The Depaul Double Standard: Liberty and justice for some and repression for others

These were the words of Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), on the Hannity & Colmes show in January of 2006. This description of the nation's largest Catholic university might be hard to believe, but as I continue my fourth year here, I am sorry to confirm it.

Mr. Lukianoff's statement accurately sums up the outrageous actions of DePaul's administration and far left faculty. At the same time as his appearance on the show, DePaul conservatives were in a battle with the University over their right to protest.

The University invited Ward Churchill, a favorite of liberal academia, to speak on campus. He has publicly proclaimed those who lost their lives in 9-ll to be "little Eichmanns," referring to the Nazi war criminal who oversaw deportations to the extermination camps.

When the DePaul College Republicans sought approval to hang posters displaying some of Churchill's most egregious quotes, the school created a new rule to ban the posters! Then the school officially reprimanded the DePaul Republicans for creating "propaganda."

In addition, the DePaul Republicans were subsequently banned from attending the "human rights workshop" with Churchill. Mr. Churchill, the DePaul faculty's chosen Academic and intellectual speaker, was since fired from his teaching post at the University of Colorado for plagiarism.

The irrational and ridiculous actions of DePaul's administration continued when the DePaul Conservative Alliance attempted a peaceful protest of affirmative action by means of a bake sale. They simply sold baked goods in the same way that affirmative action is practiced on campuses.

If you were a White of Asian student, you had to pay the highest price. African American and Latino students were offered the lowest price due to their "perceived need" for financial aid. There was no confrontation or hateful language involved. It was simply a demonstration.

Not only was the bake sale shut down by Dean of Students Greg MacVarish, but the DCA was banned from using University tables for a year. They were not able to recruit new members at involvement fairs or sponsor informational tables in the Student Center for an entire academic year.

In addition, the Rev. Jesse Jackson drove to DePaul in his limo and delivered an impromptu speech bemoaning the state of race relations on campus.

Despite the high rhetoric praising academic freedom, DePaul has attempted to squash the conservative minority again and again.

For example, when the Statesman's October 2006 edition was distributed, an employee of the University's official school newspaper, the DePaulia, an organization not used to healthy competition, went systematically around campus from building to building, removing and destroying hundreds of Statesmans.

I brought this case to the University, and the DePaulia staffer confessed the thefts to a campus security officer. But the University took no action and instead, blamed us for the "disappearance" of our own papers in contradiction of facts presented to them.

Not only does DePaul censor our independent paper, they also make it impossible for us to voice our ideas through the official paper, the DePaulia.

In a study of the editorial section of the DePaulia, conducted by our former editor-in-chief and co-founder, it was determined that the official school paper has a bias against publishing conservative articles.

His study spanned articles submitted over the course of multiple years of the DePaulia's editorial section. The results showed that while a vast majority of articles published were liberal, only a small percentage was conservative.

Our writers tested his study by submitting a slew of editorial pieces for the same issue, covering various relevant conservative topics. What did the DePaulia's editorial staff decide to print that week? They printed an article about ice cream from a student at Stanford.

Students paying tuition dollars which fund the DePaulia can't even exhibit their freedom of thought and speech in their own campus newspaper. When I spoke with an administrator about this apparent misuse of tuition, she said the DePaulia had the freedom to publish whatever they wanted.

The University's consistent assault on conservative opinion doesn't stop with students.

In 2004 University administrators suspended Professor Thomas Klocek after he engaged in a debate with pro-Palestinian students at a student activity fair. Klocek, a Catholic Democrat and a languages professor with 14 years continuous employment at DePaul, argued that the parallels between Nazis and Israelis weren't as strong as the literature on the students' table suggested.

The students complained to administrators that they were insulted and offended by Klocek's remarks. The professor was subsequently denied the rights that DePaul guarantees to professors accused of wrongdoing. He was immediately suspended.

Statements from DePaul administrators indicate that Klocek was disciplined because of his harsh criticism of the students' viewpoint.

DePaul's campaign against conservatism permeates the entire culture. That's why the founders of The Lincoln Park Statesman believe it is of the utmost importance to create an opportunity for conservative students to let their voices be heard.

I co-founded The Lincoln Park Statesman with my good friend Michael O'Shea in November of 2005. We were two conservatives who thought there ought to be a place where students with conservative values could discuss and write without fear of prejudice from professors or administrators.

Our newspaper has published 14 issues to date, and our mission statement outlines the main purpose of the Statesman:

The Lincoln Park Statesman is dedicated to truth in journalism. It is committed to fostering the public discourse essential to democracy; maintaining the highest standards of quality; and preserving and promoting American values, while embracing and exploring conservative philosophies both economically and socially."

