Campus Newspaper Fires Sole Conservative Columnist

self | 1/1/03 | Igor Birman

[flagbrigade]

As a former UCD student (poli. sci. '75) I applaud you for what your doing. Political Science students @ UCD were somewhat apolitical in the mid-seventies. I think we all became much more motivated and active after the 2000 Gore/Bush election debacle.

I would think you would benifit from the help of the Berkeley College Republicans and the staff at the California Patriot. They have been in similiar situations like yours in the past. I have supported them and urge all Freepers to support them, and other conservatives like yourself who aren't afraid to speak out.

Check out their website: www.calpatriot.org TO ALL ALUMNI: When calling or corresponding mention a withholding of donations until this is resolved.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

..."a tendency to enrage members of the opposing causes."

This same ability gets liberal columnists a Pulitzer.

Campuses are hotbeds of conformity.

(or is it campusi?)

[E Rocc]

Secondly, the tone of your column seems to have a tendency to enrage members of the opposing causes.

This would be true about any conservative, the nature of campus leftism being what it is today. My college paper column (mid 80s) often managed to micturate off the lunatic fringe of the time, which closely resembled the mainstream of today's "progressives".

-Eric

[sam_paine]

Eloquently freeped via email, Sir.......congrats on your firing! -Sam
-----
Mr. Vo,

I want to thank you for your decision to dismiss Mr. Birman.

The publicity surrounding the squelching of a voice of dissent has given me the opportunity to read many of Mr. Birman's editorials. His writing is insightful and obviously effective, as you so clearly noted in your dimissal notice.

An editorial writer that "enrages" the opposition with reasoned logic is an asset that American universities need desperately today. Each time the aggrieved opposition's screams in pain, it's an indication that another festering boil of illogic and ignorance has been lanced.

I know how difficult it must have been for you to edit the grammar of Mr. Birman's articles, and then ultimately be responsible for publishing their content. It must be as terrorizing for you as a child accepting a painful innoculation.

Kudos to you, Mr. Vo, for undoubtedly advancing Mr. Birman's career, and highlighting the waning ignorance and prejudice in our Universities!

P.S. Thank God we have conservative Texas Aggies to offset UCD.
-------

[pabianice]

UC gets federal money. Time to pull the plug.

[wideawake]

Let's see - the columns were "dry", yet at the same time they were so provocative that they "enraged" people.

Hmmm . . .

[adaven]

Bump

[Kryptonite]

The faulty logic in the email jumped out at me, but this is just one of many instances of universities squelching conservatives (another report about a student at ASU of Arab descent is also being discussed on FR today).

My suggestion is that you put together a few of these stories and ask The Onion to do one of their hilarious spoof pieces, for starters. I think that would generate much more attention to the hypocrisy involved in these matters than even a report on Fox News would generate.

[Kryptonite]

another example from today:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/815339/posts

[Travis McGee]

Stalin would be so proud.

[DeFault User]

Along with the appearance of a rather strong Young Republicans group, a floundering College Demorcats Association, and funny enough the decline of several liberal groups (ACLU, leftist student union, Anti-Sweat shop group) etc. I just hope that maybe in time this trend continues to the rest of the nation.

Sounds like UK has come a long way from when I was there. At that time (Nixon era) the University had massive anti-war protests and was subsequently occupied by the Kentucky National Guard. (Nobody liked the smell of tear gas in the morning.)

[bray]

Looks like Fitzgerald Ho is looking for a job at the NYT! When you can't win in the arena of ideas, censor!

Pray for GW and the Truth

[gop4evr]

bttt

[paltz]

The Dartmouth Review was started the same way. The 1st editor of the review there got booted from the lib's paper and then started his own paper with the help of W.M. Buckley and Prof.Jeffery Hart. Dinesh D'Souza talks about his experiences working for the Review in it's early days. If you haven't already, check out his book "Letters to a Young Conservative" It'll give you and your conservative buddies TONS of ideas to piss off the libs on campus. I wish I had it when I was in college.

[gop4evr]

bump

[Better Dead Than Red]

I have heard of some campuses where the Republicans, tired of being suppressed, started their own newspapers independent of the school. You may want to look into this...there may be groups with funding available for such an endeavor.



We have one at UC Davis. It is called Liberty's Flame, Igor is one of the editors and I am a staff writer. Not only was Igor outnumbered 3 to 1 by liberal columnists when he was with the Aggie, our paper is outnumbered by student papers written by the muslim students and communist students. Not to mention the other papers written by students of ethnic groups that run leftist articles and the vandalism and theft of issues of our paper. They keep trying to silence us and we keep fighting back.

[mrustow]

BTTT

[rwfromkansas]

Thanks.....I am writing a column for the school newspaper on this very issue. Good info.

[gaijin]

Wow.

I graduated from UC Davis, and wrote for Davis Republic, the conservative paper at the time. It has since gone out of print. At the time, our nemesis was The Third World Monitor, an ultra lefty rag that was paid for lock, stock and barrell by a steady stream of funds from ASUCD. The bothersome thing wasn't so much the hateful bildge they pumped out as much as the fact that I was being made to pay for it...

I really wish I could say I'm surprised at the way they treated you, but I just can't. Davis gave me some great times, and I think the area is beautiful, but I really hate the politics of that place.

I'm glad it's all behind me, now.