Wednesday, July 28, 2010

UC-Irvine Urged Not to Suspend Muslim Student Union

Chronicle of Higher Education

Several civil-rights groups and lawyers' associations have urged top officials at the University of California at Irvine to drop plans to suspend the campus's Muslim Student Union over the interruption of a speech by Israel's ambassador to the United States. Campus officials decided to suspend the Muslim Student Union in June, after concluding that it had violated several campus policies, but the student organization has appealed the decision. In a letter sent to campus officials on Thursday, the Asian Law Caucus, Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, National Lawyers Guild, and other groups argue that the Muslim Student Union is being punished much more severely than other student organizations that had interrupted speeches in the past. Moreover, the letter says, the proposed suspension "would deprive hundreds of current and future Muslim students of their fundamental First Amendment right to association." University officials have been urged to take action against the Muslim Student Union by several Jewish groups, including the Zionist Organization of America.

Selected comments accompanying article:BULL! When are we going to get back to being a Nation of Laws. Break the laws, break the rules, pay the price. If this were a Christian group doing the same to a Muslim speaker they would be suspended within hours. HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS HYPOCRISY MUST WE ENDURE?

2. abelragen - July 23, 2010 at 03:42 pm

Is this organization completely open to non-Muslims? Does it allow non-Muslims to take leadership positions? I ask only because the courts have just allowed another branch of the University of California to impose such rules on a Christian group. If the same rules apply, couldn't members of Jewish and Zionist groups and their allies simply join the group and attempt to change its policies?

3. lslerner - July 23, 2010 at 03:44 pm

I don't know about the comparison of the Moslems' disruption with other disruptions that have occurred, but I've seen the video and it was about as nasty and persistent as can be. Suspension seems an entirely reasonable response; a university must take strong measures to ensure that it remains a place for free and civilized speech par excellence.
If Moslem students wish to associate, they can easily form a new organization whose by-laws don't allow for uncivilized actions against other persons trying to exercise their free-speech rights.

4. mmeisens - July 23, 2010 at 03:52 pm

If any Christians or Jews would have acted as the Muslims did and have, they would have been suspended and/or ejected right away. By the way, none of the liberal wimps would have come to their defense on some principle of "rights". What we have here is a repeat of all our past mistakes from before 9/11. We are giving evil rights which we would not give to anyone because they threaten to kill us and they are more than willing to carry out their threat. The MSU should not only be banned; it should never have been allowed to organize.

5. greenhills73 - July 23, 2010 at 03:52 pm

First Amendment/Free Speech has been used to justify every sort of vile behavior, rudeness, childishness, violence, pornography, incivility, you name it...it's very disheartening. I say suspend the group immediately.

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