>>> HAS PUBLIC DISCOURSE IN OUR

COUNTRY BECOME A SERIES OF

IDEOLOGICAL ECHO CHAMBERS?

TUNE IN CABLE NEWS AND IT'S HARD

NOT TO COME TO THAT CONCLUSION.

VISIT AN ELITE COLLEGE CAMPUS

AND THAT IMPRESSION CAN BE EACH

MORE ACUTE.

IN 2016 ZACHARY WOOD FOUND

HIMSELF AT THE CENTER OF

POLITICAL STORM WHEN AS AN

UNDERGRADUATE AT WILLIAMS

COLLEGE HE INVITED A SERIES OF

CONTROVERSIAL CONSERVATIVE

SPEAKERS TO THE PREDOMINANTLY

LIBERAL CAMPUS TO THEIR THEIR

VIEWS.

WOOD FACED IMMEDIATE BLOW BACK

FROM HIS PEERS, FACULTY AND THE

ADMINISTRATION BUT REMAINED

UNDETERRED.

IN FACT, HE BECAME A CHAMPION

NOT SIMPLY OF FREE SPEECH BUT OF

THE FUNDAMENTAL PROPOSITION THAT

WE MUST ACTIVELY ENGAGE WITH

IDEAS AND BELIEFS THAT WE FIND

DISAGREEABLE AND EVEN OFFENSIVE.

WOOD GRADUATED FROM WILLIAMS

LAST YEAR AND NOW AT 22 HE HAS

WRITTEN A MEMOIRE TITLED

"UNCENSORED: MY LIFE AND

UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS AT

THE INTERSECTION OF BLACK AND

WHITE AMERICA."

HE JOINS US NOW AS PART OF OUR

CHASING THE DREAM INITIATIVE

WHICH FOCUSES ON POVERTY AND

OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICA.

ZACH, THANKS FOR COMING ON THIS

SHOW.

IT'S AN HONOR TO HAVE YOU HERE.

>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

GLAD TO BE HERE.

>> A PUBLISHED MEMOIRE WRITTEN

BY A 22-YEAR-OLD AUTHOR, THAT'S

NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE EVERY DAY.

HOW DID THIS ONE HAPPEN?

>> YOU JUST SNAP YOUR FINGERS

AND WISH.

>> YEAH, SURE.

>> YOU KNOW, I WAS FORTUNATE TO

GROW UP IN A FAMILY OF

EDUCATORS, TO HAVE A MOTHER AND

GRANDMOTHER WHO PLACED HIGH

VALUE ON READING AND LEARNING

AND SO MY LOVE OF READING

EVENTUALLY LED TO A LOVE OF

WRITING.

SO I HAD ALWAYS HAD THIS

INTEREST IN WRITING, EXPRESSING

MY OWN VIEWS AND THOUGHTS ON

ISSUES THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN

AND WHEN I GOT TO WILLIAMS

COLLEGE I DECIDED THAT I WANTED

TO CONTRIBUTE TO PUBLIC

DISCOURSE AND SO THAT FOR ME

MEANT WRITING OP-EDS.

I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE

OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE AN OP-ED

FOR THE "WASHINGTON POST"

EXPLAINING SOME OF THE

CHALLENGES THAT LOW INCOME AND

FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS FACE

WHEN THEY GO HOME FOR THE

HOLIDAYS AND THAT THEN LED TO

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO SHARE

MY STORY.

>> YOU BECAME NATIONALLY KNOWN

AT LEAST IN ACADEMIC AND

POLITICAL CIRCLES BECAUSE OF

WHAT YOU DID AT WILLIAMS,

BRINGING IN THOSE COULDN'T VERSE

CONSERVATIVE AUTHORS LIKE

CHARLES MURRAY, RACIALIST JOHN

DERBYSHIRE AND A SELF--DESCRIBED

ANTI-FEMINIST BUT AT LEAST THREE

QUARTERS OF THE BOOK IS WHAT

HAPPENED TO YOU BEFORE THEN.

>> EXACTLY.

>> WHY?

>> SO FOR ME IN WRITING THIS I

WAS THINKING ABOUT WHAT ARE THE

EXPERIENCES THAT HAVE SHAPED WHO

I AM?

AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST

INFLUENCES IN MY LIFE WAS MY

MOTHER.

>> SURE.

>> AND SO THE FIRST THIRD OF THE

BOOK IS ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE WITH

HER.

ANOTHER MAJOR INFLUENCE WAS MY

FATHER WHO FROM WHOM I'VE

LEARNED MANY VALUABLE LESSONS SO

THAT'S THE SECOND THIRD OF THE

BOOK AND THEN THE LAST THIRD IS

ABOUT MY TIME AT WILLIAMS AND

HOW ALL OF THAT KIND OF COMES

TOGETHER AS I BECOME A PUBLIC

ADVOCATE FOR VIEWPOINT

UNIVERSITY.

>> LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MOTHER

BECAUSE SHE IS TRULY A PROMINENT

CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND I

WOULD SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT

PERSON IN YOUR LIFE, YOUR EARLY

LIFE.

TALK ABOUT THAT RELATIONSHIP AND

HOW IT AFFECTED YOU.

>> I ALWAYS KNEW THAT MY MOTHER

LOVED MY DEARLY.

I KNEW THAT SHE WANTED TO GIVE

ME THE BEST, AT THE SAME TIME I

KNEW THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS

CHALLENGING AND COMPLICATED AND

AT SIX OR SEVEN YEARS OLD YOU

DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT

MENTAL ILLNESS IS, BUT MY MOTHER

HAD CITIZEN ZERO EFFECTIVE

DISORDER, A COMBINATION OF

BIPOLAR AND SCHIZOPHRENIA.

ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS I HAD TO

NEGOTIATE AND TRY TO DISCERN WAS

TODAY GOING TO BE A GOOD OR BAD

DAY.

HOW WAS I GOING TO RESPOND TO

PARANOID DELUSIONS AND TO

HALLUCINATIONS AND MOOD SWINGS,

HOW WAS I GOING TO DEAL WITH HER

RAGE AND HER ANGER.

SO IT FORCED ME TO BE MORE

EMPATHETIC AND COMPASSIONATE AT

AN EARLY AGE.

>> WHY DID YOU THINK IT WAS

IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BRING IN

WRITERS TO WILLIAMS WHO WERE

CONSIDERED HOMOPHOBIC,

XENOPHOBIC, YOU NAME IT, HATE --

HATEFUL WRITERS?

WHERE DID YOU THINK IT WAS

IMPORTANT TO BRING THEM?

>> MY MOM RAISED ME TO BELIEVE

THAT SELF-UNDERSTANDING IS VERY

IMPORTANT, SELF-KNOWLEDGE IS

VERY IMPORTANT, EQUALLY

IMPORTANT IS HAVING A KIND OF

STEADFAST COMMITMENT, DEVELOPING

A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF

HUMANITY.

FOR ME THAT MEANT I HAD TO

UNDERSTAND NOT JUST THE VIEWS

AND VALUES THAT I ADMIRE, BUT

ALSO THE VIEWS AND VALUES THAT I

DETEST, THE VIEWS AND VALUES

THAT I HOPE TO RESIST, THAT I

HOPE TO CHANGE.

YOU HAVE TO ENGAGE WITH THEM.

AND YOU CAN'T JUST ENGAGE IN A

MODE OF THIS HAS TO BE AN

ADVERSARIAL KIND OF INTERACTION.

YOU CAN LEAD WITH QUESTIONS, IT

OPENS UP POSSIBILITIES FOR YOU

TO FIND COMMON GROUND.

SO FOR ME I THOUGHT THAT

BRINGING THESE SPEAKERS WOULD

HELP ME BE A BETTER CHANGE AGENT

ONE DAY.

>> WHAT WERE THE MOST CONVINCING

ARGUMENTS THAT YOUR PEERS TOLD

YOU AS TO WHY THESE SPEAKERS

SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INVITED?

>> ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING

ARGU

ARGUMENTS, COUNTERARGUMENTS TO

THE WORK I WAS DOING WAS THAT IT

WAS ALREADY DIFFICULT ENOUGH TO

BE A MINORITY ON CAMPUS, IT WAS

ALREADY DIFFICULT ENOUGH TO BE A

POOR STUDENT AT AN ELITE

INSTITUTION WHERE THE MAJORITY

OF THE STUDENT BODY WAS FAIRLY

AFFLUENT.

