WSU College Republicans Press Release - 11/16/06

Washington State University College Republicans

Contact Information:
Christopher Del Beccaro
Communications Director
206-963-3026
cdelbeccaro@hotmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/16/06

Myths surrounding the Fence Demonstration

PULLMAN, WA –

Since the beginning of the controversy surrounding the fence demonstration there have been a number of allegations leveled against the WSU College Republicans that are baseless and without merit. One example is in a recent Daily Evergreen article where it was mentioned in the headline that there was an “exchange” of derogatory remarks during the demonstration. In fact there was no exchange; the College Republicans present at the event never once said anything that could be construed as racist or derogatory. However instead of responding to the facts and positions we presented, the individuals, both students and professors, who were hostile to the idea of a fence decided to call it racist and to attack the members of the club who were present personally. It is a shame that instead of engaging in a battle of ideas they chose to stoop to the lowest level of ad hominem attack.

The second myth that has been widely spread is that members of the College Republicans threatened the professors and the students who were at the event and that the club created an “unsafe” environment. Nothing could be more absurd, in fact the President of the College Republicans took great pains to make sure that the event was understood as a simple demonstration on border security in meetings with both Sean Gallegos of the CES Department and Jared Johnson, the Director of Multicultural Affairs for ASWSU. However both men chose to ignore the positions that the club took and in the case of Mr. Gallegos, to send a hysterical email that accused the College Republicans of racism and of wishing to start a race war on Campus.

As a club we are committed to the belief that everyone should feel free to exchange their ideas in an appropriate and respectful manner. We condemn all attempts to intimidate or harass anyone who was at the event however that does not mean that we think there should be no disciplinary action taken towards these individuals.

The WSU College Republicans meet at 7:30 every Tuesday in CUE 514