Letter to the Editor:
DSA, ORG not 'left wing'
Published Nov. 17, 2009
Eric Hobbs's recent column about "left-wing bias" at MU is big on accusations but short on evidence. First off, he wrongly claims that Department of Student Activities and/or the Organization Resource Group are directly responsible for those two speakers. While I abhor Marxism, it's important to note that they merely approve funding and letting a student group on campus host a speaker. It in no way automatically means they endorse him or her. As a former Students for Sensible Drug Policy treasurer, I think I can speak from experience, although SSDP's positions are "liberal," in a sense.
If Hobbs is going to attack anyone, he should go after the groups that hosted these speakers with his complaints -- namely DSA (Angela Davis) and Karl Marx Reading Group (Jarvis Tyner).
And furthermore, how are gay rights under the realm of "extremist" or "far left"? Last I checked, at least 40 percent of Americans approve of gay marriage (or at least civil unions). Sounds pretty mainstream to me.
He claims there's no balance in speakers, but I'm pretty sure there's been at least a few big conservative speakers on campus. Didn't the College Republicans at one point host Eric Hobbs? And what about the plenty of right-leaning or pro-business speakers at the Trulaske College of Business on Tuesdays? They recently hosted an AIG executive, if Hobbs will recall.
And finally, what personal experiences or proof can Hobbs point to to show me or anyone else that DSA or ORG has a hissy fit whenever someone wants to host a conservative or Republican speaker or event? I've seen no evidence of that, and I've heard no one else claim that.
