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Walkout of Anti-Gay Event

darkrecess said:
Hello all,

I've been meaning to post this for a few days, just haven't gotten around to it.

I am a student at Sinclair Community College, where this took place. Yes, I was there. It was actually rather fun. LaBarbera was late, so we all took turns talking about why acceptance is better than vitriol and opposition. We stayed for a few minutes, then we just left.

Some claim that this was orchestrated by faculty, offering extra credit in their classes. For my part, none of my faculty members even mentioned this event was occuring, the only way I knew about was billboards around campus (like the one pictured in the 1st link below). I do know that a student advocacy group (the Traditional Values Club) invited LaBarbera to speak, and another advocacy group (the Silent Majority) were the ones who staged the protest. Both groups have faculty members.

The area where this happened was in the second floor of our library, we call it the Loggia. It can hold maybe 100-150 people, and as you can see in the picture, it was close to full when the event started, but after the exodus, maybe 20 people stayed to listen.

Mass Speech Walk Out: From Sinclair Community College To Peter LaBarbera With (No) Love

Another account (not mine):

The Dread Pirate Rodgers » How I Helped Ruin Peter LaBarbera's Day
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I'm not sure about the actual effectiveness of walking out on the man during the speech. What was the purpose? The man I'm sure already knows that the opposite size despises him and they are only lending him credence by very visibly acknowledging him and then turning their backs and leaving. It's kind of like the poster who doesn't like someone and instead of just adding them to the ignore list they have to make a show of it first by responding and saying that they are adding the individual to the ignore list. It's immature and pathetic.

Not that I like, agree with or support Peter LaBarbera.
 
Gipper said:
I doubt that there's a clause in that contract, but I would say that any I action that causes a poor reflection on the university could be a dismissable offense. That includes this, in my book.

Many professors already have limited reign to force their agendas. They don't need more.
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I guess you'll just have to wait on a statement by the president. It's possible that expressing your opinion through peaceful protest may be considered as not only American but representative of the ideals that university would like to inculcate in their student body.
 
Cardinal said:
I guess you'll just have to wait on a statement by the president. It's possible that expressing your opinion through peaceful protest may be considered as not only American but representative of the ideals that university would like to inculcate in their student body.
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Depends on the president. If he allows it, that's his right. If he doesn't, that's his right.
 
joko104 said:
LOL. Such a victory!

At least your group was civilized about it, though I think faculty arranging a protest against free speech was wrong. Faculty should have stayed out of it - and if class credit was offered to those taking one side of a political issue - thus punishing those who do not agree - it was entirely wrong and such faculty should be sanctioned for doing so.

Again, at least it was a civilized protest rather than shouting him down.
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As to the credit issue, I don't think that is true. While it is true that faculty exists in both TVC and the Silent Majority, as with most clubs on our campus, they are more there in an advisory role than a leadership one. And considering membership in Silent Majority is not dependent on classes taken, but is open to all students who wish to join, I don't think the credit issue is believable.

@ Peter Grimm - the school itself did not invite him, they simply opened their facilities to the invitation of a student organization.
 
MaggieD said:
Congratulations to college students for sending a powerful and peaceful message to this jamoke.
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agreed


really a none issue but a good show
 
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DiAnna said:
The first amendment guarantees people the right to speak. It doesn't guarantee them an audience.
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Or a particularly receptive audience for that matter, but either way this was one of the most well-heeled protest I've ever seen. There's very little to attack it for. Oh, they didn't throw apples at the speaker or boo him so that he couldn't be heard, but just...stood up and walked out? Gosh, this was surely Thunderdome.
 
Good for their free speech. Although it's rude and disrespectful to go only to plan on walking out. It also distracts/disturbs audience members that genuinely want to be there. It's just poor taste.

Grand Mal said:
Bigotry shouldn't be tolerated. It's necessary for it to be protested every time it shows itself.
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Perversion and a degradation of the moral structure of marriage and family shouldn't be tolerated. It's necessary for it to be protested every time it shows itself.

