I’ve found that courtesy and respect are generally the best ways to get yourself heard and your opinions taken seriously.
At the AU College Republicans’ most recent event, hosting Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a large number of AU students chose to completely disregard both those virtues.
You would think that being on one of the most politically active campuses in the country would mean we would have intelligent and open debates over controversial topics.
Instead, these students interrupted Gov. Brewer in the middle of her speech, shouting at her and calling her a bigot, totally defeating the purpose of having her speak.
The students were protesting Arizona’s recent immigration policies, calling them racist and unethical. What a great start to a discussion this could have been. Gov. Brewer graciously took time of her schedule to speak to us, and purposely left time at the end to hear questions.
What if these students had chosen to listen to what she had to say, formulated respectful, but challenging questions, and then asked them to the governor? The evening would not have ended with the governor leaving in a hurry, unable to defend her positions because of the students’ disrespect.
The protestors refused to allow her to make a case for her policies, depriving those of us there to learn with the chance to find out more. Personally, I wanted to hear the governor defend her policies. I wanted to hear her given a chance to perhaps explain them a little more.
What has it come to when we can’t even allow people who disagree with us to speak?
Besides the blatant disrespect for Gov. Brewer and her time, the protestors insulted the time and effort of the people who put together the event. How embarrassing for them to go to the trouble of inviting and bringing a speaker, only to have her driven out by students too blinded by hate to bother learning the opposite side of the issue.
When I came to AU, I expected to find a community that allowed for reasonable discourse. I looked forward to being able to express my opinions and have them challenged.
Unfortunately, my fellow students did not allow this on Friday and I have to say I am sorely disappointed in their performance, not only because I didn’t get to hear Gov. Brewer’s answers to the questions, but because they showed AU in a bad light.
We should encourage politicians to come speak to us, not make them worry that they’ll be driven away. If we want to be seen as an accepting and inclusive community, we should start acting like it. I hope that, in the future, politicians meet with a more respectful and genuinely inquisitive crowd of AU students that are willing to engage in a lively and courteous debate.
Julia Morriss
Freshman, College of Arts and Sciences
