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Columbia Students Interrupt Conservative Speech with Chaotic Protest

October 5, 2006

by Tara Sweeney

Last night the Columbia College Republicans hosted a speech by members of the Minutemen Project, the conservative “vigilance operation” that patrols the Mexican border and monitors illegal immigration in America. The Spectator reports that the speech erupted into a brawl when students rushed the stage chanting and wielding signs that read “No human being is illegal!”
 
One student protestor told the Spectator that “I don't feel like we need to apologize or anything. It was fundamentally a part of free speech. ... The Minutemen are not a legitimate part of the debate on immigration.”
 
Regardless of whether one agrees with certain speech, silencing it by causing an auditorium to disintegrate into pandemonium is decidedly not a part of free speech. Regarding Columbia’s reaction, the Spectator wrote that, 
No one was arrested and University spokesman Robert Hornsby said that he could not discuss the consequences for those involved because the investigation is ongoing. Immediately following the event, Hornsby said that students would be dealt with under Dean's Discipline, but the response for those from outside Columbia was still undetermined. … "The specific facts surrounding the incident are under active investigation by the University, so it is premature to make any official statement regarding facts that are yet to be determined," Hornsby told Spectator last night. 
Be sure to check out the video footage of the night’s chaos on the Spectator website. We’ll all stay tuned to see what action Columbia ultimately takes.

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