UC Irvine seeks to suspend Muslim student group

[Frank Booth]

Source: LA Times

The Muslim Student Union at UC Irvine should be suspended for one year for its involvement in repeated disruptions of a February speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, according to a disciplinary report released by the university.

The Muslim Student Union has appealed the recommendation.

The speech about U.S.-Israeli relations was interrupted 10 times by students who got up and yelled out things like, "Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech."

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/uci-seeks-to-suspend-muslim-student-group.html

[Big_Mike]

1. Reading the letter published by UC Irvine

I agree. They should be suspended for a year. At least. From what I read in the letter, the MSU planned and executed acts to keep people from hearing Ambassador Oren.

[Rage for Order]

2. Universities are supposed to support the free exchange of ideas

Not the shouting down and intimidation of people expressing ideas with which one does not agree. If the MSU learns how to interact like grown ups maybe they can get reinstated.

[FBI_Un_Sub]

3. Disrupting a speaker

is not the free exchange of ideas.

[Rage for Order]

4. My point exactly n/t

[burnsei sensei]

5. You'd better not tell that

to the Muslim Student Union.
They're in possession of final truth, and they'll make sure you know when to shut your own mouth.

[EFerrari]

6. That's bad crowd control, not an excuse for suspension.

UC Irvine needs to learn how to interact like grown ups.

[Rage for Order]

7. How do you prevent people from shouting down a speaker?

My guess would be that they used either the MSU Facebook page, university email servers, or some other social media to plan their disruption and didn't think the university would be paying attention.

From the article in the OP:

"Eleven UC Irvine and UC Riverside students were arrested and cited for disturbing a public event, but none have been charged. The student group maintained that the disruptions were done by individuals and not organized by their group, but the report cited internal Muslim Student Union e-mails and meeting agendas that indicated they planned a disturbance."


I suppose the university could have a security officer standing behind every attendee in the audience in the event that someone tries to disrupt the speaker, but that doesn't sound very practical. I vote for allowing people into the event under the assumption that they will act like adults, since that's what they're supposed to be by the time they get to college.

[EFerrari]

11. You don't. You secure them and have them leave the audience

if they are disruptive. That's the job.

[hack89]

14. So the disrupters pop up one after another every 5 minutes

and you spend an hour handling 20 disrupters. And the audience never gets a chance to listen to the speaker.

[Blandocyte]

15. You could Taze them, Bro

Kidding. Kidding!

[burnsei sensei]

16. The manufactured mob enters

American discourse again!

[alp227]

8. Things like this only give the anti-intellectual right wing (i.e. David Horowitz) more power

If the Muslim org wants to oppose an Israeli speech fine with me. But they shouldn't be heckling him like that. There are better, more civilised ways to express opposition to such views, such as setting up a table outside of the auditorium or something.

[TiredOldMan]

9. They have done this many times at UCI.

A good friend of mine has worked there for over 20 years. That group has done this and worse many times in the last two years. They frequently harass and try to bully people around campus they disagree with.

This incident was just the last straw. Hopefully they learn to control themselves after the suspension.

[McCamy Taylor]

10. Will the Knesset get suspended for a year for heckling this speaker?

Here is the You Tube link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRf0aB3BNEY&feature=player_embedded

No one has a monopoly on rudeness. However, Muslims are the most oppressed ethnic minority in the U>S right now. Real essay targets. Almost no one will stand up for their rights for fear of being labelled a "terrorist sympathizer". One day we will look back at this as the same as McCarthy era red baiting.

I am sure I can find plenty of links about college students heckling speakers.Most of them do not get suspended.

[Chef Eric]

12. There is a difference between heckling by individual students and an organized disruption.

The article states that the university has evidence of an organized disruption, thus the suspension.

[jazzelle]

13. This kind of tactical disruption is common in certain countries

and often leads to violence.