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Political tensions run high at Homecoming parade

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Also by Tom Schalmo:

Wiley stepping down next September (December 7, 2007)
Winter storm hits Madison (December 1, 2007)
Student reports sexual assault in Ogg Hall (November 30, 2007)
'Keep fit, thank you' (November 9, 2007)

by Tom Schalmo

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

As Election Day approaches, College Republicans members in various parts of Wisconsin say they are being attacked based solely on their opinions.

University of Wisconsin College Republicans Chair Erica Christenson said someone in a car representing state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, allegedly threw a "metal object" at the group's truck during the Homecoming Parade.

Despite the trauma, Christenson said her group has decided to let it go and move on.

"When something like that happens, yes, we are marginalized and dehumanized," she said. "I take the higher road and look away."

Yet in an interview with The Badger Herald Tuesday, Black called Christenson's claims false and said he was the one representing his campaign in the parade. He added the only thing thrown from his car were Tootsie Rolls.

"It's not true — I can assure you it's not true," Black said. "We threw candy generously."

Putting the Black situation aside, Christenson said members of College Republicans are still going on with their day-to-day business, but sometimes still worry about their safety on a historically liberal campus.

Christenson also added conservatives have been characterized by liberals as "evil Republicans" rather than simply people with different opinions.

"They think it's OK to damage our property," Christenson said. "To them, we're not even humans anymore."

Black added though Election Day is approaching, his campaign was simply trying to be friendly at the UW parade.

"Although we disagree with Republicans, we still thought they deserved some Tootsie Rolls," he said.

While Christenson said it can get "very vicious" on campus, to the point where she fears for the safety of her fellow College Republicans, she did note that there are some Democrats willing to sit down and have a serious conversation about politics.

And Madison is not only the only campus where tensions have been running high with the upcoming election. According to UW-La Crosse College Republicans Chair Mike Tellier, a 9/11 memorial the group put together on campus was defamed last month.

"I was able to get 3,000 American flags from veteran groups," Tellier said in an interview. "I get to this flag display, and three big protest signs are there against the war and depicting [President] Bush — crap like that."

Tellier said the harassment did not end there, as people began defaming an online profile by the group commemorating 9/11 with comments like "Where's Osama?" and calling members "douche bags."

Following the recommendations of the university, Tellier said he filed a complaint with the Campus Climate organization on campus, which responded by hosting a town hall meeting.

But at the forum, Tellier said the vandalism was determined to be "speech that appears hateful," not "hate speech."

Tellier said his conservative group is being treated differently than other groups would be if they were in a similar situation.

"If this was a gay group, imagine the publicity and the story this would be," he said. "Since it's a conservative group such as College Republicans, they're not treating it [the same]. It's a double standard."

Christenson said she's bothered by the situation at UW-La Crosse, as well.

"It does not surprise me," she said. "We're attacked continuously on campuses."

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Anonymous (October 25, 2006 @ 6:40am):

Christenson commonly plays fast and loose with the truth on these pages. There's no reason to believe her now.

Anonymous (October 25, 2006 @ 8:01am):

This is the ultimate problem with College Republicans - they love nothing more than to feel victimized, even while they mock actual victims of things like racism, poverty, etc. BUT when a frickin' tootsie roll gets thrown their way, it turns into terrorism, causing the poor CRs to be "marginalized and dehumanized".

Pathetic.

Anonymous (October 25, 2006 @ 9:24am):

Parade rules were very specific, they stated no one was to under any circumstances throw any thing from any vehical. If Rep. Black wanted to give candy away the rules were you had to be on foot and handing the candy to the crowd, not thowing things from a moving vehical, the Homecoming Committee was very clear about this. I'm sure Rep. Black was trying to cover for the immaturity of someone in his vehical, not trying to feed the College Republicans.

Anonymous (October 25, 2006 @ 2:15pm):

The College Republicans would like us all to know they're concerned with promoting a respectful campus atmosphere. Christenson's "We want you to vote Democrat" facebook picture, complete with a depiction of Osama Bin Laden as Uncle Sam, is just about as respectful as you can get. I commend her for associating people like me with terrorists instead of taking the low road and throwing tootsie rolls in the direction of my vehicle.

But hey, at least we can tell Mike Tellier's detractors that we know where Osama is.

Anonymous (October 31, 2006 @ 4:49pm):

I wish, just for once, that liberals would walk the walk themselves and not just tell others how to live their lives.

It is the truth: what would the administration's response be if it were a homosexual activist group which was demeaned? You know that there would be demonstrations, forced lessons in "tolerance", and new policies designed to ensure that hate speech is immediately censored...lest anyone might be swayed to a less liberal position.

Most of these liberal groups hate those with a different position all the while demanding tolerance, if not outright acceptance, of their own selfish, unnatural, and mean-spirited ideas.

Their liberal hypocrisy, lying, racist, sexist, and hate-filled ideology has been exposed for all to see.