If This Was A Pro-Life Person You Can Bet He would Have Already Been Expelled:
The above video shows UW-Stevens Point student senator Roderick King damaging a Pro-Life display & trying to justify his attempting to stop Pro-Lifers from exercising their right to free speech. In King's view Pro-Lifers have "no right" to free speech. "The freedom of speech does not cover these signs and symbols," said King.
Funny, but I thought that the very idea of "Freedom of Speech" as found in the 1st Amendment was to protect political speech just like this.
So what has been UW-Stevens Point's response. 1st of all, as you notice in the video, the University's Protective Services did zilch. & it doesn't get any better.
That evening, after the vandalism, Pointers for Life (the student orginization sponsoring the display) filed a complaint with the Student Government Association (SGA). Thay also asked for King to resign or face discipline from the body. So far the SGAor Student Senate has yet to do anything.
The administration hasn't behaved much better. They have issued a statement. In it they say: "The university values free expression and the open exchange of ideas. Pointers for Life is a recognized student organization that followed university procedure in staging its event." They go on to say: "The student who disrupted the display not only exhibited poor judgment, but demonstrated intolerance that is unacceptable on the UWSP campus." They also said that "University disciplinary procedures are being followed." & then said school policy prevents them from making the disciplinary actions public. Given that he is still a senator, apparently that isn't a part of the disciplinary actions.
Actually, that last bit is a cop out as far as I am concerned. Private colleges are 1 thing. This is a public university, funded by taxpayers money. If a student had attacked & vandalized a gay rights display you can bet he or she would have been publically expelled by now. & the reason given would be to make the student an example. There would have been no privacy policy concerns there. But, what if they had made the same claim & refused to say anything about their disciplinary actions? The outcry against UWSP would have been loud, strong & made national & international news. Wisconsin legislators would have been calling for an investigation & threatening to cut off funding to the university.
What Rodney King did was vandalism. That IS a crime, on or off campus. & in my opinion UWSP is using privacy as a cover for their inaction. Why? Because they won't admit it, but they are just as opposed to the Pro-Life position as Rodney King. & they only reason they even allow a Pro-Life group is because they know they would face legal actions if they didn't.
UWSP needs to do more. I don't expect it will until they are forced to. & that will only happen when it is clear to them that inaction will be more harmful to them than doing what is right. Until they see that not doing more to discipline Rodney King will hurt them financially (Donors take note), they won't act.
posted by Al @ 3:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home