Spring Break
Letter to the Editor
Issue date: 3/4/05 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 3/3/05 at 11:11 PM EST
Last update: 3/3/05 at 11:15 PM EST
Originally published: 3/3/05 at 11:11 PM EST
Last update: 3/3/05 at 11:15 PM EST
Drexel's Bias?
Editor:
In his commentary ("Drexel Democrats confused on bias" 2/25/05) Mr. Holzerman seems to believe that the Drexel Democrats were protesting Mr. Santorum's right to come to Drexel to speak.
The Drexel Democrats actually took great pains to be specific about what we were protesting, and that was not simply the senator's appearance. The Drexel Democrats support academic freedom and free speech.
We learned of the senator's appearance the Thursday before his visit, and on Friday morning we requested of the University permission to include our own speaker, to present an alternate viewpoint. We were declined the request, and organized the protest.
To be clear, we were not protesting his visit, but rather his ideas. The Drexel Democrats strongly object to privatizing social security.
The protest was a response to demonstrate dissenting opinions, as they would be lacking in the forum. The Drexel Democrats, as well as other groups involved with the protest, did not muddle the issue at hand by protesting the senator's questionable views on equal rights.
Senator Santorum's visit was not at the invitation of the university, as Holzerman says. Rather, the University accepted his offer to come and speak, as that week the senator was touring colleges to promote privatization. The University is being very helpful in arranging for a Democratic speaker to address the issue of social security in the near future.
John Llyod
Materials Science and Engineering '08
Editor:
In his commentary ("Drexel Democrats confused on bias" 2/25/05) Mr. Holzerman seems to believe that the Drexel Democrats were protesting Mr. Santorum's right to come to Drexel to speak.
The Drexel Democrats actually took great pains to be specific about what we were protesting, and that was not simply the senator's appearance. The Drexel Democrats support academic freedom and free speech.
We learned of the senator's appearance the Thursday before his visit, and on Friday morning we requested of the University permission to include our own speaker, to present an alternate viewpoint. We were declined the request, and organized the protest.
To be clear, we were not protesting his visit, but rather his ideas. The Drexel Democrats strongly object to privatizing social security.
The protest was a response to demonstrate dissenting opinions, as they would be lacking in the forum. The Drexel Democrats, as well as other groups involved with the protest, did not muddle the issue at hand by protesting the senator's questionable views on equal rights.
Senator Santorum's visit was not at the invitation of the university, as Holzerman says. Rather, the University accepted his offer to come and speak, as that week the senator was touring colleges to promote privatization. The University is being very helpful in arranging for a Democratic speaker to address the issue of social security in the near future.
John Llyod
Materials Science and Engineering '08
