My campus had a huge fight over a speaker last semester and I was right in the middle of it

Last fall at my state school, the student government voted to bring in a political commentator known for some pretty strong views. The vote was super close, like 12 to 10. I was just a regular student, but I ended up helping with the event setup. The day before the talk, a group of about 200 students staged a sit-in outside the main hall, saying the speaker's past comments made some students feel unsafe. The administration got scared and, with only 3 hours' notice, moved the whole event to a tiny room in the library that only fit 50 people. It was a mess. People who had tickets were turned away, and the whole thing felt like a punishment for even having the debate. I mean, I get wanting to keep things calm, but just moving it felt like they were hiding the problem instead of dealing with it. Has your school ever handled a speaker situation in a way that just made things worse?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron6776d ago

Honestly, moving it was probably the only safe call. A sit-in of 200 people is a real security risk, and the school's main job is to keep everyone from getting hurt. Sticking to the original plan could have sparked a real fight or worse. Sometimes keeping the peace means making a messy, unfair choice.

claire_hayes356d ago

Totally agree with you, @aaron677. Schools have to think about the worst case scenario in a split second. Honestly, letting that many people stay put is asking for trouble, even if their cause is right. It sucks that keeping people safe sometimes looks like shutting things down. They probably felt stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no good options left. Tbh, the real failure happened way earlier, letting things get that heated in the first place.