Jessie Leach et. al
jleach@uwyo.edu
I would like to open this letter to the editor recognizing that ASUW did a great thing at their meeting Tuesday night in voting in favor of helping fund Turning Point USA’s speaker event- Dennis Prager speaking on “Why Socialism makes People Selfish.” This letter is not intended in malice towards the student government that eventually did vote in favor (Sens. Blazovich and Westlake excepted) of our event.
ASUW, as an institution, professes to represent all students and support the introduction of new ideas and diverse viewpoints. They profess to do this accurately.
Some senators did not reflect those otherwise honorable intentions at their meeting and, in fact, allowed personal prejudices and hypocrisy to guide their questioning of our event Tuesday night.
The event was riddled with paltry complaints of the title being “too provocative” and the event making some students feel “uncomfortable.” Even the safety of the event- a guest speaker event- was called into question. I can assure you that any fear of safety is not due to possible violence on our end, rather, the possibility of violence on the Leftists’ end.
Dennis Prager ought not be considered a controversial figure. That allegation was undoubtedly motivation for some of the apprehension many senators exuded Tuesday night. We had Bernie Sanders, an unabashed, self-proclaimed socialist visit our campus during the 2016 campaign season. Was he not controversial? Who bestowed upon some of the senators Tuesday night to declare what is controversial and what is not? Determining something to be controversial can not achieved from the top down. Is not William Missouri Downs controversial? Are not his plays? Yet, his events go on without so much as a whisper from administration.
College of Health Sciences Senator Blazovich was so bold as to try to throw the book at us, referencing finance policy in order to get us shut down. That finance policy says that events must benefit a diverse population. The charge that our event would somehow not benefit a diverse population was not levied on the funding request before us- Diwali Night. Diwali Night aside, if we are to base all funding of events off of whether or not they serve as benefit to a diverse population, we might as well cease any funding of events that are in any way interest niche. Senator Blazovich ignores that there is a sizeable population within the student body who hold opinions that might be contrary to his own, who would like to see this speaker brought to campus and offer a perspective not typically seen in academia, and he allowed that to poison his vote.
The aforementioned senators and the others visibly held animosity towards the proposed event will surely attempt to dodge these callouts. They will likely hide behind such talking points as “we were only seeking to give this event due, diligent consideration,” or “an event like this, for this ticket price ought to be thoroughly examined.” Do not fall for these facades. The intent of putting me and, indirectly, all conservative students on campus under undue pressure and enhanced scrutiny was perceivably to silence us or make us feel so uncomfortable as to be wary of seeking ASUW aid for an event in the future.
It was not in line with ASUW beliefs of free speech. It was not amiable towards nurturing a marketplace of ideas or diverse opinions.
I would hope that those who are in the colleges of the aforementioned senators and that we as students who elect the ASUW legislative body look with scrutiny on the legislative body, those senators in particular.
The actions of some senators Tuesday night set precedent, or, ought to set precedent for all RSOs bringing any speaker to campus. The next time Jazz Advocates of Wyoming (or any RSO) wants to bring a guest speaker or performer, I expect to see the same level of polarized examination brought upon their event as well. Because, surely, despite the wide variety of RSOs on campus, each RSO has to take into account the interests of their fellow RSOs and how they might benefit from their event.