That clear and concise mission statement has guided our paper to ever-increasing success and popularity among students, faculty and staff over the last year and a half. Since our debut two years ago, we have garnered praise from the campus community for our publication's professional quality and substantive articles.

In that way, we have far surpassed the University's official publication, which, until our inception, ran without competition. We hope to gain broader readership in the future and maintain the reputable status we have achieved. We will continue publishing articles regarding today's political issues as well as current events at DePaul University.

The Lincoln Part Statesman has already shared responsibility for positive change on campus. The Ward Churchill story described above was covered first and only by the Statesman until Fox News picked it up. In the Stateman's first issue, we wrote a scathing report of Churchill's "scholarship." We also wrote about the underhanded methods DePaul used to bring him to speak on campus and silence any debate about his legitimacy.

I was asked to appear on the Hannity & Colmes show, along with Mr. Luianoff, to expose the political hypocrisy of DePaul. I talked with the show's hosts about the University has become a place where academic freedom only applies to a chosen few. The Statesman continued to follow Churchill until he was fired a few months ago from the University of Colorado.

This past summer, Norm Finkelstein, a former DePaul professor, was denied tenure for a poor scholarship and service record. He was then fired for being overly abrasive to other faculty. Protests and sit-ins ensued in Finkelstein's defense for the following three months. The professor even threatened to go on a hunger strike if the decision was not appealed. He vented his anger by verbally assaulting other faculty members who voted against granting him tenure.

In the end, many of his supporters were disillusioned when professor Finkelstein dropped his appeal, only after being offered significant monetary compensation for his final year. And he wasn't even required to teach!

The Stateman's journalists followed Finkelstein's case for months, writing and publishing articles about the latest developments. Again, we covered this months before other media, such as the DePaulia, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune wrote about it.

We were also recognized by national organization as a viable and intelligent conservative newspaper on campus. For example, The Leadership Institute in Virginia subscribes to the paper and we also maintain membership in the Delaware-based Collegiate Network's conservative student newspaper organization.

People around the country and, more importantly, around campus are beginning to realize that academic freedom and diversity are here to stay at DePaul, and the Statesman is the leading voice of this movement. But there's still much to be accomplished. The conservative voice still endures constant prejudice on campus.

DePaul is in the process of crafting a speech code barring "offensive speech." Speech codes are dangerous tools on a college campus, capable of silencing whichever voices the administration does not agree with.

A few examples of events the DePaul administration labeled as "hate speech" includes a table offering information about illegal immigration and a forum held about affirmative action with national know speaker and author Dinesh D"Souza.

That is why I need the support of people who believe free speech is a right afforded to ALL students and citizens alike. I would like to invite you to be a part of something that's making a difference at DePaul and ensuring that students get all portions of their "well rounded" liberal arts education.

The Lincoln Park Statesman is a vital force on campus. The staff of the Statesman is dedicated to bringing the second half of a well rounded liberal arts education to DePaul. However, we maintain an independent status from the University in order to ensure that they will be unable to censor our material. Therefore, the burden of cost for printing lies entirely on donations.

Each of our six yearly issues of the Statesman costs $309 for a circulation of 1,000. You gift of $309 can ensure that the Statesman and academic freedom are allowed to become permanent fixtures at DePaul.

Additionally, the Statesman recently incorporated the paper as a 501 © 3 not-for-profit organization. That means all donations are tax-deductible!

With your donation you'll not only receive the satisfaction of being a part of an important movement for diversity of opinion on DePaul's campus, you'll also receive other benefits such as:

- A complimentary copy of the latest issue of the Statesman

- A receipt which denotes this donation as a tax deductible gift

- A year long subscription to the Statesman with your donation of $25 or more and

- A partnership with the students of DePaul working to make a difference on campus!

Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said, "Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press but the sealing up of a nation's heart, the excision of its memory."

Take his advice and please stand with the Statesman. Do not allow DePaul or academia to create a chasm in which the basic rights this country was founded upon are allowed to disappear.

Your tax deductible gift of $309, $100, $50 or $25 can allow you to be part of the small but powerful conservative voice at DePaul that will continue to bring balance and truth to campus. Your donation makes you a partner with the Statesman in the quest for free speech and academic freedom for all students on college campuses!

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For more information on the Depaul Conservative Alliance, CLICK HERE or go to www.DePaulCA.org

OR contact the paper: THE LINCOLN PARK STATESMAN, PO Box 14884, Chicago. IL 60614,

THE STATESMAN is a Not-for-Profit Publication of the Students at DePaul University