Vol. 128, No. 56 Tuesday, October 30, 2018
OPINION
SPORTS
ARTS & CULTURE
The hard balance between free speech and student safety
CSU defense can’t get out of their own way
Halloween at the Lyric: ‘Rocky Horror’
page 6
page 11
page 14
Dennis Prager speaks at Turning Point USA’s event in the Lory Student Center on October 29, 2018. PHOTO BY ANNA BAIZE COLLEGIAN
Dennis Prager addresses student concerns, leftism on campus By Natalia Sperry & Stuart Smith @CSUCollegian
Colorado State University’s Turning Point USA chapter hosted conservative talk show host Dennis Prager Monday night in the Lory Student Center Ballroom. During Prager’s talk titled “Why America Needs Traditional Values to Triumph,” he discussed his views on freedom of speech and the use of student fees to fund his appearance. Prager said that labels like racist, xenophobic and homophobic — which he said have falsely been
attributed to him — are used to prevent people from interacting with conservative ideas that differ from their own. “One of the many differences between the left and the right, is the right wants to hear the left,” Prager said. “The left doesn’t want to hear the right because we might change their mind.” Prager read aloud from a Collegian article, which quoted several students who came before the Associated Students of CSU Senate Oct. 4 to express concerns about the event. Prager questioned Luce Stone, a junior anthropology major and
employee at the Women and Gender Advocacy Center, who asked the ASCSU Senate, “Is engaging in debate worth risking the safety and well-being of our queer, Muslim and female students, especially with the events of the Charlie Kirk event last spring, which brought Neo-Nazis to campus?” In response, Prager said people who believe those statements are lying or falsely think they’re telling the truth. “Is the safety of queer, Muslim and female students jeopardized by my appearance? That’s beyond belief,” Prager said. “My life, as corny as it sounds, has been dedicated to
goodness. The thing I most care about is that people treat each other good … It’s like living in a world of absurdity.” Prager said that, while he is religiously opposed to same-sex marriage, he and his wife are the godparents of a gay couple’s two children. In regards to claims that he would make female students feel unsafe, Prager addressed what he claims to be the lie of rape culture on college campuses and claims that he supports marital rape. “Now here’s an example where I believe that they don’t believe their lies, and I’ll tell you why: Why would any female attend a rape-cul-
ture college?” Prager asked. “Why would any parent of a daughter, why would anyone in America send their daughter to a rape culture?” During the Q&A session that followed, one student referenced a video played earlier in the night from Prager University called “Why I Left the Left” by Dave Rubin. The student asked why conservatives shouldn’t have to support things such as baking cakes for gay marriages while students should have to pay $13,999 to bring Prager to campus, on the basis of free speech.
see Prager on page 5 >>
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