2008 Woodie Awards
University should encourage free speech
Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Opinion
For the last several years, UST has defined itself by the three Cs: "classic, Catholic, cosmopolitan." The University uses that image to attract new students and create a place for itself in the surrounding neighborhood.
However, recent events, such as the cancellation of a speech by Latin American civil rights pioneer Dolores Huerta, seem to suggest that, in reality, only one of those Cs really matters.
We call it false advertising.
President Robert Ivany said he made the decision to cancel the speech, just days before the scheduled date, because Huerta had taken a pro-choice stance on abortion, thereby defying the official opinion of the Catholic Church on the subject.
Perhaps most important to note is the fact that Huerta, a contemporary of Cesar Chavez, is considered an expert on immigration rights and a celebrated hero of social justice. Appropriately, she was invited to speak at UST on those topics, and said that she did not intend to make abortion any part of her speech. Is it to be expected that all on-campus speakers hold only views that are in accordance with Catholic teaching, even if their speeches are completely unrelated to Catholic doctrine? It did not even seem to matter that Huerta herself is a devout Catholic mother of 11.
A university is not a church. On a college campus, debate and difference of opinion should be encouraged, not stifled. Without free speech, it is impossible to expect students to form opinions. UST, an institution that claims to be focused on "educating leaders of faith and character," should have enough faith in its students to allow them to make their own decisions.
In fact, UST is denying its students valuable opportunities to hear speakers such as Huerta, while hiding behind the Catholic bishops to do it. A college campus is not the place for fundamentalism, and using religion to justify cheating the students out of valuable opportunities is a shameful act by the people in charge.
The fact that Huerta spoke at three of UST's benchmark institutions' campuses- St. Edward's University, St. Mary's University and Loyola Marmount University-- should say something to the decision-makers. The schools this University desires to emulate are clearly doing something right, so why does UST choose to go the opposite direction and do something wrong?
We think it is high time the University got its priorities straight, and found a way to maintain its allegiance to the Catholic church while still acting in the best interest of the students who pay its bills.
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Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Cauldron editorial staff. All other columns and opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the author.
However, recent events, such as the cancellation of a speech by Latin American civil rights pioneer Dolores Huerta, seem to suggest that, in reality, only one of those Cs really matters.
We call it false advertising.
President Robert Ivany said he made the decision to cancel the speech, just days before the scheduled date, because Huerta had taken a pro-choice stance on abortion, thereby defying the official opinion of the Catholic Church on the subject.
Perhaps most important to note is the fact that Huerta, a contemporary of Cesar Chavez, is considered an expert on immigration rights and a celebrated hero of social justice. Appropriately, she was invited to speak at UST on those topics, and said that she did not intend to make abortion any part of her speech. Is it to be expected that all on-campus speakers hold only views that are in accordance with Catholic teaching, even if their speeches are completely unrelated to Catholic doctrine? It did not even seem to matter that Huerta herself is a devout Catholic mother of 11.
A university is not a church. On a college campus, debate and difference of opinion should be encouraged, not stifled. Without free speech, it is impossible to expect students to form opinions. UST, an institution that claims to be focused on "educating leaders of faith and character," should have enough faith in its students to allow them to make their own decisions.
In fact, UST is denying its students valuable opportunities to hear speakers such as Huerta, while hiding behind the Catholic bishops to do it. A college campus is not the place for fundamentalism, and using religion to justify cheating the students out of valuable opportunities is a shameful act by the people in charge.
The fact that Huerta spoke at three of UST's benchmark institutions' campuses- St. Edward's University, St. Mary's University and Loyola Marmount University-- should say something to the decision-makers. The schools this University desires to emulate are clearly doing something right, so why does UST choose to go the opposite direction and do something wrong?
We think it is high time the University got its priorities straight, and found a way to maintain its allegiance to the Catholic church while still acting in the best interest of the students who pay its bills.
-----------------------------------------------------
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Cauldron editorial staff. All other columns and opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the author.