Voice of controversy [ANN COULTER begins YAF tour @ Loyola L.A.: Coming soon to a college near YOU!]

Los Angeles LOYOLAN ^ | 11/30/05 | Rachel Jones

[RonDog]

From www.laloyolan.com:

Voice of controversy

Right-wing speaker will come to campus in January

By: Rachel Jones

Issue date: 11/30/05 Section: News

LMU will soon welcome the voice behind arguably the most feisty Barbie doll ever made. This January political commentator and outspoken conservative Ann Coulter will speak on campus in the Loyolan's fourth annual First Amendment Week.

Coulter signed on to speak last Wednesday, Nov. 23. First Amendment Week will be held Jan. 16 to 19, with Coulter speaking in Burns Back Court on Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The Loyolan is in the process of recruiting a liberal speaker for the same event.

Dr. Evan Gerstmann, the chair of the Political Science Department, spoke at the Loyolan's inaugural First Amendment Week in 2003.

"The First Amendment is at the core of any university's mission. Without the right to speak one's mind openly and to hear unfamiliar ideas, we don't learn and grow as people."

Gerstmann described Coulter as a "polarizing figure."

"I view her as having a detrimental impact on public discourse," he said. "She is often dishonest in her rhetoric and chooses to attack opposing ideas in the most extreme terms rather than look for common ground."

Loyolan Managing Editor Natalie Nordseth arranged Coulter's visit.

"We chose Ann Coulter because we knew she'd get people's attention," she said. "Coulter's speech will help remind the student body what the First Amendment allows, and I hope that it will encourage students to really think about their rights."

Coulter has written four New York Times Booklist bestsellers, most recently "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)." Coulter currently writes a weekly column for Universal Press Syndicate. She has made guest appearances on a variety of television shows, from "Wolf Blitzer Reports" to "The O'Reilly Factor," and has been profiled in Harper's Bazaar and Elle magazines.

Tres Lillard, a junior communications major, is a big fan of Coulter. "I'm excited," Lillard said. "She's a blast to watch, she's really witty…she's become the big mouth for the Republican Party, which is something we haven't had for a while."

Coulter has a reputation for being a divisive public speaker. In October 2004, two University of Arizona students threw pies at Coulter while she was giving a speech in front of 2,500 people at the university. The men missed Coulter, but were arrested and spent the night in the Pima County Jail. According to the Daily Wildcat student newspaper, a student group known as "Al Pieda" claimed responsibility.

In a column after the incident, Coulter said, "Fortunately for me, liberals not only argue like liberals, they also throw like girls."

"Ann Coulter will probably offend many students," said Loyolan Editor in Chief Stephen A. Murphy. "But that's OK. This goes beyond liberal versus conservative, this is about our rights as Americans."

Murphy said that the Loyolan's First Amendment Week was made possible due to the "overwhelming success of our business staff" and the "cooperation and support of Student Affairs."

Even some of Coulter's employers have had trouble with her strong words. MSNBC fired Coulter after she told a disabled Vietnam War veteran, "People like you caused us to lose that war." She was also let go from the conservative online magazine National Review in October 2001 when she gave this suggestion on how to deal with Muslim terrorists: "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

A letter to readers on the magazine's Web site maintains, "It was Ann who decided to sever her ties with National Review-not the other way around." USA Today hired Coulter in 2004 to provide commentary from the Democratic National Convention in Boston, but later rejected her column, entitled "Spawn of Satan Convention."

Coulter attended Cornell University and University of Michigan Law School, where she received her J.D. and served as an editor of the Michigan Law Review. She lives in New York City.

[Husker8877]

You must be female and jealous. You may be a law student, but you don't sound very bright, especially if you mean what you say.

Ann is quick-witted, spot-on, brilliant, conservative, and gorgeous.

Don't be a hater, Ann Coulter rocks. (And she is SO FINE to top it all off!!!)

[jude24]

You must be female and jealous.

You couldn't be more wrong on either count.

you don't sound very bright, especially if you mean what you say.

Just because you don't agree doesn't mean I am automatically wrong.

Ann is quick-witted, spot-on, brilliant, conservative

She is conservative, and she is good with the personal insults. That much I will grant. Strip out the personal attacks, and her coulumns are otherwise unoriginal.

(And she is SO FINE to top it all off!!!)

Way too thin for my taste.

[parrot123]

Actually I dated rachel awhile back and while she may be somewhat liberal (certainly not to a fault) she's a thin, attractive woman who is very intelligent. Just remember you're talking about real people here and have a heart.

[sarasmom]

Just catching up on old threads?
Was Rachel upset at my partisan critique of her partisan published attempt at what passes for entry level print reporting?

Welcome to FR!

Please take a moment to read the home page, and familiarize yourself with the new environment you have purposely entered.

Have a nice stay!
I'll spot you two weeks before the zot, as the type of post you made to me generally come in coordinated, concentrated spurts, of short duration.