Editor, the Gauntlet,
I am a first-year engineering student fleeing to the social sciences. As I go from day to day, studying into the wee hours of the morning to get a good grade on the exams, I try to avoid getting into situations that may unnerve me. Sadly, I have seen something that cannot be unseen. Between the Science B building and MacHall there is a large area that students frequent and move between their classes– a pathway that I frequent as I go between my classes strewn across campus– there was a demonstration held by the the Campus Pro-Life club. It made the three-fold comparison between Hitler, the KKK and the massacre of the indigenous people. Oh, and there was a fourth and final piece that they compared these events to– mothers.
Women who chose careers, their own lives and/or refuse to battle with rapists over child support, are like Hitler. A power crazed, murderer of dozens of millions of people through his actions are like mothers who choose abortion. Wait. Let that settle and sink in, dear reader. Just let us remind ourselves what type of fringe group the CPL is and think about how they’re tarnishing the U of C’s respectability nearby and abroad by this academically-squashing comparison. Think about how they’re mooching off of SU Club money on their endeavours– money that should go to superior endeavours like Master Debaters and housing-related issues. Think about how CPL is oppressing the people that are forced to walk through their little freakshow of fallacies in order to get to class on time. Think about the level of hatred that they possess against any will toward free, democratic thought. Think about the emotional cost they’ve done, the dumbing down of this debate into infancy and the wholly concoctedness of it all.
These pictures– no, a better word would be smut– serve no purpose other than to bring some small bit of fame, retraumatize the victims and silence anyone who wants to engage in active, thoughtful debate.
I support the actions of the administration in protecting my right to education– education that I paid for and that the taxpayer subsidizes. I shouldn’t have to deal with the thought of small children passing by the images of rail-think Jews of the holocaust and the promulgation of irrational, nonsensical and anti-academic comparisons. Nor should I have to suffer through the media mongering that the CPL are attempting to capitalize on.