As the College community is already aware, conservative author and political pundit Ann Coulter is giving a lecture in Kendall Hall on Feb. 18.
A protest coalition has been formed for the event, which transcends race, sexuality, religion and political affiliation, despite some claims that the coalition is comprised of simply "the left."
As a leader of the coalition, I felt it is important to provide an explanation of the protest.
One of the arguments against the protest has been in regard to Coulter's right to freedom of speech. I assure you, her freedom of speech will not be hindered by the protest coalition.
An issue with attending the full event is that, by having a dialogue with Coulter, it legitimizes her point of view. It is my belief that her hateful rhetoric is not a part of constructive political discussion. As Michael Peters, secretary of the College Republicans, asked in The Signal on Feb. 4, "Who in their right mind would criticize Sept. 11 widows?"
The protest is proceeding to the Brower Student Center after the walk-out to have a useful political discussion. We will discuss such issues as the one Peters brought up.
Regarding the people who challenge the coalition to attend the event and ask Coulter tough questions - there are several reasons why this method is ineffective.
The primary reason is that Coulter does control the event. She is notorious for interrupting people asking her questions and skirting the actual questions. Coulter has been presented with all potential questions and already has a line of rhetoric to accompany it. Such an attempt would be far from constructive.
It is true that any political perspective can provoke one to think. However, to those who do not need to ponder whether hatred is productive or not, I implore you to have a thought-provoking political discussion with the coalition.