/high horse
 
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digsbe said:
Good for their free speech. Although it's rude and disrespectful to go only to plan on walking out. It also distracts/disturbs audience members that genuinely want to be there. It's just poor taste.
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From this statement one could conclude that protest is by definition rude, disrespectful and in poor taste. I'm not sure how you could dial that down and still have it qualify as a protest.
 
Cardinal said:
From this statement one could conclude that protest is by definition rude, disrespectful and in poor taste. I'm not sure how you could dial that down and still have it qualify as a protest.
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What makes it rude to me is purposefully going in and distracting someone's speech via a walkout and showing disrespect to those who do want to be there for the intended purpose. It's just poor form. It would also be rude if they filled up the meeting area preventing others from attending only to walk out and waste that space. I'm all for protest, but I don't think this is a good way to do it. Not the worst way, I would just say it was rude.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Dang that First Amendment. How dare they.
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That's funny, when it's about the walk out,you call them intolerant but when it's about the dude speaking, it's about the 1st Amendment.
 
digsbe said:
What makes it rude to me is purposefully going in and distracting someone's speech via a walkout and showing disrespect to those who do want to be there for the intended purpose. It's just poor form. It would also be rude if they filled up the meeting area preventing others from attending only to walk out and waste that space. I'm all for protest, but I don't think this is a good way to do it. Not the worst way, I would just say it was rude.
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Can you give an example of how one would go about protesting the speaker at this event in a manner you would respect?
 
I tried to have anything to say about this and all I can come up with is a giant

MEH :shrug:
 
Cardinal said:
I guess you'll just have to wait on a statement by the president. It's possible that expressing your opinion through peaceful protest may be considered as not only American but representative of the ideals that university would like to inculcate in their student body.
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Gipper said:
Depends on the president. If he allows it, that's his right. If he doesn't, that's his right.
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Hmmm, interesting. If some of the faculty were dismissed over this (which'll never happen), do you think the same people who supported getting rid of the Mozilla guy and the Duck Dynasty dude would be equally supportive of the University's choice?
 
The reactions from the traditional values folks in this thread have been utterly amusing. Feigned indifference to ridicule of maturity.
 
digsbe said:
Good for their free speech. Although it's rude and disrespectful to go only to plan on walking out. It also distracts/disturbs audience members that genuinely want to be there. It's just poor taste.
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Sure it's a little rude. It's supposed to be. It's about making a statement. Seems I hear of the delegates of one nation or another always walking out of UN speeches. Shoot, often time we expect our people to walk out and criticize them when they don't.
 
Cardinal said:
Faculty don't surrender their right to protest or boycott, and as you said the protest was completely peaceful. To all the rest, this was a controversial speaker. If the group who paid for him to come didn't want dissent they were perfectly free to hold a closed speech.
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Attendance at a university is not free and this was not a private college. If grades are to be based upon a person's political, ideological and political beliefs, only would this have to be publicized it also cannot be a publicly funded university.
 
X Factor said:
That's funny, when it's about the walk out,you call them intolerant but when it's about the dude speaking, it's about the 1st Amendment.
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Yes. Their walk out was a protest of a paid speaker. They didn't have to go to begin with.
 
Grand Mal said:
Bigotry shouldn't be tolerated. It's necessary for it to be protested every time it shows itself.
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Disgusting lifestyle behavior shouldn't be tolerated, its necessary for it to be quashed every time it shows itself.
 
digsbe said:
Good for their free speech. Although it's rude and disrespectful to go only to plan on walking out. It also distracts/disturbs audience members that genuinely want to be there. It's just poor taste.
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No it is sending a message. The students in this case wanted to make a point and they did in a quiet way. Walking out may have distracted a handful of people but that was the point or we wouldn't be talking about it.



Perversion and a degradation of the moral structure of marriage and family shouldn't be tolerated. It's necessary for it to be protested every time it shows itself.

/high horse
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I don't even know what you mean here. Do you mean drive trough wedding chapels? 8th marriages? Arranged marriages? Hmmmmm Or are you opposed to two people who love each other being blessed by their community and given legal rights that are free and open to all of the above as long as the two people have different morphology.
 
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