<p>...I have never been more ashamed to call myself a Tar Heel. If you have an open mind, don't come here. This campus obviously only accepts rabid liberalism. Speak for another cause, and you are likely to face violence.</p>
<p>What a disgrace.</p>
<p>What happened!?</p>
<p>A conservative speaker came. No big deal, until protesters broke out a window where he was speaking, assaulted police officers, and ultimately forced the speech to be canceled for the safety of our guest.</p>
<p>Oh, I see. Who was it? I’d say that’s a little too much, but I don’t know the whole story.</p>
<p>However, if it was somebody like Ann Coulter, I’d be up in arms as well. Hahaha</p>
<p>[Daily</a> Tar Heel - Protesters Stop Speech](<a href=“http://www.dailytarheel.com/news/university/protesters-stop-speech-1.1715168]Daily”>http://www.dailytarheel.com/news/university/protesters-stop-speech-1.1715168)</p>
<p>Here’s the deal: a majority of the protesters were peaceful and actually wanted to hear Tancredo speak in order to debate him afterwards. It’s just a couple of MORONS that no fan of free speech, liberal or conservative, should agree with, that were extremely disruptive and would not allow Tancredo to talk.</p>
<p>It’s stupid and I’m really ****ed that it happened, because it’s all people are going to be talking about for the next month at least and it’s going to be incredibly annoying.</p>
<p>But really, don’t discount all liberals or all Tar Heels for that matter because of the actions of a few stupid self-righteous students.</p>
<p>A couple of morons? There were at least a couple dozen people who disrupted the speech.</p>
<p>Right, compared to how many people that were there? Between the protesters outside and the dance party that went on in the Pit, most of the people were peaceful.</p>
<p>Trust me, I agree that those people that were being disruptive were entirely in the wrong. But to judge the whole Tar Heel community and assume we ALL only accept “rabid liberalism”? Not really okay.</p>
<p>I have to admit, I’m not incredibly happy with the reaction either. I am pretty liberal, but the reaction by the protesters was uncalled for. They wouldn’t let the speaker, Tom Tancredo, speak, and then the speech was canceled because someone broke a window.</p>
<p>Basically, a new student group is being started on campus. Youth for Western Civilization. The name is pretty self-explanatory, and, needless to say, a lot of students here were not happy with the group or the speaker. The group promotes western culture, whatever that means, and is anti-immigration. It has racist undertones as well. </p>
<p>As you can tell, I am strongly opposed to the group to say the least, but the opposing reaction was way too much. I love UNC, and I still think UNC students are some of the best in the country, but sometimes we take things a little too far. I have to admit, most of the people there were trying to let the man speak.</p>
<p>As a UNC parent, I am extremely embarrassed by the ignorant behavior of some of the students at Chapel Hill. This may have been a “small” segment, but it makes me wonder…there have been numerous “liberal” speakers there and I don’t recall a conservative group ever preventing/disrupting their appearance.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Exactly. There were several faculty members involved as well, shouting profanities and disrupting the event. I hope the university thinks seriously about terminating their employment.</p>
<p>this is not somethign that happens only at UNC and you cannot condemn the University for it. I attend USC and on the other-hand it’s ridiculously Conservative to the point of exhaustion sometimes. We’ve had things happen with guest speakers and protests breaking out, and then of course we have the typical man standing on the corner preaching about how we’re all sinners and we’re going to hell bc we’re not religious enough while handing out bibles.</p>
<p>you have to learn that it’s a public university and people are goign to be coming and going from campus. it’s also freedom of speech/protest etc. you cant get offended because of the acts of a few radicals and it certainly doesnt mean the university is a bad place. that’s waht happens when you get a melting pot of students–you get very diverse and radical opinions & sometimes they’re not expressed in the best way but i would never go so far as to condemn the school. yes its embarassing but dont take it so personally</p>
<p>ignorance is everywhere…to sit and say that the school only accepts “rabid liberalism” is pretty ignorant as well.</p>
<p>It’s easy to comment from a thousand miles away but I have several questions to ask:</p>
<p>Do we even know if those responsible for breaking the window were UNC students? I ask this because history has shown (Kent State for example) that outsiders with a cause often use the anonymity of a crowd of students to create their disorder. </p>
<p>Trust me I am not making apologies if this was the act of a Carolina student(s). I hope that they aren’t, but if if they are, I hope they will be dealt with quickly and appropriately.</p>
<p>My other question is, did the university adequately prepare for the amount of security that would be required for such a controversial speaker?</p>
