The officers of OUTLaw were pleased and humbled by the response our protest garnered last week. At least fifty attendees stood in solidarity with us, and that group included students, faculty, administrators, community leaders, faith leaders, and members of the general public.
Our group began to gather as guests were lining up for the event, and several event attendees took the opportunity to come view our protest signs and ask relevant questions prior to entering the auditorium. Although we are still incredibly disappointed by the SMU College Republicans’ decision to bring a speaker who contributes little, if anything, to any intellectual discussion or debate, we are confident that our protest initiated much-needed dialogues within the university’s administration, and may even lead to policy reforms in the future.
Additionally, we are hopeful that our protest helped to remedy any ill effects caused by Crowder’s appearance on campus, particularly by countering any damage inflicted upon the university’s reputation by the College Republicans’ irresponsible choice. We are incredibly proud of those who attended our protest for showing resolve and peacefully demonstrating that while we respect and value free speech, we will not tolerate hate speech without engaging in counter-speech of our own.
In the accompanying pictures, the protest sign in the shape of a tombstone lists the names of LGBTQ people who were murdered in hate crimes involving use of homophobic epithets like “fag” and “faggot.”
Our group began to gather as guests were lining up for the event, and several event attendees took the opportunity to come view our protest signs and ask relevant questions prior to entering the auditorium. Although we are still incredibly disappointed by the SMU College Republicans’ decision to bring a speaker who contributes little, if anything, to any intellectual discussion or debate, we are confident that our protest initiated much-needed dialogues within the university’s administration, and may even lead to policy reforms in the future.
Additionally, we are hopeful that our protest helped to remedy any ill effects caused by Crowder’s appearance on campus, particularly by countering any damage inflicted upon the university’s reputation by the College Republicans’ irresponsible choice. We are incredibly proud of those who attended our protest for showing resolve and peacefully demonstrating that while we respect and value free speech, we will not tolerate hate speech without engaging in counter-speech of our own.
In the accompanying pictures, the protest sign in the shape of a tombstone lists the names of LGBTQ people who were murdered in hate crimes involving use of homophobic epithets like “fag” and “faggot.”
— Joanna Pearce
