IN THE PAST few months, there have been a spate of attacks against prominent conservative icons -- not from the liberal media establishment (what a shock!), but this time from, not surprisingly, campus activists. What is startling, however, is that "scholars" comprising the echelons of higher education have elected to attack them with their newest weapon of choice -- cream pies and salad dressing.
Yep, you heard right. In four separate incidents at different colleges, audience members thought it would be a fantastic idea to test their athletic skills by throwing pies and salad dressing at guest speakers (some had pretty good aim, but others weren't so dexterous).
Syndicated columnist and author Ann Coulter dodged custard pies thrown by two men at the University of Arizona in Tucson on Oct. 21, 2004. Bill Kristol, Fox News contributor and editor of the Weekly Standard, wasn't so artful a dodger -- he was hit in the face with an ice cream pie while speaking on U.S. foreign policy at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. on March 29, 2005. Similarly, David Horowitz, author, commentator, and president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture faced a pie-throwing audience member on April 6 at Butler College. Author and commentator Pat Buchanan was welcomed with a bottle of salad dressing splashed all over him on March 31 at Western Michigan University. Some of the speakers were invited by Republican groups at the respective colleges and others by college programs councils or the universities themselves. Some of the attackers weren't enrolled in college, some were and others weren't yet identified.
This recent barrage of physical attacks on famous conservatives is perhaps indicative of a culture of intolerance festering in the academic atmosphere. A college experience is one that is supposed to be enlightening and inclusive. It's important to be exposed to a wide variety of viewpoints in college; they are years for intellectual exploration and the evolving formation of informed opinions. Hearing and carefully considering the merits of perspectives different from your own will not only sharpen your analytical skills, but also widen your knowledge base and worldview.
Directly obstructing a speaker's ability to share his or her opinions flies in the face of the virtues of free speech that all Americans, including liberals, hold so dear. At Kansas University, the site of another Ann Coulter speech on March 29, one audience member who belonged to the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics was quoted in a local newspaper saying, "We're just not open-minded enough to like Ann Coulter."
Whether or not you love or hate the speaker your school or an organization at your school sponsors to bring in, if you choose to attend the lecture, it's only respectful to act in a civilized manner and at least keep the student body's reputation intact. Such immature actions as those that occurred only serve to embarrass the college deeply. The school, a student-run organization, private donors or a combination of the three have invested tens of thousands of dollars (some speakers' fees, such as Ann Coulter's, range from $25,000 to $50,000) to provide students and community members with a unique opportunity to broaden their horizons in a manner that they may not be presented with on an everyday basis.
Instead of intelligent, probing questions that politely press the speaker to explain their position further, refute a counterargument, or challenge the guest to defend a certain point, these individuals opted for food projectiles.
While some might consider these incidents to be isolated, (and in terms of pie-throwing, they are), many conservative speakers are no stranger to disruptive protests, hecklers and rude, deliberate interruptions. News stories about all of the pie-throwing incidents and other speaking engagements by conservatives also mention shouting and using air horns and cell phones to disturb some of the seminars. At some events, such as other lectures by David Horowitz and Ann Coulter, campus police had to remove loud protesters.
In contrast to childish, inappropriate antics by, as Ann Coulter describes them in a recent column, "2-year-olds in high chairs throwing food," famous liberals such as Michael Moore invited to speak at college campuses have faced demonstrations outside lecture halls, but have yet to be attacked with a pie or condiments.
In all fairness, some students and community members have objected to Moore's appearance at some colleges, such as this University, but primarily because of university budgetary concerns (he offered to speak at the University last fall for $50,000, which would have severely limited UPC's budget for other events). In the same way, groups wishing to bring in conservative speakers usually have to raise the funds on their own without school financial support.
Intellectual diversity and an open dialogue with acceptance of all beliefs will only be realized when college students decide that they'll actually listen to alternative views, instead of shutting up a guest espousing opinions they piously condemn with infantile aggression.
Whitney Blake is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.
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