Like most conservatives at Madison, one of my main gripes with this campus is that its liberalism only applies to Liberals. Nothing could have demonstrated this better than the events on Friday night when the College Republicans brought Michelle Malkin to campus to speak on immigration. In true democratic UW fashion, there was plenty of time for Q and A afterward. At this point things, as they normally do, got interesting. The lecture had been laden with rude remarks from the audience, but nothing was more offensive than when a student used his 15 seconds of fame to yell clarification of his sources to the invited lecturer: “A review of the book, you dumb fuck.”
I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.
Ignoring the hostility that is normally evoked at conservative events, I find this event alarming for reasons beyond its political resonance. Sure, we’ve grown up in an age where profanity has become increasingly more commonplace. That an individual feels this is appropriate language for any instance is certainly a reflection on his own discretion; that it could enter the mind of a student of this supposedly acclaimed university that such prose should be invoked against an invited and distinguished lecturer should cause us all to balk.
Now, this kid is probably just an idiot with no filter between his (small) brain and mouth. Or maybe he was drunk. Either way, I don’t want to be affiliated with him. And as a fellow student, neither should you.
How can it be acceptable that there are those among us who blatantly disregard the liberal ideals that have secured this institution’s primacy? It should be of concern to us all that a student uses cheap, profane language when he is representing the university. What it certainly should do is cause reflection: What has happened to UW?
The liberal exchange of ideas is something in which students have always taken great pride. Why then, at moments when these exchanges are possible, are they marked by enmity and ignorance? My experience at this university has been marked by events like what ensued Friday night — hostility and pettiness where thoughtful discussion could have occurred.
The national acclaim UW has garnered would suggest that the student population is a highly intelligent group. As the hallmark of political universities, the capacities for discourse should be widespread. However, if liberal tradition is going to dictate that this is the new lexicon of political discourse, I am deeply afraid for the progeny of this institution.
Mattie Duppler
College Republicans First Vice Chair
920-915-3557
