Religious Tolerance at Cornell

mrsopresident
Tue, 13 May 2008 11:21:44 +0000

“as for the review and the college republicans, those two groups have really weak membership…i’ve been to their meetings”

You must admit though, that for a group (referring to the Cornell Republicans, not the Review) with such a “weak” membership, they’ve been able to pull off remarkable things, as opposed to say the Cornell Democrats (a group with a significantly higher membership). This past year alone, among other things, the Cornell Republicans brought big name speakers to campus, including Mike Huckabee and John Ashcroft. And these guys did not come cheap! Imagine what the group could do with the numbers the Democrats had.

You definitely don’t see the Democrats, with their stronger membership, doing similar things. So, even with what you call a “weak” membership, the Republicans have certainly made a name for themselves on campus.

“If you say something ridiculous, sure, someone will say something, but otherwise, differing views are fine.”

I’d challenge this notion too. The Republicans put up signs supporting conceal/carry (the measure in the SA basically called on President Skorton to change Cornell’s policy should the laws of NY State and Tompkins County change). Within minutes of placing the signs on the Arts Quad, people came by and tore them down, shouting disgusting comments at CR members in the process.

Additionally, when John Ashcroft came to campus to speak, a fairly large number of students stood up, placed black hoods over their heads and stood in protest over Ashcroft’s appearance. In doing so, these protesters blocked the view of many people (and not all supporters) who came to see Ashcroft speak.

These acts are drastically different from the way the Cornell Republicans respond to similar events on the opposite end of the political spectrum. For instance, when protesting the “Anal Sex” event, the Cornell Republicans stood outside of the event room and respectfully demonstrated. Members did not go into the room with the purpose of disrupting the event, and members did not disrupt the event: People who came out to see the presentation were not denied in any way!

I bring up these parallels because the Cornell Republicans represent the conservative voice on campus. I think showing the stark differences between the way groups (those who identify themselves as liberal) respond to the CRs, and the way the CRs respond to other groups, helps to strengthen my argument that, by and large, people are open-minded only towards those like them.