Just weeks ago, on February 1st, Kansas State Attorney General Kris Kobach paid a visit to faculty member Sonja Czarnecki’s Global Studies class. The invitation sparked quite a bit of controversy within the comment section of an Instagram post on the school’s account acknowledging Kobach’s visit. Commenters––none of whom attended the class––criticized both Kobach’s skewed stances on immigration, racist claims and affiliations with white supremacists––all valid critiques. But the claim that I took issue with, alongside other students who were there to witness his visit, is that the school was “platforming” Kobach by allowing him to speak. This simply is not the case.
To say that a 1A private school in the state of Kansas is platforming the already elected Attorney General of the state, who has also previously made a run for governor, is, frankly, ridiculous. The claim also implies that by allowing him the chance to speak, the school was somehow endorsing his views or that the class period was spent by Kobach rattling off a campaign speech to a bunch of vulnerable students who don’t know any better than to believe any word that he says––also untrue.
What really took place during the Attorney General’s visit was a brief introduction, followed by an explanation of a proposed bill relevant to the current topics and discussions the class was engaging in, and subsequently followed by an opportunity for students to ask any questions that they pleased. And, as someone who was there for the entire 75-minute period, I can assure you that these students did not hold back.
Kobach was not speaking to a general audience of students in the sixth through twelfth grades. This group was composed of 17-18-year-old seniors who elected to take a politics course and were fully armed with well-informed, pointed questions to ask him. Students were able to exercise the knowledge that they had obtained throughout the year about local government to push back against one of the most influential politicians in the state. This is not something you see every day.
Now I could go into a whole spiel about the importance of bipartisanship and working across the aisle, but I will not. I could also write for at least another five paragraphs about why I fervently condemn Kobach’s policies and positions on just about every issue, but I will not. Because neither of those things is what bringing him into class was about. Just as it has for a plethora of other speakers throughout the year––including Kansas State House Representatives Christina Haswood and Boog Highberger, former Kansas State Governor Kathleen Sibelius, and every member of the Lawrence City Commission––the class invited in an elected official to talk about their job as an elected official, not to campaign. Just like with our previous visitors, this was nothing other than an invaluable, educational opportunity.
Now I implore you, do not be ignorant enough to view this interaction between a politician and young constituents as the school’s endorsement of said politician’s views. Do not be so unable to see past your disdain for a political adversary that you cannot appreciate the opportunity for young minds to discover that the big bad wolf is, in fact, not so big.
