Coulter speech still drawing complaints

Conservative author Ann Coulter spoke at the IU Auditorium on Thursday, but students on campus are still talking about her controversial speech.\nE-mails, Facebook groups and even a student-led petition have questioned Union Board for bringing such a "divisive" speaker -- and at such a high cost.\nAlthough final figures are still to be determined, Union Board President Brad Allen said Coulter's speech cost around $24,000. Concerns were raised -- both in the petition and in student e-mails -- about the cost.\n"There are tons of accomplished and intelligent right-wing speakers that IU could have funded," sophomore Jaclyn Rheins said. "If this is where my money is going -- to support racism and homophobia -- then I want a refund."\nNo formal protests are planned, but concerns about funding have been raised by such groups as the Black Student Union, Muslim \nStudent Union, Women's Student Association, African Students Association and Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services.\n"For the University to pay such an individual to (attack students) in the name of 'diversity' is an insult," GLBTSSS Director Doug Bauder said.\nBut Allen said the money spent isn't nearly as much as people think. Union Board only contributed $5,000 for the event, while several co-sponsors, such as the Office of the Chancellor, School of Journalism, College Republicans and School of Public and Environmental Sciences, paid the remainder.\nAllen said the event was much less expensive than speeches from former Democratic presidential candidates Al Sharpton and Wesley Clark. He also said that if students wanted a refund, it would only amount to about $2 each for the more than 2,500 in attendance. In reality, all IU students paid for the event through student fees, which would amount to less than 20 cents per student.\nStudent fees the Committee for Fee Review allocates fund Union Board. \nAllen said he feels the money was well spent.\n"Union Board never wants anyone to be offended," he said. "Our mission to provide a diverse group of speakers with diverse ideas. It's natural for students to have differing opinions on Ann Coulter."\nDiversity Educator Eric Love said Coulter's speech didn't embrace diversity at all.\n"Ann Coulter's presentation is the type of inflammatory nonsense that has created polarization in our government and throughout the country," Love said. "The idea behind having diverse speakers is to learn various perspectives and challenge our ideas, but this can't be done when the presenter is rude, abrasive and accusatory."\nOne of the main reasons Coulter's appearance has drawn such controversy is because of her comments to the audience. When a student asked if Coulter supported a dictatorship, she responded with a jab at the way he talked, calling him "gay boy."\n"There is a line between good-humored banter and vicious behavior and Ann Coulter crossed that line during her visit," junior Alexander Murphy-Nakhnikian said. \nThree Facebook groups were recently created in response to Coulter's speech Thursday. The groups are "And Ann Coulter Thinks Liberals Are Ugly...," "Ann Coulter Speach (sic) Was the Worst Comedy Show That I Have Ever Seen," and "I Was Thrown Out of Ann Coulter's Speech."\nStill, many students support Coulter's visit to campus.\n"To make an argument that student funds shouldn't have been used because a percentage of the student population doesn't support her views would be ridiculous," sophomore Pat McGhee said. "If students had complete control over what IU spent their tuition fees on, the school would not progress as an institution."\nMcGhee said he defends Coulter's "gay boy" comment, but not her comment in which she called the citizens of Iraq our "brown brothers."\n"He was blatantly talking with a stigmatically gay and condescending manner to a person that everyone and their mother knows has strong opinions on the issue," he said. "It is unfortunate that this aspect of her speech is what most people will remember about that evening."\nMcGhee said that if anyone were to be refunded, it should be the students who wanted to hear Coulter speak but couldn't because of noisy protesters.\nOther students who do not necessarily support Coulter still support Union Board for bringing her to IU, either because it will "inspire activism" against homophobia or because it was entertaining.\n"As for the event, I found it more exciting than any of the last IU basketball games," said junior Jordan Laesch. "Having all the angry 'Daily Show'-addicted academia ultra-liberals versus the Fox News-addicted ultra-conservatives, the stage was set for a total car wreck of a presentation.\n"I am not mad that IU paid that amount of money to get her to speak, because the thing was more live entertainment that I have seen in awhile."\nAllen said he agrees that you didn't have to be conservative to enjoy the event and he heard many self-professed Democrats say they really enjoyed the speech.\nSome students might have strengthened their political beliefs after the show, but for Laesch, it only made him more apathetic.\n"By the end, I couldn't see the difference between Ann Coulter and her protesters," he said. "All I knew was my political apathy had never reached a higher point and I didn't want to be a conservative or a liberal, but at least I had gotten some free entertainment for an hour"