On Wednesday night I attended a showing of the film “Islam: What the West Needs to Know” put on by the Cal Poly College Republicans. Subject matter aside, there were about six over-zealous protesters sitting behind me who constantly disrupted the video, as well as the guest speaker presenting it, by yelling out objections, loudly laughing and mocking the commentary. I would like to direct this question at these students (I am making an assumption when I say you would consider yourselves to be open-minded): if this holds true, why is it that when someone stands before you presenting a point of view that may differ from your own, you must disrupt the peace and heckle the presenters? These students did not even attend the event to listen; when they were not yelling out, they were whispering among themselves – disrupting everyone around them. I was raised with the radical ideas of respect and decency and when one of my peers has the courage and integrity to stand up and fight for something they believe in, whether I support their cause or not, I respect them. As a guest at the event with no affiliation with the club, I commend the leadership of Cal Poly College Republicans for how they conducted the event, handled themselves and responded to the audience.
Poly Republicans deserve praise for tolerating event's disruptions