Groups oppose speaker

Madelin Esquivel
Daily Kent Stater

If talk show host Bill O’Reilly comes to campus, several student groups are planning to do something about it — with petitions, letters, pamphlets and chalkings.

Representatives of the groups — including Students Eliminating Environmental Destruction, Muslim Student Association, Student Anti-Racist Action and Black United Students — met last night in the Student Center to discuss how they will show disapproval of the College Republicans’ program.

SEED member Tim Mayer, junior conflict management major, led the meeting. He said the group has to agree that the Undergraduate Student Senate’s Allocations Committee failed students by approving the $82,000 to bring O’Reilly.

But Tony Cox, president of College Republicans, said the group has nothing to disagree with.

“We went through the proper channels to secure the money,” Cox said. “Everything was done by the book.”

Mayer said outreach, through petitions and pamphlets, is the only way to stop O’Reilly’s visit.

The group began gathering signatures on petitions last week but had to reword the petition because they thought it might be considered libelous by accusing O’Reilly of being a “racist, homophobic bigot.” The group agreed the language should be changed.

The group agreed the petition should focus on the $82,000 and not on O’Reilly’s political views.

Group members are passing out pamphlets with quotes from O’Reilly when they offer the petition.

The pamphlets, created by BUS, quote O’Reilly giving advice to homosexuals: “Shut up, don’t tell anyone what you do, your life will be a lot easier.” They also quote him as saying: “The most unattractive women in the world are probably in the Muslim countries.”

Cox said the pamphlets misrepresent O’Reilly.

“The pamphlets take everything out of context,” Cox said. “They’re trying to paint him as a right-wing fascist.”

Rasul Shabazz, president of the Muslim Student Association, said there is much more to be done.

“I think the majority of students don’t know what’s going on,” Shabazz said. “There has to be more than chalk writing. Organization representatives need to take the word back to their groups. I think that this is just the start.”

The group discussed using the Student Senate’s plasma screen television to oppose O’Reilly, but when no one volunteered to look into it, they decided to table the discussion until next week’s meeting.

In the meantime, the group planned to get signatures on the petition, make chalkings and write letters against O’Reilly’s visit, focusing on what they believe to be better uses for the money.

Cox said universities like Ohio State and Akron get this caliber of speaker and Kent State should, too.

“We deserve notoriety, and it’s about time someone asked for it,” Cox said. “Bill’s views, love him or hate him, appeal to all concerned citizens.”

E-mail: mesquive@kent.edu