UC Davis’ open campus is breeding hate, not productive discourse
There have been a number of incidents this week where preachers have insulted students
Picture this: you’re a self-proclaimed religious fanatic looking to spread the word about your religion. Someone tells you that there’s one particular place you can go where there will be thousands of impressionable people who are more likely than any other age group to believe what you’re saying and perhaps even convert to your religion. You’d go there, wouldn’t you? Of course you would, it’s a no brainer.
What I just described is what happens when colleges allow their campuses to remain open to the public. As shown this through several obscene and disruptive demonstrations by religious zealots on campus, the fact that anyone is allowed to wander onto our campus and start preaching while under the protection of the First Amendment is detrimental to students.
We all come to college hoping to expand our horizons and I’m aware that the main counter argument to what I’m claiming is that it’s better to face what we’re uncomfortable with and be exposed to new things. While I agree with this statement, I do not think that open campuses actually foster this mindset.
The type of people who come onto campuses, un-invited, to “teach” us are not the types of people we should be listening to. They are loud, they are disruptive, they often employ hate-speech and hyperbole to get their points across. Never once have I heard one of these so-called “preachers” or “scientists” say anything that hasn’t made me want to laugh in disbelief or cry in disgust. Anyone worth hearing should be able to talk to the university and schedule a room and time to have people come listen to them speak.
These “preacher” types of people prey on college students because everyone in college is at least a little bit lost. We’re all searching for a path to follow and if someone hands us one, more likely than not we’ll take a few steps down it. Even if the response is negative and people try to stand up to these outsiders, the situation just escalates until both sides are yelling and any hope of a “discourse” is lost in hatred and obscenities.
Even if the police do arrive (as they did this week), they can’t do anything unless the situation turns violent, by which time it’s already far too late. In fact, on campus a couple of days ago, the only people asked to leave or to stop talking were students refuting the preacher’s claims or yelling back. The preachers were allowed to go on talking without any interruption.
Police reprimanding beloved campus figure “Pan Flute Man”
The way to expand your horizons and expose yourself to new situations is not through being forcefully exposed to them by virtue of an unprotected open campus. At least on our campus, most of these zealots congregate in areas where people are trying to study or catch up with friends. Instead, our day is interrupted and our focus disrupted by yelling, poster waving, or even direct confrontation. Discourse among friends and family or reading any of the countless news sites available are the true ways to become educated about new ideas.
The open campus is a fundamentally flawed idea. It is unsafe to students and promotes the idea that anybody can speak their mind, no matter how hateful, if they just yell loud enough outside the MU.