<p>IWanttobebrown, if a group on campus raised funds and wanted to bring a fringe group on campus I would have no problem with that. However, it is very unlikely there would be support for these groups and the events would not be well-attended. I think in general it is better to err on the side of giving people the ability to speak (even if its hurtful or unpopular). </p>
<p>However, stop-and-frisk is not a fringe issue. It is one of the most debated issue right now and Brown students missed a chance to hear the merits of these policing techniques.</p>
<p>We’re not talking about a group. We are talking about “Brown University.” But if you still would support Brown University hosting a session “Understanding the inferiorities of the non aryan race” then I appreciate your consistency but still disagree.</p>
<p>And to say “Brown student missed out an opportunity” is very different from “Brown students suppress free speech.” That’s my point. I don’t buy that the “free speech” crowd is really all about “free speech.” I think it’s just a crowd that wanted to hear Kelly talk - for whatever reason, and they can be upset that they lost in this scenario, and I agree that the way they lost is not fair - but let’s not make it sound like civil liberties of Ray kelly are being revoked when they’re not</p>
<p>Universities should embrace free speech, and if Brown University thinks there are merits bringing an unpopular group to campus they should be allowed. When people say certain groups “don’t deserve a platform” it is basically just a tactic to try to silence free speech. Just because a group is marginalized or unpopular doesn’t mean that there aren’t merits to what they are trying to say. People will either see validity in some of the speaker’s argument or they will continue to disagree with the speaker which re-affirms their position. It is far more dangerous to silence unpopular groups. There was probably a point in time that saying “the world is round” would put you in fringe group. People should have the opportunity to make their arguments and present their case. Speech should not be feared. </p>
<p>The student protesters absolutely suppressed Kelly’s speech and the event is an embarrassment for the university.</p>
<p>Didn’t rule s and f constitutional, ruled judge had to be taken off the case and her rulings are not valid. I think the Appeals Court will take up constututionality later, but that’s not certain.</p>
<p>Seriously, Brown security is freaked over campus and surround street armed robbery, they advise all suspicious looking people be reported, this on the same page the descriptions of assailants are given, almost all dark -skinned males. Anyone even on public streets will then be watched, a Brown ID even asked for if loitering near a building, etc. And all by a private police force in essentially a gated community pretending to be open but in fact even encompassing public streets. And Brown parents and students want MORE security.</p>
<p>I have a question directed towards current Brown students or anyone else that actually attended this event. I applied ED to Brown just last week before any of this news appeared. Without digressing to whether or not Ray Kelly’s policies are justifiable, I do agree with the Brown president that the principle of free speech should have been maintained, and Ray Kelly should have been allowed the opportunity to express his views/perform the lecture. I am in full support of the right to protest, but in my opinion that should have been when the lecture guest was announced, outside the building, or after Ray Kelly spoke in the Q&A. My question is: How many Brown undergraduate students participated in the protests, and what proportion of the entire student body seems to support this radical manner of denying an intellectual discussion/debate in favor of shouting down people with a different opinion? I love the philosophy of education that Brown stands for, which is why I applied ED, but I am a little worried about this behavior. I think its great that the students are active and voice their opinions, but this discussion should have allowed views from both sides despite how “racist” or “wrong” one may believe Ray Kelly is. That is the same principle behind the right of every person to a fair trial, despite how sure people are that they are guilty.
Based on this video, however, I am glad that several people in the audience were in favor of continuing the lecture. It appears that there are more or less than 200 people protesting of a student body of roughly 8500. (<2.5%)
[Ray</a> Kelly Lecture at Brown Shut Down By Protest - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jMlFOZvnVY]Ray”>Ray Kelly Lecture at Brown Shut Down By Protest - YouTube)</p>
<p>@gounited
I’m not a student of course, but I can say that you shouldn’t let a single event rule your opinion of Brown. If this thing happens again, I’d say you can change your mind but as of now, this is a one-time thing. With 175+ year old colleges and young “activists”, it’s likely that there will be some blemish of this type somewhere along the lines.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice @raindroplet. I completely agree with you. In the video, it is stated that something like this has not happened for at least 15 years. What I am just trying to understand is whether or not this is a typical/accepted way of protest at Brown now. But I have a feeling that it was a just a small proportion of the student body that were a little over-zealous in their activism that caused this single disgraceful incident. I will definitely not rule out Brown solely because of this, nor do I think the entire Brown community should be defined by this incident unlike the implications of some of the previous posters.</p>
<p>Yes, it was a small group of people. Some others supported their actions but did not protest, and many, many students (including myself) saw the inherent issues with having Ray Kelly speak, but were in favor of different measures being taken, such as bringing in another speaker to debate with him. I would really not judge Brown over one event. If you feel as though it’s the place for you, you should not be rethinking your decision to apply ED.</p>