Thread: wow...the campus is in an uproar over our campaign!!!

School Newspaper Article:
(I will note some false info in parentheses)

Organization's push for tighter borders met with heated debate
Brittany Weiss - Staff Writer

At Thursday's Student Senate meeting, posters from the Drake group Citizens for Tight Borders caused a heated debate among students.

Citizens for Tight Borders is a national organization with campus chapters all over the country (false statement, friend and I started it on our campus). Their task is to uncover the current heated political issue of illegal immigration and the economic and sociological effects it has on America.

Drake currently has a temporary Citizens for Tight Borders chapter. Any group composed of at least four students can be sponsored by a faculty/staff member and recieve temporary organizational recognition.

With this sponsorship, the group is allowed to practice all the priviledges of a recognized organization for a semester. After one semester, the group must submit the required paperwork to Student Senate to recieve full approval and tpermission to run the group beyond one semester.

During the semester as a temporary recognized group, the organization Citizens for Tight Borders has used their privileges.

"The organization placed posters all over campus that highlighted alarming statistics and disturbing claims that many found offensive," said Student Body President Bryan Klopack (B4).

At Thursday's senate meeting, students and senators shared their concerns about the posters.

"The debate in student Senate centered around our freedom of speech and the question of whether they have the right to post such material or not," Klopack said.

Last week, about 300 or 400 (more like 200 actually) flyers were put up around Drake campus that deal with facts on illegal immigration.

Citizens for Tight Borders refused to comment.

"We would like to talk to you about our group, but we're currently in the process of a frew important things, and we'd prefer to speak with you once our group is officially recognized by Drake," the group said in an email statement.

The posters around Drake's campus disturbed president of La Fuerza Latina, Sonya Flores (B4).

"They don't have sources to back up this information," Flores said. "Their wording in the poster is very offensive."

The posters say there are "illegal aliens" in the United States and that the country is being "invaded" by these aliens.

"Many of the immigrants that come to this country start off with really low wage jobs like farming, which does require some skill," Flores said. "Drug trafficking has been going on for ages, I don't understand why they are bringing this up now."

At the very beginning, everyone is an immigrant Flores said. Without immigration, there would be no diversity (this was not in quotes in the article).

"We are all immigrants ot this country and we all bring parts of our culture to this country," Flores said. "We are just a huge melting pot."

"If a prospective student came to this campus and saw those posters, they wouldn't want to come to this campus," Flores said.

Janine Seifert (AS4), vice president of La Fuerza Latina was also upset with the posters around campus.

"What made me upset was the poster itself," said Seifert. "I think the purpose of the poster was not to inform people, but to offend and generate controversey."

Although the poster had some statistics on it, some students felt the information was inaccurate.

"They didn't even cite the statistics," said Seifert. "If a prospective Hispanic student were to visit the university and see this poster, they would definetely go somewhere else."

At the Student Senate meeting, the purpose and status of the organization were discussed. There wasn't anyone from Citizens for Tight Borders to clarify the information (didn't know they'd be discussing it so I didn't go. We're going to the next one though).

It was proposed to hold a forum with professors of international relations so Drake students can truly be informed on the issue of illegal immigration from a reliable source.

"I think students need to hear this from experts that will not try to generate controversy and offend people while transmitting their message like Citizens for Tight Borders did," Seifert said.

This coming week there will be a multicultural convention held in Olmsted.

"I am a Mexican. I am ehre legally under a student visa, and I truly understand how big of a problem illegal immigration is for this country, but I think that offending students is not going to get anyone anywhere," Seifert said. "I am a senior and never before have I felt so out of place in this university."

As you can see this article is not very well written. Very one sided. They sent us an email asking for info, but we didn't want to comment until we were finished with planning things. That way, we could tell everyone about our future activities in case they were interested. We had no idea the article would be like this.


I'll post the editorial later if I have time, I have a late lab tonight and then I'm putting up my new posters so I might get to it tomorrow.

can't vote?.......can't play

good point, PineStrawGuys!

Need an expert for the forum? I'd love it.

W

personally, I like the way Citizens for Tight Borders sounds.. it has a bigger, more credible sounding name then something involving students.

Just really amazes me how this one guy is making such a uproar at his university.. I think it is pretty dang funny... And thing is, there is nothing that would keep him from posting at other schools

If anyone was wanting to email our school newspaper, the address is delphic@drake.edu

The Drake Democrats sent out the following email to the people on their mailing list:

> Fellow Drake Democrats,
> I am Mitch Stehlik, the Vice-President of Drake Democrats. I am sure that
> many of you have seen signs from the anti-immigrant group "Citizens For Tight
> Borders" or read about them in today's Times-Delphic. The Drake Democrats
> Executive Council is concerned about the tone of this group's signs. We
> believe, as many of you do, that they are offensive and borderline racist.
> While we do not want to stifle the free expression of ideas on campus, we do
> feel that as students we must respond to statements from groups like "Citizens
> For Tight Borders" that express their views in an inappropriate manner. Their
> views on immigration may be acceptable for political debate (although we do not
> agree with them), but their language is unacceptable. Terms such as "invaded"
> (among many others) serve only inflate tension and racialize the issue. Thus,
> we have determined to respond in several ways.
> One way in which you can help us is write a letter to the Times-Delphic.
> They must be in by 12:00 PM tonight to make Thursday's T-D. The e-mail address
> to send your letters to is delphic@drake.edu. Again, YOU MUST SEND THEM IN
> TONIGHT!!
> We cannot let these Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly wannabes get away with this.
> Please take five minutes and let the T-D and all of campus know that political
> hate speech will not be accepted at Drake University.
> Additionally, we call on Drake College Republicans to denounce the language
> used by "Citizens For Tight Borders." The group was created by present and
> former members of their organization. As such, we will have to assume that
> College Republicans condone such hateful language until we hear otherwise.
> Finally, we call on Drake Administration to censure this group in the same way
> that they censured DUIN last year when it contained offensive language.
> Since "Citizens For Tight Borders" has temporary organizational recognition by
> the University, this step is not out of line.
>
> Mitchell C. Stehlik
> Vice-President Drake Democrats

You actually used the word "invade"!!!!!!!!! My God man do you have no sense of decency?? Hate speech if I ever heard it!
Keep up the good work. As for the young lady who has never felt so out of place (hell they should issue violins to you guys if your student body is that sensitive) suggest to her that she transfer to San Antonio College and get a lowered Honda with tinted windows. She'll feel right at home.
Don't let them make you feel like David Duke. Your have a cause they have a mindset.

iamblueman4,
I sent an email out to the address you provided, praising Citizens for Tight Borders for standing up and telling the facts about the illegal invasion going on in this country. Keep up the good work, blueman! You are a true American citizen who still loves his country and does not want to see it destroyed. I applaude you, young man!

Great job! I would love to see this kind of action spread all over college campuses everywhere!

Awsome!!! Great job!!! We're with ya!!!