Matt Mosher, Life Editor

            As thousands of students and community members approached Alumni Arena on Wednesday night, they were met with the steady drumbeat and megaphone from the Buffalo chapter of the Peace, Justice and Anti-War Coalition.

            The group of about 35 protestors held picket signs and screamed chants declaring Blair a war criminal and that UB should not pay him to speak.

            To further upset the protestors, the university offered only a screened question and answer format during the speech, instead of an open question format. Jim Holstun, a professor in the Department of English, believes this is censorship and should not be allowed at any university.

             “I think that when one person says they have the right to get between the question and the answer, we’re talking about censorship,” Holstun said. “You have to be willing to have some dangerous questions get through and some silly questions get through – that’s what free speech means. It doesn’t mean that everything goes right. Free speech means that all bets are off, somebody who comes into the university might get a question he or she doesn’t like.”

            The screening was put in place to prevent repeated questions, condense similar questions and displace irrelevant questions like that of Blair’s age, height, favorite color, and other questions that didn’t pertain to the speech, said Dennis Black, vice president of student affairs.

            Despite the screening process, one student was able to slip in several uncensored questions.

            Nick Kabat, a senior political science and psychology major, was chosen as one of the few students that would be able to ask Blair a question. His original question was approved, but Kabat says his intention was to get accepted and then ask Blair a much harder question.

            “Most of the questions would be easy for Blair to respond to – questions that have been asked a million times,” Kabat said. “It made a statement to the crowd that this man is not as perfect and charming as they may believe.”

            Other students felt that Blair did not provide much originality to the question and answer section, using jokes and telling stories to avoid answering the questions.

            “Like with most politicians, I feel that some of the questions asked weren’t very specific,” said Megan Clark, a sophomore psychology and social sciences major. “I thought that each one was kind of generalized and that [Blair] didn’t really put his own signature on any of the answers. I think he tried to play it safe, which is why so many people didn’t want him here in the first place.”

            Kabat did not receive any form of punishment for changing his question and says he would do it again if given the chance. He said that he could tell that Blair was not expecting the question and thinks the former prime minister was thrown off by it.

            Protesters chanted several sayings, including “George and Tony sitting in a tree, K-I-L-L-I-N-G,” and “Hey-hey, ho-ho, Tony Blair has got to go!”

            The protestors also handed out leaflets with information about Blair – many of which focused on the amount of money Blair was paid to speak at UB, claiming that the university paid him $150,000.

            “It is still quite astonishing that UB would pay [Blair] that amount of money or [UB] would allow itself to be an agent in amassing that amount of money for Tony Blair. It’s inappropriate for the university to be Tony Blair’s fundraiser,” Holstun said.

            According to Black, money for the event does not impact the university, explaining that the event is covered by the price of tickets and money from sponsors.

            Holstun said that he was also protesting because of the war in Iraq and Blair’s involvement in “aggressive war crimes” committed against the country.

            “International law doesn’t allow countries to invade other countries, it’s a war crime – it’s the ultimate war crime,” Holstun said. “More than a million people are dead and there are people in the [Veterans Affairs] hospital in Buffalo because Tony Blair and George Bush got together and announced this war.”

            Blair did not disregard the protests or his actions in Iraq in his speech. He spoke of the decision and how he thinks more people should feel.

            “I don’t disrespect people who have a different view,” Blair said. “I respect them even though I disagree with them and I hope they can do the same for me. I believe the world is better off with Saddam [Hussein] out of power.”

            After hearing this, the crowd rose and applauded Blair, but Clark says people should look further into what he said.

            “We need to focus on what he’s not saying,” Clark said. “Focus on what he could be saying or the explanations that he could be giving, but he’s steering away from.”

            Among the things Blair joked about during his speech was how Buffalo is famous for chicken wings, and although the crowd laughed, Holstun was less than impressed.

            “If Osama Bin Laden comes to Buffalo next year as a distinguished speaker and makes a joke about chicken wings to start with, I’m not going to be laughing,” Holstun said. “And I’m not laughing about Tony Blair doing it either.”

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