Letters to the Editor: Speaker bans by UC Berkeley law student groups — really?
Friday, October 30, 2009
I have often wondered if the so-called student-led groups are any more likely to make the right choices for their organizations than the staff do.
It’s certainly no secret that many of these organizations are comprised of the law school students’ friends. If a group is so-called student led, then its officers are by definition a mix of campus-connected and students, and I’m sure it is largely made up of students who have been brought up in our law school.
I am amazed that these groups could form to advance the agenda of the law school administration, or be expected to be more discerning in their selection of speakers.
The fact is, many students who attend law school feel disenfranchised by the administration. Our “social justice,” “anti-capitalistic,” “anti-consumerist,” “pro gun,” “pro-life” and “pro diversity” groups are just as concerned as everyone else that our students are not being allowed to attend with their friends.
The fact is, these groups are a product of the school’s administration, not the students. They need to be more thoughtful in selecting speakers and their agendas, because I can guarantee you that these groups will do exactly that. More importantly, though, it is the faculty that matters, not the students.
I’m glad that they have decided to support the Second Amendment – but they need to be more considerate of the students and their personal and community interests.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
First, a note to my friends on the left.
I would ask that you support the First Amendment right of free speech instead of your hatred for Bill Maher.
The Left – the ACLU, the NAACP, the ACLU of California, the ACLU of New York, the League of Women Voters, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Education Association, the National Organization for Women – the Left is not just a hate group, it is not just a political party. The Left is a progressive political movement, and like all progressive movements, it does not have a monopoly on the truth.
Second, I find it amusing that you can’t get someone’s thoughts on a blog.
But
