President responds to 'Immigrant day' event
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon posted an online letter Thursday addressing the issue of illegal immigration and the possibility of a "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" on campus.
The letter, entitled "Immigration: Too important an issue for gimmicks," expressed her negative feelings toward the "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" activity being planned by the Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF.
"You counter this (event) with an understanding and a commitment to the values of the institution," Terry Denbow, university spokesman, said. "This isn't about the event. It's about values."
In response to Simon's letter, YAF chairman Kyle Bristow said he is upset with Simon's approach.
"(President Simon) overstepped her bounds," Bristow said. "It is wrong for the president of the university to write biased comments about what she feels about the activities that student groups are planning. I'm extremely disappointed with her in the fact that she felt compelled to denounce a political belief on campus."
Simon wrote the event is a way to "mock and demean," instead of to educate.
Bristow said he feels there is nothing demeaning about the activity and that Simon shouldn't have written the letter.
"This is not about race or ethnicity," Bristow said. "Despite the president's thoughts, this is about students that want the law enforced. I believe that a college campus should be a place of debate and discussion, not one where the leftist administration should intimidate students on the issues of today."
Simon said in the letter that she feels illegal immigration should be addressed on campus in other ways that are meant to educate and inform.
Other activities, such as chalking, are being used on campus to address illegal immigration. Slogans such as "Deport the illegals" and "Speak English" were chalked by members of YAF but were washed away early Thursday morning near Case Hall.
Some students don't see this as a proactive way to bring up the issue, though.
Bryan Stone, a political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore, said he didn't know about the chalkings because they were washed away before he could see them.
"Chalking in general isn't necessarily a bad thing," Stone said. "But those are blatantly offensive comments. That's not raising a topic of discussion."
Stone said he felt YAF is being aggressive in the approach they are taking to address illegal immigration, but that is part of having free speech.
"Freedom of speech protects the things you like, but it also protects the freedoms that you don't like," Stone said.
Other counter-chalkings could be seen on campus, including one on the sidewalk in front of Case Hall that read, "Catch an Illegal Immigrant is wrong and for the Ignorant."
The MSU College Democrats are not focusing on illegal immigration at this moment, said Karissa Chabot, president of the group.
"It's not a productive use of our time to pay attention to YAF," said Chabot, a political theory and constitutional democracy senior. "The best use of our time is registering voters and getting people informed about the upcoming election."
The MSU College Republicans are also focusing on the upcoming election.
"We're focusing on getting our candidates elected," said Jeff Wiggins, chairman of the MSU College Republicans. "We have the rest of the year to address these issues. That's what YAF is for. They address the issues while we're out during elections."
Published on Monday, September 25, 2006