UWM and Shoebat: When Money Doesn't Talk, It Stifles

When a controversial figure is scheduled to speak at UWM, and the Muslim Student Association is pressuring the university to cancel the event, how do officials deal with the situation?

They take the easy way out.

They try to kill the event in a roundabout way by applying an unusually high security fee.

UWM officials are raising the price on free speech.

It's a cowardly move.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A student group at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that invited a controversial speaker to campus is protesting the school's demand for extra security fees, saying the university is trying to kill the event and stifle free speech.

UWM's Conservative Union, a student group that promotes conservative issues, invited Walid Shoebat, a former Palestinian Liberation Organization member who speaks on "Why I Left Jihad," to lecture on campus Dec. 4.

Shoebat, who has spoken at several universities, has raised the ire of some Muslim organizations because of his anti-Islamic message. At a speech in Missouri in September, Shoebat equated the religion with the Antichrist.

"We wanted to bring him in as an example of how a person can change and bring him in to speak about terrorism," said A.J. Piwarun, 23, president of the Conservative Union.

UWM imposed a $2,500 fee about two weeks ago on the Conservative Union, a figure UWM Union Director Scott Gore acknowledged is unusually high but said is required to pay for extra security, including campus police and metal detectors.

"The idea that we're trying to impede the process is wrong," Gore said. "We have to maintain some level of security in case there (is) a protest."

...Tyler Draheim, chairman of UWM's student-run Senate Appropriations Committee, said the price varies for what student organizations must pay to bring in a speaker. He said the "usual" price is between $300 and $500, and no higher than $1,000.

"(The price) kind of does surprise me," he said. "It's good that they're looking at security, but forcing the group to pay this out of pocket kind of hinders this event from happening."

Piwarun said the fee is exorbitant and the need for security is overhyped. He accused the university of discriminating against his group for its views.

"They've been creating many hoops and hassles for us," Piwarun said. "We believe they're picking us out because of our political beliefs."

It appears that the university is bowing to the demands of the MSA.

I don't think there's any question that the exorbitant fee is an effort to prevent Shoebat's appearance.

...If the Shoebat program happens as planned, the Muslim Student Association will not protest but plans a forum after the lecture, where speakers will address questions on Islam, Elsayed said.

"The main issue is safety for us and for others on campus," he said. "Where is the boundary between freedom of speech and hate speech?"

No protest has been sanctioned by the MSA. Does that mean there wouldn't be a protest?

If so, there's no need for the excessive security and the high price tag for the Shoebat speech.

However, if Shoebat does speak at UWM, there will no doubt be protests. They just won't be officially organized by the MSA, a convenient to shirk responsibility and give the appearance of taking the high road.

These claims of Shoebat's program raising serious safety concerns for Muslim students and others are crap.

They should worry about being the victim of a robbery on campus (a much more likely occurrence), not being the victim of violence because Shoebat speaks out against Jihad.

What's really stupid about this whole thing is no one needs Shoebat to point out the reality that there are radical Muslims engaged in Jihad against the United States.

The MSA should consider every suicide bomber in the Middle East as a threat to their safety. Every time there's a reference to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., they should feel threatened.

In fact, the greatest threat to their safety may be the Mujahideen, the very people that Shoebat is condemning.