A recording of an Oct. 23 panel discussion at Grand Rapids Community College about the conflict in Gaza is “under review” and not being released publicly.
The panel discussion titled “A Century of Tension: Illuminating the Gaza Conflict” took place Monday afternoon in GRCC’s Applied Technology Center auditorium and featured Keith St. Clair, a GRCC political science professor, and Joel H. Westra, the department chair of politics and economics at Calvin University.
After a professor who attended the event but declined to be interviewed expressed that they found the panel “upsetting,” The Collegiate requested a copy of the video and was subsequently informed that the video is under review and could not be immediately released.
“I apologize for the delay but I have been informed that the panel is currently under review and will not yet be posted. Once I have more/new news I will let you know,” stated a Media Support Professional via email.
The Collegiate has requested an unedited copy of the video under the Freedom of Information Act.
St. Clair told The Collegiate on Oct. 25 that he thought the discussion was great and that he was shocked to hear that the video was under review.
“Well, I thought it went fine,” said St. Clair. “There were only a few questions. There was one question that I remember where the woman seemed upset and she was concerned that the Israelis’ point of view was not as strong as it needed.”
Westra declined to comment on the discussion but did say he was grateful for the invitation to speak at GRCC and that he had an insightful conversation with a student after the event.
“After the presentation, I had a very good conversation with one of the students who was in attendance,” Westra said.
GRCC President Charles Lepper and Provost Shelia Jones could not be reached for comment.
“Since that event, many people have been engaged in conversations with those involved and affected by the panel discussion,” stated Vice President of Advancement, Mary Slafkosky, in an email to The Collegiate. “We anticipate a statement being released next week by the college. The college has been actively doing its due diligence and wants to complete that effort before issuing a statement.”
