Goucher's president, Sanford Ungar, (onstage, left) moderated the forum with Karl Rove in the Kraushaar Auditorium.

Originally published as an online exclusive for The Towerlight on September 17, 2009. The Towerlight was the only media organization present at the event. Photos by Eric Gazzillo.

He is a man of many nicknames. The Architect. Boy Genius. Turd Blossom.

Karl Rove, arguably one of the most divisive figures of the George W. Bush administration, was the Fall 2009 speaker of the President’s Forum at Goucher College Wednesday night.

The forum at Kraushaar Auditorium, presented and moderated by Goucher’s president, Sanford Ungar, attracted 1,200 people, filling the room.

Police presence outside the auditorium was heavy. More than 18 police vehicles surrounded the area.

Rove’s appearance drew a fairly hostile crowd.

“No matter who we bring, there’s always going to be somebody who doesn’t like it,” Kristen Keener, Goucher’s media relations director, said. “Obviously, Karl Rove is more divisive than other speakers.”

Nicholas Powell, who described himself as a “temporarily out-of-school” Goucher student, turned out with about 30 other protestors outside the auditorium. He said he came to protest, “to expose Karl Rove as the war criminal that he is, the war profiteer.”

“People like that should not be allowed to speak on college campuses across the country, especially when it’s for profit,” Powell said. “I would like to see him arrested. I would like to see him put on trial for the crimes that’s he’s committed against humanity, not even against this country, against humanity.”

Powell and a friend were removed from the audience shortly after Rove’s remarks began after standing up holding two signs that read “Citizens Arrest Rove.”

Pikesville resident Bradley Barthlow was the sole counter-protester outside Krausharr Auditorium, holding a homemade sign rallying against perceived media bias. He said participating in the Tea Party protests in Washington, D.C., motivated him to become more involved in protests, and that his decision to counter-protest at the speech tonight was “spur of the moment.”

“Like him or not, Karl Rove is an individual, he’s a real good speaker and he knows politics and he knows what’s happening in America right now and I have to support him,” he said.

After numerous interruptions, Rove spoke for 20 minutes about what it was like to work in the White House. Following his remarks, he sat down with Ungar, who was a gracious but unforgiving host. Ungar questioned him about topics such as involvement in the war in Iraq and opinions on the health care debate.

The floor was soon opened to Goucher students, who pressed Rove on issues such as health care and education. One student asked about his legal opinion on gay marriage, which in his response, he compared to polygamy. Towards the end of the event, Ahmed Tarik, an Iraqi student approached the microphone to confront Rove about the costs of the war.

“Saddam Hussein was a dictator and everybody knows that,” he said. “But he was convicted and hanged for the 128 people he killed… how about two million [killed since the American invasion]?”

He went on to cite statistics on Iraqi civilian casualties and refugees. Rove responded angrily, claiming Tarik’s numbers were “wildly exaggerated,” leading to the event’s tensest moment.

“[Refugees] didn’t flee the Americans,” Rove said. “It was the violence of people like Saddam’s dead-enders, the Sunni insurgents and Al Qaeda.”

Tarik and much of the audience disagreed as Rove segued to a story about one-time Homeland Security nominee Bernard Kerik, who went to Baghdad to train police and found torture tapes from the Hussein regime.

Much of the conversation followed this adversarial tone, with most of the students questioning him on his role in the White House and his role in national politics. The event ended with many unanswered questions and some unsatisfied students.

“I was a little disappointed in some of the questions,” Kenneth Case, a 2009 Goucher alum, said. “I thought there were a lot of things specifically in regards to Karl Rove’s position in the White House and his individual role that weren’t really addressed… I think it would have gone better had more of the people that had significant ideas about why this man should be criticized had put their thoughts into questions that they would have asked to put him in a tough position.”

He admitted Rove had a rhetorical advantage.

“Since he is one of the brilliant political strategists of our time, he did a pretty good job of covering his ass,” he said.

Goucher freshman Olana Kingsley agreed.

“I was really excited to hear him speak, but now I’m really frustrated because I feel I didn’t get much out of the talk because of all the diversions,” she said.