Arshad Hasan: A call to discussion

Diversity of any kind can never be celebrated or even respected when its expression is suppressed. This is why my colleagues and I are perplexed when the College Republicans claim that their internal disagreements justify silence and inaction.

I am intimately familiar with the challenges of expressing a minority opinion and I can empathize, in part, with Mark Fiore's frustration with closed-minded criticism. I grew up in a conservative state where "liberal" was a rare but dirty insult and "faggot" was a commonplace slur. Speaking out for gun control, reproductive rights and LGBT civil rights was not only unpopular, but as I eventually discovered, sometimes physically dangerous. These experiences are why I have a difficult time sympathizing with those who do not speak out for fear of simple disapproval or the perceived threat of unpopularity.

The College Democrats, on the other hand, are not apprehensive of diverse opinions. When we co-sponsored Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.) discussion at Penn, we knew that we didn't all agree on some of Wyden's political views. But did we choose to stay uninvolved because an exact political match could not be found?

We knew that Sen. Wyden might say things that would anger certain populations of Penn's campus. But did we fear that this disapproval might mean bad publicity for us?

This point speaks to Fiore's recent column ("Make room for the right," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 11/5/01). Maybe conservatives seem like such a minority not simply because they don't speak, but because they don't act.

We recently had an election. The College Democrats sent dozens of volunteers to three states and four different political campaigns. We engaged in our own absentee voter drive for New Jersey Democrats at Penn. We brought in the president of Planned Parenthood and two prominent feminist authors to discuss the role of women in society and politics. Where were the Republicans?

To say that the Republicans were silent last year would be a half-truth, however. Without a word of dissent, the CRs opposed supporting B-GLAD. They objected to an event sponsored by the League of Women Voters because it included pro-choice Republican women. And in a debate between our two groups, the College Republicans' former chairman claimed that the free market would eliminate discrimination and the need for any legal protections; that there was no such thing as civil rights for gay people; and later that homosexuals were comparable to pedophiles.

This debate was significant not just because of what he actually said, but also because of what the other Republicans, including current chairman Brett Singer, did not say.

I am willing to grant that the College Republicans are undergoing a change in heart, but their call for silence instead of dialogue leads one to believe that their silence is more strategic than reflective. This silence is reinforced by their policy of "controlling the more dangerous elements of the organization." So it amuses me to read that the Republicans are now trying to attract "moderates and Democrats disillusioned with the College Democrats' liberal agenda."

Our bi-weekly discussions and our semester issue survey give us a good idea of what the 500-plus members of the Penn College Democrats believe. If Democrats are still "disillusioned" with us, then our bylaws provide the members the ability to override actions of the executive board. Our internal policies reflect the view that discussion and debate must guide any political organization.

Unlike the Republicans, I would not deem any elements of our organization "dangerous," nor would I try and "control" them by asking them to be silent.

I have many friends on campus and back home who are staunch Republicans. Sometimes they change my mind, sometimes I change theirs, often no one changes anybody's mind, but always something is gained through constructive and respectful discussion.

I know that the College Republicans do not necessarily represent the views of all Republicans on campus and that I shouldn't generalize. But this lack of representation is all the more reason why conservatives, liberals and centrists must all speak out.

This column is a call to people of all political allegiances to engage each other vocally and to repudiate the stereotype of apathetic Penn students. Do and say things that people will see and hear, even if you're not sure how popular you will be afterward. Arshad Hasan is a junior Political Science from Grand Rapids, N.D., and president of the Penn College Democrats.

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