Coulter Controversy
Stephanie Brown
Staff Writer
ldsmag.com
Ann Coulter’s impending speech at Xavier is being suprisingly well-received by many groups.
Conservative author Ann Coulter’s impending speech on Thursday, September 6, has created a large amount of student dissent and disgust, but has also left many students excited and eager for her arrival.
Regardless of your take on the controversial speaker coming to campus, her appearance may be a blessing in disguise.
Ms. Coulter is a conservative columnist, a political commentator and a best-selling author, with works such as “Godless: The Church of Liberalism” and “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must).” She has also spent time as a news anchor for Fox News and MSNBC.
“Any time a speaker generates more dialogue about controversial topics, that’s a good thing. Academic freedom is one of the great things about the university,” said Dr. Stephen Yandell, Department of English. He believes that Xavier students will be able to rise above the controversial issues to come to their own conclusions.
“The university is a place that champions academic freedom, and the Xavier College Republicans bringing her to campus is a testament to that freedom working. Xavier has always been interested in facilitating dialogue over important, difficult and controversial topics,” said Yandell.
When it comes to allowing real and open dialogue, Yandell is not sure whether Coulter will allow a discussion to occur, but he is certain that Xavier students will be able to have intelligent conversations with logic, openness and respect long after she leaves campus.
Steve Newsome, Co-Chairman of XU College Republicans, has been one of the major players in the effort to get Coulter to speak at Xavier. “I think that the outcome of her coming to speak will be positive and will increase political discussion on campus,” said Newsom.
He believes that College Democrats and Republicans will be able to listen to what Coulter has to say and then decide for themselves what they want to take away from the speech.
John LaRocca, S.J., a well known face around campus, believes that Coulter coming to speak is an issue of free speech and that students want her to visit. “All points of view should be discussed and questioned,” said LaRocca.
In a surprising move to some, Xavier University’s Gay-Straight Alliance is welcoming Ann Coulter to Xavier. They are hoping that her visit will benefit groups that have previously been attacked.
“In a nutshell we at the Alliance love that Coulter is coming! We’ve even in fact, with the massive help of Equality Ohio, started a campaign labeled ‘Thank You, Ann Coulter,’” said Pat McNearney from the Xavier Alliance.
The Xavier Alliance, along with Equality Alliance, has raised well over $18,000 for the ‘Thank You, Ann Coulter’ event, which will be given to participating progressive Xavier student clubs and organizations on the same day as Coulter’s speech out on the greenspace.
“Our goal was to empower student groups on Xavier’s campus that seek to expand the Education and Public Policy for Equality Ohio.
“We hope the money helps students to promote real dialogue about American values like compassion and civil rights.”
“We can’t just sit on our hands,” said Brian Rothenberg, Executive Director of Progress Ohio, about Coulter’s appearance.
“We can stoop to her level, or we can take the opportunity to promote important values like diversity, compassion and equality. We chose the latter.”
“Every protest and every heckler she attracts wherever she appears means more publicity for her and bigger speaking fees,” said McNearney, President of the Xavier Gay-Straight Alliance.
McNearney continued, “We are glad to be able to do something different that is a win for the Xavier community.”
The event will be free for Xavier students with their All-Card and $5 for the general public.
Visit www.xucr.org for more information.
Student ticket pickup will be from noon to 4 p.m. on the green space on September 6.
Facebooked
Carelessness on the social networking giant can lead to big problems
Matthew Finger
Managing Editor
Last week about 60 Xavier University students were advised by the Dean of Students, Dr. Luther Smith, not to attend a party. All of these students, roughly half of which were freshmen, had been confirmed “attending” guests to a party, which was entitled “Just in case Man-Freakin-Resa is Man-Freakin-Lame,” on Facebook.
The letter, which was sent by mail to the homes of these students, warned the guests that consuming alcohol underage, and serving to underage people is illegal, and that if caught the students could face punishment from both the university and government.
Also mentioned in the letter was the mandatory and time-honored nature of Manresa, Xavier’s freshman orientation program. The party was canceled, and all students invited were informed of this cancellation.
Dr. Smith stated that he “felt obligated” to inform the students of the consequences of their behaviors, especially since many of the students involved were not only underage, but freshmen as well.
However, letters and actions like these have created concern over a possible invasion of privacy. Many students have begun to wonder whether or not Xavier University officials are actively searching Facebook.
Although there are privacy settings on Facebook, most of the information contained within the site is public, meaning that anyone who is friends with you, or in some cases is within your network, can access that information freely.
The information regarding the party was provided to Dr. Smith, and was not the result of an active search. A third party reported the nature and information of the party to the Dean of Students, and action was taken from there.
Service representatives from Facebook have stated, “[Facebook] does not grant anybody – whether employers, law officers, school administrators or even parents – any kind of special access to information on Facebook that they would not normally be able to view.”
They did add, however, “We cannot prevent people with affiliated email addresses from joining the corresponding networks. For instance, if a campus police department gives its employees a college email address, these people will be able to affiliate with that particular college’s network.”
This raises the important question of privacy on Facebook. Both Dr. Smith and service representatives from Facebook encourage students and users to update and utilize the privacy settings offered to them.
The privacy settings, Facebook states, “allows you to restrict certain people from viewing your profile or even finding you in searches.”
Students should also be careful about the groups they join and the events they acknowledge, because normally that information is public, despite privacy settings.
Information from Facebook and from undergraduate careers can have the potential to affect the futures of students. Not only do employers and graduate schools occasionally look to Facebook for pictures, comments and other information, they also often come to undergraduate universities in search of disciplinary records.
Dr. Smith has often had private investigators and employers inquire into student records, information which the univerisity is obligated to deliver.
Facebook can be a useful tool, providing a means of communication for hundreds of thousands of users.
But it can also be misused, and presents the opportunity for stalking, identity theft and, as some Xavier students have already experience, the potential for disicplinary action.
Facebook acknowledges student concerns with privacy, but encourages users to monitor and control their own privacy settings, and urges caution
John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief
Matthew Finger
Managing Editor
The Xavier Newswire 3800 Victory Parkway Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-2129 On-campus location: The Publications House, 3739 Ledgewood Dr. Telephone: 513.745.3607 Advertising: 513.745.3561 Fax: 513.745.2898 Email: John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief Ellie Jaqueth
Advertising Manager Full list of staff contacts www.xu.edu/newswire
