On

Wednesday, Oct. 18, Hamilton College hosted the first “Common Ground” event. This new speaker series is supported by the Pohl family, in honor of the five members of the family who graduated from Hamilton. This inaugural event featured a discussion between former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush, Karl Rove, and former Chief Strategist and Senior Advisor to President Obama, David Axelrod. This discussion was moderated by

USA Today

Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page. While Axelrod and Rove have no personal connection to the college, Page’s son graduated from Hamilton in 2010. Page joked that she agreed to do this event as a means to “repay a debt,” referring to the college’s acceptance of her son.

According to President Wippman, who has made free speech and civil discourse a top priority on the hill since coming to Hamilton, “the goal is for the speakers to model the kind of respectful dialogue across political boundaries that should occur not just on college campuses, but in the broader society as well. With capable speakers on both sides of a given issue, each willing to acknowledge strengths in the position of the other speaker, we aim to encourage students and other audience members to question their own assumptions and consider carefully the evidence and arguments supporting other viewpoints.”

Page posed both her own questions, as well as those submitted by Hamilton students and faculty. Questions included: How did you personally contribute to American political polarization? What factors have led to the extinction of conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans? What do you make of the upcoming appearance of all five living presidents at the 20th anniversary of George H.W. Bush’s presidential library; is this unity taking place to address a potential constitutional crisis? While Axelrod and Rove aimed to answer the first two questions — with Axelrod citing regrettable ads he had commissioned and Rove admitting to sabotaging the opening of a campaign office by promising free food and alcohol — both men took issue with the final question. Both Axelrod and Rove refuted the premise that the five living American presidents believe the nation to be careening towards a constitutional crisis. In this case, both men reaffirmed their belief in the strength of American institutions.

Unlike recent political events at Middlebury and William & Mary, Common Ground was not disrupted by campus protestors. The Margaret Bundy Scott Field House was nearly full, as around 2,000 tickets were distributed. Throughout the hour and a half, the crowd remained diligently engaged, leading Rove to joke, “I think they locked the doors.” While the Field House was mostly full, many attendees appeared to be community members, rather than the student body for which the lesson of free speech was supposed to be imparted upon.

Although there were no active protests, student response was mixed. “We shouldn’t have to find common ground with people who don’t respect our humanity,” said Gwyn Sise ’19, who, as a result, opted to not attend. Annie Canning ’19 took a more moderate stance on the event, stating “I enjoyed hearing the advisors’ thoughts on the current political climate, but I wish they provided more opinionated responses that could have sparked a more substantial debate.” Anna McCloskey ’18 responded more positively, stating, “It was a privilege to hear such distinguished strategists joke as friends and debate as professionals,” adding, “they set an excellent example of how to foster discussion in a polarized society.”

Rove, Axelrod, and Page met with members of the Hamilton community in smaller settings throughout the day leading up to the event. In the afternoon, Rove and Axelrod dove deeper into specific policy-related discussions with the honor’s thesis Government students, as well as students enrolled in Government course “American Political Process” and Philosophy course “Critical Thinking.” Additionally, Susan Page met with members of

The Spectator

staff for lunch to discuss the current state of journalism and politics, as well as careers in the field. President Wippman rounded off the pre-event festivities by hosting a small dinner for student leaders, board members, and select professors.

Following the first installment of Common Ground,

The Spectator

would like to reaffirm its non-partisan status, as well as its wholehearted endorsement of free speech and civil discourse. In the midst of the current political climate, both on and off campus,

The Spectator

applauds the College’s mission to promote civil discourse and debate as a means to intellectual growth and maturity.