A group of conservatives at Texas A&M that planned a counter-protest in response to a protest organized by an African-American student organization has rescinded its position, saying it did not want to further divide the student body.
The African-American Student Coalition (AASC) demanded a public apology from The Battalion after a cartoon it called racist appeared in the paper Jan. 14.
The College Republicans and the A&M chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas claimed that the protests made by AASC members were invalid, and that The Battalion had the right to publish the cartoon under the First Amendment. After the conservative groups spoke with the AASC, the conservatives changed their stance and called for an end to the protests.
In a statement released Jan. 27 by the two conservative groups, Tyler Dunman, president of the Young Conservatives, said that the group would not reject the "view that the free speech rights on which this country was founded should be sacrificed on the alter of political correctness."
"We didn't endorse the cartoon, we didn't endorse The Battalion," said Shannon Dubberly,
chairperson for the College Republicans and a junior political science major. "All we were saying is that the First Amendment right, which we thought they (AASC) were infringing upon, was there.
But they agree with us. It was just a lack if communication."
The College Republicans and Young Conservatives joined and planned a press conference for Monday as a way of "condemning and denouncing" the AASC's verbal and physical protest of The Battalion cartoon.
Mariano Castillo, editor in chief of The Battalion, said the First Amendment was not an issue in the newspaper's apology in its Jan. 28 issue.
"Free speech is not an issue here. It has never been an issue. This is about whether or not that cartoon should have run," Castillo said.
Though Dubberly agreed with the apology and said it was "needed and justified," he said the AASC would only further divide students on campus by making more demands on The Battalion.
"We agree with the AASC that there are race-related issues at Texas A&M, and we want to work with them to improve our campus. We applaud them for wanting to change Texas A&M for the better, but this is not the way to do it," Dubberly said. "Dividing the student body will only result in a negative outcome."
Dubberly said the College Republicans and the Young Conservatives wanted to host a stand for unity with the AASC after the two rallies, but that the coalition declined the offer.
"The College Republicans and Young Conservatives have offered to share this audience with the African-American Student Coalition today, but they chose, instead, to further protest an issue that has already been resolved," Dubberly said.
Lyndon Pryor, president of AASC, said the offer came late Sunday night and little time was left to make arrangements.
"They did not contact us until the late evening. We didn't have time to set things up," Pryor said.
Be the first to comment on this article!