Ann Coulter shut down. My view from outside of Marion Hall.
Tue, 2010-03-23 21:19.I knew I was getting close to the hall for the Ann Coulter speech when I heard the chants of "Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Hate speech has got to go." That chant, along with a lack of general hygiene became popular on campuses back in the 1960s and both have remained.
A group of rowdy students were right by the stairs that led to the entrance of the hall, one held a sign that said, "THIS IS A SAFE SPACE." How ironic that sign appears knowing now that the speech was cancelled due to threats of violence and concerns over safety. Protestors were determined to shut this speech down and they did, through songs, cheers, pulling fire alarms and through threats of violence.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
When I arrived I was surprised to see such a long line-up, the doors were supposed to open at 7 and it was almost 7:30 when I arrived. Organizers had said no backpacks or laptop bags but I was hoping my press pass and my recording gear would be allowed in. I never got to test their security; before I, and hundreds of others, could get into the hall it was shut down. On the advice of Ottawa Police, the speech Ms. Coulter was supposed to start giving at roughly 7:45 was shut down at 8:45.
One of the loudest protestors outside was Sameena Topan, the young woman holding the "safe place" sign. Sameena told me she brought that sign because, "This is a space for all students from all backgrounds to come and feel welcome." Sameena went on to say that no student should feel threatened or marginalized. Asked if she had protested, complained or tried to shut down Israeli Apartheid week, Sameena first seemed shocked at the question, then answered no.
Not everyone who in the line was there to protest, most had actually come to see Coulter and among those were those who liked her, those who disliked her and those who were curious. Adam was curious, a University of Ottawa student who came with his entire political science class to hear what the agent provocateur had to say and then pass judgement.
A bit further down the line I met Tom who was there to see Coulter, describing himself not as a fan of her work but as a free speech advocate. "Let me hear anything and I'll decide what side of the argument I want to choose," said Tom. A man a few years out of school, Tom described university campuses as places for free speech and the free exchange of ideas. I asked him if that was a quaint idea of a bygone era given the views upfront, "No, we gotta hold onto our free speech. We're one of the few countries that have free speech."
Of course, free speech did not carry the night at Marion Hall at the U of O.
As usual there were also thugs in the group, one young man must have felt particularly tough surrounded by his friends with placards and bullhorns, he started to pick on an old man. The man, who must have 50 or more years older than the student, gave as good as he got and eventually one of the thugs friends told him that picking on people over 70 was not a wise idea.
While the students of U of O were successful in shutting down someone they considered guilty of hate speech, one of their professors was busy telling the Ottawa Citizen that Coulter does not come close. Errol Mendes, a professor of constitutional and international law, says Canada's criminal code sanctions against hate speech are designed to stop the sort of thing that led to the Rwandan genocide. "To me, that's the sort of speech that Canada is rightfully trying to prevent happening over here," Mendes told the Citizen. "Much as I detest everything (Coulter) says and stands for, she's not that close to the type of speech that then leads to the dangers to society as a whole."
But to the students, Coulter threatened their "safe space" so they ensured that the campus of one of Canada's older universities was not a safe space for her. Shame. Shame on them, shame on the university for letting things get so out of control.
For more coverage from journalists that made it into the hall check out my press gallery colleagues, Steven Chase from The Globe and Mail and Deborah Gyapong from The Catholic Register.
