Simpson’s UCI Appearance

I was very happy to see that my speech at UC Irvine to William Thompson’s criminology class made the front page of The Times on June 8.

I was, however, rather distressed at the implication that I was invited to speak because of pressure brought by the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation or its members.

In response to Simpson being invited to speak, I called the dean of UCI’s School of Social Ecology and suggested that I be given the opportunity to speak about the victim’s point of view of the criminal and civil system.

I spoke as the co-author, with Nicole’s father, Lou Brown, and a pastor, Francois Dubau, of “Stop Domestic Violence: An Action Plan For Saving Lives,” a book published by St. Martin’s Press in April.

Brown at no time pressured Thompson to have me speak. In fact, he gave me no encouragement to do so, as he has not been one to respond to any of Simpson’s media forays in the past. I question the veracity of your story that there was any pressure . . . to have me speak.

If anything, I had several cordial conversations with the professor, joined him for dinner prior to the class, and was well received by most of the members of the class.

I teach Domestic Violence and Law at American College of Law in Anaheim and am working with the University of West Los Angeles School of Law to create, with them, a clinic for battered women.

MERRITT McKEON

Laguna Beach

Every time O.J. Simpson is invited to speak at a university, where he is then treated importantly, he is validated (“O.J. at UCI--Controversial Figure’s Visit Sparks Fuss,” June 8).

He should be regarded as a pariah and shunned. Of course there is free speech in this country, so if people want to meet him, shake his hand and ask for his autograph, they should put him in a sideshow. He already has much experience in being part of a circus.

CYNTHIA WEITZ

Laguna Niguel