<p>College campuses provide excellent excellent laboratories for those trying to make a political statement. What would make me even angrier would be to find out that Tancredo supporters created the melee in an effort to gain the media spotlight that were able to get.What better place to create a ruckus than at a school known for it’s liberalism and tolerance? I am not saying that this is what happened, just wondering out loud if it is a possibility. Sadly, the cynic in me has reared its ugly head, but I have a reason to be a cynic.</p>
<p>Having intimately lived through Kent State; I grew up 39 miles from there, was a good friend of one of the victims and had to evacuate her boyfriend (my best friend) that afternoon when the campus was closed, we all learned after the fact that the riots were caused and incited by outsiders who quickly disappeared from the scene, NOT KSU students. They chose Kent State for what it was, a not particularly liberal college in middle America with average college kids. It was the perfect place to make a statement and bring the bombing of Hanoi home to middle America and the nation to its knees.</p>
<p>Let’s all, as Tarheel faithful, hope and pray that UNC wasn’t used by outsiders to further their cause.</p>
<p>eadad,</p>
<p>From video and firsthand accounts of people that was there, it is clear that the only people who are to blame are the anti-Tancredo protesters. About 150 gathered in the pit and marched to Bingham Hall, where he was supposed to speak. The room was already filled to capacity, and there were 8 or 9 police officers there who told the mob outside (many carrying anti-conservative and anti-Tancredo banners) that they would not be allowed to enter, as it would be a fire hazard. The crowd didn’t like this, and tried to force their way through. Officers were forced to use pepper spray and tasers in order to prevent the mob from entering. For the duration of this time, the crowd shouted profanities and threats at Mr. Tancredo, who jokingly asked them if they were against the first amendment. While this was going on, a window was broken from the outside.</p>
<p>The facts and evidence at hand suggest that it was the hardcore, anti-Tancredo and anti-conservative UNC crowd who is to blame. Yes, not everyone at this campus was to blame, but media reports suggest that over 100 people were involved in the melee, which is a sizable amount. Apparently, some professors were involved as well, and these people need to be fired. As a conservative, I don’t want a die-hard liberal who participates in anti-conservative mob violence grading my papers.</p>
<p>As someone else said, there are no recent incidents that come to mind where liberal speakers were forced to evacuate because of a hostile conservative crowd. UNC is a place for tolerance-just not for conservatives.</p>
<p>Who said the school only accepts “rabid liberalism”? The school itself allowed the speaker to come. I don’t fault the school in any way, the blame lies with the students (or others if eadad is on target) who consider themselves so “tolerant” that opposing points of view cannot even be uttered. My issue with the school will be if there are students involved who crossed the line of legal protesting and the school does nothing.</p>
<p>And yes this incident is embarrassing–this is supposedly a institute of higher education allowing for differences----after all isn’t “diversity” one of the major goals of the university?</p>
<p>I wanted to go just to see what Tom Tancredo had to say (I’m quite liberal myself, and by no means racist)! But then I figured that Youth for Western Civilization would only let my legs in or something, so I decided to stay home.</p>
<p>cuse, were you there?</p>
<p>There were well over a hundred protesters, but not all of them were involved in the “melee”. A lot of the protesters were trying to hush the minority of the outspoken protesters.</p>
<p>No, I wasn’t there. I thought about going, but figured that some protesters would disrupt it anyways (although not like this) and decided not to. I have friends that were there, though, and heard some details from them. Additionally, the event was videotaped and is well-covered in the media.</p>
<p>Here’s what the Raleigh Paper had to say about it-</p>
<p>“Hundreds of protesters converged on Bingham Hall, shouting profanities and accusations of racism while Tancredo and the student who introduced him tried to speak. Minutes into the speech, a protester pounded a window of the classroom until the glass shattered, prompting Tancredo to flee and campus police to shut down the event.”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.newsobserver.com/news/immigration/story/1486087.html[/url]”>http://www.newsobserver.com/news/immigration/story/1486087.html</a></p>
<p>Judging from this, UNC seems like a “cutthroat” kind of place.</p>
<p>Just got a university-wide email from the Chancellor, Holden Thorpe. He personally called Mr. Tancredo to apologize for the events that occurred last night. In addition, a criminal investigation has been launched, as well as an honor court investigation. People involved in the melee could face criminal charges as well as university sanctions. Great call on his part; I’m behind him 100% and hopefully the other students and faculty at this university are as well.</p>