Hecklers Disrupt Coulter's Speech At UConn
December 8, 2005
By GRACE E. MERRITT, Courant Staff Writer
STORRS -- Music that seemed to come from somewhere in the raucous audience that packed the Jorgensen Center at the University of Connecticut Wednesday night brought Ann Coulter's speech to an abrupt end about 15 minutes after she started.
After waiting with her bodyguard on stage for several minutes for the music to stop while a section of the audience chanted "You suck, you suck," an irritated Coulter said she would not finish her speech. She said she would go straight to questions and answers, suggesting the disruption was the best the liberals could do to counter her.
"I love to engage in repartee with people that are a lot stupider than I am," she said. `We're having a question and answer right now with the little crybabies."
Coulter, a well-known, conservative author and commentator, fielded questions ranging from the war in Iraq and Democratic leadership to abortion with the witty, provocative responses that have made her a frequent guest on such TV talk shows as "Hannity & Colmes" and "The O'Reilly Factor."
Responding to a question about withdrawing troops in Iraq, Coulter pointed out the United States still has troops in Bosnia and said various aspects of life are improving in Iraq, with elections being held, women voting and the insurgency growing smaller.
One student asked what she would do if she had a child who came out as gay.
Coulter replied: "I'd say, `Did I ever tell you you're adopted?'"
She also aimed plenty of criticism at the Democratic Party, calling U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California a great candidate for Democrats because "she is a woman and learning disabled." She also aimed barbs at Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
"If the Democrats want to stick to the middle of the road, why did they pick Ted Kennedy. Didn't he have some trouble sticking to the middle of the road?" she said.
In response to threats to Coulter at other appearances, security was tight with guards and campus police flanking the stage and searching every bag the crowd of 2,600 took into the Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts.
The UConn College Republicans invited Coulter, a Connecticut native, in an effort to bring a well-known, provocative speaker to get students talking and thinking about the conservative perspective.
Some students were upset that the student government spent $16,000 to bring what they consider a "hateful" speaker to campus.
To provide another viewpoint to Coulter's, the Progressive Students' Alliance had brought in Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who made headlines in August by camping out near President Bush's Texas ranch to protest her son's death in Iraq. Sheehan's speech Monday also was paid for with student government funds.
Prior to Coulter's speech, a small group of protesters shivered outside as they held up signs and handed out a Coulter bingo card in which each block on the grid had a key word such as liberal, abortion, feminists and terrorism.
Just before the event, Students Against Hate held an alternative event focusing on discrimination at UConn and intended to provide "balance" to the Coulter talk. During the talk several students from various racial groups and of various sexual orientations spoke about how harsh words have wounded them.
Hana Kim, 20, of Stamford, cried as she recalled her experience hearing two young men express shock and disapproval in a loud conversation that a friend was dating an "Asian chick."
Jerome Smith, a UConn graduate, talked about how he hid his homosexuality while at UConn, afraid his fraternity brothers and family would shun him.
"Words are sharp tools and certain people like Ann Coulter use them to hurt people," he said.
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Hana Kim, 20, of Stamford, cried as she recalled her experience hearing two young men express shock and disapproval in a loud conversation that a friend was dating an "Asian chick."
Oh, the horror!!! The world would be a lot better place if people would just grow some thicker skin. It's not poor little Hana that has the problem. It's the morons who have a problem with dating Asian women. So misguided, right IMOM?!
Seriously though, I am sick of the cries of "free speech" only applying to lefties. If they have a problem with Coulter, why don't they respectfully wait for her to finish her speech and then confront her during the Q&A with some well thought-out arguments backed by meaningful facts and empirical evidence. Oops. I guess that doesn't really apply to their arguments since libs only know how to speak in bumper sticker language. "Bush lied and people died." "Make love not war." "Give peace a chance." "No justice no peace." Certainly a lot easier than developing valid arguments.
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