Congressman Frank Honored
by Ariella Cohen

Barney Frank, U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts, will address Oberlin community members on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. in the lecture hall of the new science center. Brought to Oberlin as the first recipient of the Cole Distinguished Lecturer in Electoral Politics Award, his talk is entitled “America and the World.”
The Oberlin Initiative for Electoral Politics, a committee including members of the Politics Department, selected Frank for this honor because of his innovative role in American electoral politics.
Frank focuses much of his political efforts on fighting discrimination, providing fair treatment for immigrants and improving healthcare. He is also the first openly gay U.S. congressman
“Barney Frank has been a leader in protecting civil liberties in the aftermath of Sept.11. He has also been a leader in insuring that America can have economic growth while respecting economic fairness and environmental concerns,” Professor of Politics Ronald Kahn said.
Kahn last worked with the congressman in the spring of 1973 when Frank, then a Massachusetts legislator, spent one week at Oberlin teaching a course on the possibilities of electoral politics. “The students loved him, he was very smart, with a way about him. The students found him inspiring,” Kahn said.
While Frank was chosen to receive the Cole Award last spring, this week’s talk will occur at a time when Frank’s role in Congress is especially significant. Vocalizing much opposition to Bush’s anti-terrorism legislation, Frank has supported initiatives to add several new provisions to the House bill including one to allow people to sue the government if information gathered with the bill’s new electronic surveillance powers is leaked to the public. Frank has also backed a “sunset provision” on the bill, requiring Congress to approve the anti-terrorism package again in 2003 or let its increased police powers automatically expire.
Many Oberlin students share Frank’s fears that the new legislation may infringe on civil liberties by allowing police and governmental agencies increased electronic surveillance powers and permitting the indefinite jailing of non-citizens suspected of ties to terrorist groups.
“It’s a crackdown on civil liberties. This policy reminds me of McCarthyism and other excuses for the government to use political events and fear for their own interest. Policies like this just create more fear,” President of the Oberlin Democrats and first- year Matthew Kaplan said. The Oberlin Democrats will spend the weekend gathering signatures on petitions that will be sent to Congress as opposition to the ant-terrorism bill.
Originally Frank was scheduled to speak more generally on American electoral politics but in light of the Sept. 11 events he will address the current state of U.S. and international politics. “I think he will talk on the affect of Sept. 11 on civil liberties, military planning and Congress bipartisan relations. We asked him to speak on the impact of that tragedy on American life,” Kahn said.
Frank serves on several Congressional committees and subcommittees including the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution as well as subcommittees focused on global issues such as immigration and claims and international monetary policy and trade. He also serves as the senior minority member on the Trade Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.
Widely considered among the most liberal members of Congress, Frank opposed Republican impeachment efforts stemming from the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, and has fought for abortion rights and gun control measures.
“I think it’s important to hear a politician like Frank speak. We get caught up a lot in our own interpretations, its good to get grounded in reality. People relate more to Frank than other politicians. As a Democrat, as an openly gay man and from Massachusetts, a state that is considered politically liberal and that has a large Oberlin representation, he will start on a different level with students,” senior and Massachusetts native Jen Katz said.
Frank’s political career began 10 years after his 1962 graduation from Harvard, when he was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature. During the eight years he served there he attended Harvard Law School and taught politics at various schools, including the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School, and Boston University. It was in this period that Frank taught at Oberlin. In 1979 he became a member of the Massachusetts Bar and in ‘80 Frank was elected to represent the Fourth Congressional District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He has published numerous articles on politics and public affairs, including the essay “Speaking Frankly,” an influential document on the role the Democratic Party should play in the 1990s.
research done by staff writer Dwaipayan Sen.