THERE ARE ALREADY ENOUGH

CHALLENGES, OBSTACLES.

MICRO AGGRESSIONS.

TO HAVE TO THEN BRING IN A

SPEAKER ON TOP OF THOSE THINGS

THAT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH AND

INTERACTIONS WITH YOUR PEERS IN

THE DORMS AND DINING HALLS AND

IN CLASSES, TO HAVE SOMEONE WHO

IS ESPOUSING AND SAYING THINGS

THAT ARE DEEPLY DISTURBING, THAT

ARE FUNDAMENTALLY UNSETTLING,

THAT QUESTION THE WAY IN WHICH

YOU IDENTIFY AND VIEW

YOURSELF --

>> BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN TO

THAT.

WHAT ABOUT THE ARGUMENT THAT YOU

WERE LEGITIMIZING.

>> THAT WAS THE OTHER PART OF

IT.

BY GIVING THEM A PLATFORM YOU

WERE ENDORSING WHAT THEY WERE

SAYING.

INTO I APPROACH WAS THIS, THERE

ARE COSTS AND BENEFITS WHENEVER

YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT

ERTS MA.

WHENEVER YOU ARE ENGAGED WITH AN

ISSUE OR A TOPIC THAT TRULY IS

WORTH DISCUSSING THERE ARE GOING

TO BE CHALLENGES, THERE ARE

GOING TO BE ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES TO HAVING TOUGH

CONVERSATIONS TO TAKING MEASURES

TO ACHIEVE CHANGE.

I THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS A

POTENTIAL FOR THE BENEFITS TO

OUTWEIGH --

>> IS THERE A SPEAK OR TYPE OF

DISCOURSE THAT EVEN YOU WOULD

SAY WE CAN'T GIVE THIS A

PLATFORM?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> WHERE IS THAT LINE?

>> SO FOR ME IF THE SPEAKER IS

NOT INTELLECTUALLY SERIOUS WHICH

IS TO SAY THEY BELIEVE IN WHAT

THEY'RE SAYING AND THEY BELIEVE

THAT THE WORLD IS BETTER FOR IT,

NOT IF I DO, BUT IF THEY DO, AND

IF WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IS IS NOT

SOCIALLY RELEVANT.

>> PRESIDENT TRUMP RECENTLY

ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD SIGN AN

EXECUTIVE ORDER THREATENING TO

CUT OFF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR

UNIVERSITIES THAT PROHIBIT

FREEDOM OF SPEECH THE WAY HE

SEES IT.

DO YOU THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA?

>> I THINK THAT'S A BAD IDEA.

I THINK THAT'S A BLUNT

INSTRUMENT.

WITH HE WANT TO INN WITH THE

ARGUMENT.

WE WANT THE IDEAS TO PREVAIL.

WE WANT TO PERSUADE PEOPLE THAT

THIS IS WHY FREE SPEECH MATTERS.

THIS IS NOT AN INSTANCE IN WHICH

YOU WANT TO USE FORCE BECAUSE

THAT OPENS UP --

>> IT'S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE.

>> ABSOLUTELY AND SETS A

DANGEROUS PRECEDENT.

>> SO YOU TOLD YOUR PEERS WHEN

YOU WERE IN COLLEGE THAT YOUR

ULTIMATELY GOAL WAS TO BECOME

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

>> YES, I DID.

>> IS THAT STILL THE CASE?

>> THAT IS STILL THE CASE.

I HOPE TO BE A PUBLIC SERVANT

ONE DAY.

I AM INTERESTED IN PEOPLE, I'M

INTERESTED IN PEOPLE'S STORIES,

HELPING PEOPLE HAVE BETTER

STORIES AND I CARE ABOUT THE

ISSUES.

>> ALL RIGHT.

ZACH, I WISH WE HAD MORE TIME.

IT WAS A FANTASTIC BOOK, I

REALLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO

READ IT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR

JOINING US TODAY.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU.