Protesters expected at Coulter speech

Ann Coulter not only expects protest wherever she goes, she depends on it. \n"I love the question-and-answer," Coulter said on Fox's "Hannity and Colmes" in May. "I love to see liberals try to thrash their way to a coherent argument. And actually, I think it's fun to debate."\nThe right-wing pundit and author of such books as "Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right" and "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" will be giving a speech at 7 p.m. Thursday at the IU Auditorium called "Liberals are Wrong about Everything." \nUnion Board President Brad Allen said students are allowed to protest at Showalter Fountain and surrounding areas as long as they do not block entrances. Audience members are also not allowed to take large bags or signs into the auditorium. \nStudent protests have been rumored on a few of the five anti-Ann Coulter groups on Facebook, including the standard T-shirt and poster protests, along with less conventional methods.\n"I plan to drape a white sheet over my body, cut two holes for visibility, attach a blond wig to my head and wear a sign that says 'Coultergeist,'" said IU junior Sean Hall through a Facebook message.\nCoulter won't be the first speaker on campus to stir up protest. \n"When David Horowitz spoke at IU, people yelled and disrupted his speech, but all it did was make the protesters look bad and gave Horowitz more to talk about," said Indiana Daily Student reporter Stephanie Susman, who covered Horowitz's speech last April. \nIU professors are unsure whether protesters' actions will have a reverse effect.\n"The problem with controversial speakers like Ann Coulter is that they hope people will make fools of themselves by trying to drown them out," said journalism professor Tony Fargo. \nJournalism professor Amy Reynolds stressed that students should think about the overall effect of their protests.\n"Think about what message you want to convey," Reynolds said. "If you shout down or boo a speaker, you have to think about what you're trying to accomplish."\nIn the past year and a half, Coulter has encountered more than debate at her speeches. An audience member attempted to throw a pie in her face at the University of Arizona and a student was arrested for making obscene comments and gestures during one of her speeches at the University of Texas. Just two months ago, her speech was disrupted after 20 minutes when students blared the "South Park" song "Kyle's Mom's a Bitch" from loudspeakers at the University of Connecticut.\nFargo said one effective way to protest is silence.\n"Hold a book or magazine in front of your face, tune her out or turn around when she says something you disagree with," he said.\nCoulter said she prefers the volatile reactions from liberals over those from agreeable conservatives.\n"I've come to find I like liberals a lot more," she said on "Hannity and Colmes." "They're kind of cute when they're cold, shivering and afraid"