Groups rally against visit
By KRISTEN KOHRT, Journal Staff WriterArticle Photos
Several NMU student organizations gathered, including the Economics Association, Students Against Silence and the Promotion For a Non-Violent Peace Resolution.
Frank Mumford of the Economics Association stood outside selling black T-shirts that said “Student Against Hate” featuring a picture of Coulter’s face with a line through it.
Mumford said he was not supportive of Coulter’s visit because it gave the impression that the whole campus supports her conservative views.
“I’m not opposed to Republicans, but she preaches the wrong word,” he said. “It’s misrepresenting NMU. It’s saying we believe what she says.”
Students at the rally gathered around 5:30 p.m. and stayed until Coulter’s speech at 7 p.m. NMU professors — including Mohey Mowafy, a Muslim, and Paul Lehmberg, a Zen Buddhist priest — spoke informally at the rally.
In light of the theme of tolerance, Lehmberg also spoke about his interracial marriage and the prejudice he and his wife, Z.Z., who is Chinese, have come across since they’ve been together. He called Coulter a “danger if she is not exposed for what she really is.”
“Lots of people are commentators, shock jocks, but people take her seriously and they shouldn’t. People listen because she’s famous when they ought to be listening to someone who has something sensible to say,” he said. “She apparently thinks of herself as hip. I’m not amused.”
However, not everyone who attended the rally was against Coulter’s appearance. Student Joe Ashworth stood alone on the sidewalk holding a sign that said “Free Speech Even for Conservatives” on one side and “I Support Ann Coulter at NMU” on the other.
“I feel that the outrage isn’t founded — there’s no foundation,” he said. “There’s this idea (on campus) that conservative voices can be quieted.”
Ashworth also mentioned that NMU’s Student Finance Committee approved the event.
“It went through the process,” he said. “The result is what the result is — this shouldn’t be political.”
During Coulter’s speech, several students and community members walked out in waves as a silent protest against the speaker’s presence.
“There was a consensus between community members and students that we needed to make a statement,” NMU’s Progressive Student Roundtable member Rachel Hovel said. “We’re walking away from what she’s saying.”
Community member Ruth Almen said students were concerned about Coulter’s visit and what could possibly happen. She said that speech from people like Coulter can encourage violence.
“We wanted to make a statement that she’s not welcome here,” she said.
Mitch Foster, a member of the College Republicans, the group that brought Coulter to NMU, said the message of intolerance from those opposed to Coulter’s appearance was hypocritical.
“Their whole message is supposed to be tolerance,” he said. “If they have so much tolerance, why can’t they wait and listen to a different point of view?”
Foster said one of the group’s goals in bringing Coulter to Marquette was to spark more political conversation on campus. With all the events happening surrounding Coulter’s speech, he said the organization definitely met its goal.
“No one will admit it,” he said. “But this event has created more conversation and thought on political views than anything else that has happened on campus.”
