro 401.433.4200 ext 288 or john@630wpro.com

The Brown Spectator
Brown Republicans