Guy Margalith: Penn conservatives need to speak their minds

Some of us were fortunate enough to witness a rare spectacle last spring: an intellectual debate on gay civil rights adorning the editorial page of this publication. For two weeks, Philip Bartlett, the former chairman of the Penn College Republicans, sparred with Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Dan Fishback and Blake Martin on this controversial topic. There was a buzz on campus; the smell of controversy was in the air.

At the time I was proud that individuals, even those who held minority and unpopular points of view, were able to voice their opinions and foster dialog on this campus. I am sure that although many disagreed with Bartlett's viewpoints, they appreciated that he had the bravery to argue them in the public arena.

On Oct. 25, PennForum organized a debate on gay marriage that featured four student debaters. Three of the panelists were Penn students. The fourth panelist, however, was not from Penn -- he was a Drexel junior representing the Drexel Christian Fellowship. As the event organizer, I was asked why we didn't have an individual representing a conservative Penn student group.

Why didn't PennForum ask the College Republicans, for example, to debate a topic about which they certainly hold strong opinions?

We certainly did. Simply put, they said absolutely not.

In a campus with close to 20,000 students, why did PennForum have to go to Drexel to find someone willing to debate against gay marriage? Why are the members of the College Republicans and conservative Penn organizations scared to death of standing up in front of a crowd of their peers and arguing for a position in which they believe?

Something clearly has changed from last spring to this fall at Penn. Some students are afraid to stand up for their beliefs. They cower in fear, letting others fight their battles.

Even worse, as leaders of organizations, some have sent e-mails to their constituents discouraging their members from speaking -- or even participating -- on the group's behalf. One such e-mail was sent from College Republicans Chairman Brett Singer to his membership in early October. Singer argued that his group's members should not "let our opponents agitate the campus, and exploit this issue at our expense" by participating in the PennForum event.

But even if the organization as a whole had not formulated an official stance on a subject, Singer and like-minded leaders of other organizations should not stifle the involvement of their members in an important panel.

Please do not misunderstand me; I realize it is not easy to stand up in a room and make a statement with which almost everyone will disagree. But an organization that pretends to hold certain points of view and then fails to defend them is not an effective organization in the least. Groups that make ideological claims but who decline to defend them in public forfeit their legitimacy.

We are all enriched by the presentation of diverse and at times controversial viewpoints. In an open society protected by constitutional guarantees of free speech, it is a travesty when we do not step up to the plate to defend our opinions. We can talk all day long about how intellectual and open this campus is; we can and should praise the fact that we can even hold PennForum debates in the first place.

However, if we can't find anyone willing to participate in these forums, how open are we, really? If you are passionate about your beliefs, put plainly, you should stand up and defend them.

Some may argue that Jeff Maust from the Drexel Christian Fellowship and Ryan Fagan from First Call lost the gay marriage debate. I submit that even if their arguments did not hold sway, they earned a great deal of respect by their mere presence. They had the guts to defend their beliefs, no matter how unpopular.

The College Republicans and their conservative peers on campus continue to cower, making statements in private that they have no intention of defending in public. Shame on them. They passed on the opportunity to present their opinions, and we are all worse off for it.

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