You Can't Mock Terrorists At The University Of Minnesota
Yet another shocking and disgusting pushback against free speech on campus, this time at the University of Minnesota.
Allison Maass writes at CampusReform about the terrorist-mocking back cover of the Minnesota Republic magazine, deemed by a funding committee to show "an overt lack of sensitivity to the portrayal of members of the Arab world" that could "compromise the cultural harmony of the campus."
Oh, for fuck's sake.
Maass notes:
Our publication, derived from the University of Minnesota's Students for a Conservative Voice (SCV), allows students on campus to share their viewpoints no matter what--even if they are considered offensive.And no other publication on campus can say that.
...At SCV's budget presentation to the committee, we were asked about a back cover from an issue published in 2011 that pictured a man with a gun burning an issue of the Minnesota Republic with the words, "Terrorists hate the Minnesota Republic."
Other than the protection afforded by the First Amendment to print such things, the SSFC even has its own rule that protects students' rights to print content without hurting their request for funding.
"After assessing this information, the Student Service Fee Committee would like to emphasize for the group the significance of culturally sensitive discourse on a campus like the University of Minnesota, which prides itself on being home to a wide range of values and beliefs held by members that originate from countless cultures across the globe," the recommendation continued. "In the future, close attention may be paid to the content published by Students for a Conservative Voice to ensure that any material that is produced with student fee funds does not compromise the cultural harmony of the campus and to ensure that the material that is produced is not at odds with the criteria in place for receiving this funding."
I am shocked that not one person in the room during these deliberations questioned the committee's flagrant disregard for our right to free speech as it was questioning whether or not our publication disrupts the "cultural harmony" on U of M's campus.
It's clear that their statement is meant to scare students on campus from publishing or saying anything that the committee might not like.
Students should be encouraged to share their views at a public university, not threatened when they do so.
To show my opposition to religious thuggery and my support for free speech and other Western values, here's my late doglette Lucy dressed up as Mohammed for Draw Mohammed Day (I suck at drawing):
I keep trying to dress up Aida, my wee Chinese Crested, as Jihadi John, but she finds the disguise itchy and she refuses to carry the machete.
"an overt lack of sensitivity to the portrayal of members of the Arab world"
What offends me is the lack of outrage in the Arab world over what is being done by some arguably in their name.
But we should worry how they perceive us.
DrCos at March 11, 2015 3:54 AM
DrCos, didn't you get the memo? it's our fault they're terrorists and busy chopping our heads off!
I R A Darth Aggie at March 11, 2015 6:32 AM
Ay-mee Frickin' Alkon.
That is a wonderful photo. Doors closingmore soon
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 11, 2015 7:33 AM
The funding committee sees someone portrayed as a terrorist and assumes that he is a "member(s) of the Arab world".
Hmmmm.
Steamer at March 11, 2015 8:34 AM
I'd be curious to know if the university is accepting donations from Saudi Arabia.
Cousin Dave at March 11, 2015 9:47 AM
No, but Minneapolis and Minnesota in general has a very high population of Muslims. You can "draw" your own conclusion.
Lee Ladisky at March 11, 2015 10:07 AM
I'm frequently embarrassed to be a Minnesotan. But then I remember that I was born in California and know that it could be much worse.
Nick Gardner at March 11, 2015 10:55 AM
That whole *lack of opposable thumbs* thing can be difficult for the machete,
Isab at March 11, 2015 11:35 AM
"I remember that I was born in California and know that it could be much worse."
Actually we have a very low Lutheran population here so it's actually quite pleasant.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at March 12, 2015 6:50 PM
"In the future, close attention may be paid to the content published by Students for a Conservative Voice to ensure that any material that is produced with student fee funds does not compromise the cultural harmony of the campus and to ensure that the material that is produced is not at odds with the criteria in place for receiving this funding."
Once you pay the Danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane. As a former leader, some three decades ago, of the student government of the University of Minnesota, I can assure you that this tax charged to students (which in 1985 was $100 per trimester; Heaven knows how bad it is now) to "support" student organizations is as much a political football and instrument of social control as any other tax.
If the people who run this magazine want to print their content and be free of the all-seeing eye of the U of M's Young Communist League, they'll have to give up Student Service Fee funding. The Student Service Fees Committee mentioned in the article is an organ of University Student Government, not a function of the administration or faculty. This is a Workers' Self-Criticism Committee.
Grey Ghost at March 13, 2015 9:09 AM
"If the people who run this magazine want to print their content and be free of the all-seeing eye of the U of M's Young Communist League, they'll have to give up Student Service Fee funding. "
Very true. But the catch-22 is: at a lot of universities, if you are not a recognized student organization, then you are not allowed to distribute printed materials on campus. An independent student newspaper is unlikely to reach its intended audience, since they have to know where to go off-campus to get it.
(The obvious answer is "go online"... but schools can easily configure their net-nanny software to block it.)
Cousin Dave at March 13, 2015 10:19 AM
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