By DECLAN MURPHY

STAFF WRITER

The idea of censorship at Fordham University had not really come to my attention until after the announcement that Ann Coulter’s invitation to speak to the student body was rescinded.

Although the invitation itself surprised me due to Coulter’s past controversial comments and reputation, I do not think that Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, intended to censor the Fordham College Republicans’  (CR) right to invite whomever they please. Instead, he encouraged them to see the effects of bringing such a controversial figure to our campus. After all, McShane and the deans of students aim to advise and encourage us to see things from all perspectives.

Fr. McShane’s insightful yet critical email addressed to the CRs, which was sent out to the entire Fordham community, was not censorship as advisement. The Fordham CRs could have chosen not to heed the warning and gone ahead with the event. But, out of respect for Fr. McShane’s message and in response to the firestorm of outrage, they chose to back down.

The College Republicans noted that they had decided to rescind Coulter’s invitation before McShane’s email was sent out. As the leader of our institution, Fr. McShane has the duty to advise students and give them some direction if their actions could reflect poorly on our school.

Although I do not regard Fr. McShane’s statement to the CRs concerning Ann Coulter as censorship, I do believe several forms of censorship exist on our campus.

One recent example of censorship occurred when the administration invited Fordham alumnus John Brennan, who is currently the director of the CIA, to deliver the class of 2012’s commencement address.

As deputy national security advisor under President Obama during his first term, Brennan was criticized by many for his use of drone strikes on terrorist targets resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians. Several students, including Mike Pappas, FCRH ’12, and Scott McDonald, FCRH ’12, organized a protest against Brennan as their commencement speaker. They attempted to change the administration’s mind about inviting him to speak by protesting his use of drone warfare, organizing a petition and distributing pamphlets to students illustrating how sharply Brennan’s views and actions contrasted with Fordham’s Jesuit values.

Pappas and McDonald also met with Dean Rogers and Head of Security John Carroll to discuss how they would protest at the commencement speech itself, and Pappas claims that they were helpful and understanding.

“A week or two before the protest and after outlining what we wanted to do, the two officials were pretty open to helping us,” Pappas said. “What was problematic is the way they handled some of the other aspects of the demonstration. For example, up to a day before graduation I was still getting called into particular university administrator offices and was being given ‘offers’ to try to get us to call the protest off, which I think really says something about how much the administration actually values a student’s right to free speech. Scott and I were supposed to meet with Brennan and other faculty members to speak with him the morning of graduation. For the meeting on graduation day, Scott and I told the administration that the only way we would attend the meeting was if there was an approved, independent videographer present, which we did not think was too much to ask. We felt that people needed to be held accountable for what was said during that meeting. Once we gave the administration our request, they promptly told us that they could not entertain such requests and they invited other students to take our places.”

This first-hand account of a high-profile protest organized by Fordham students shows how Fordham’s administration essentially censored the students from access to Brennan and did not allow them to question him on the issue of torture.

Officials did allow the students to go ahead with the protest, however, so they did not completely censor the students’ right to protest and free speech. During commencement, around 10 to 15 students protested by standing up and turning their backs on Brennan during his speech.

Other forms of censorship are less obvious and perhaps go unnoticed by some students.

One way the administration at Fordham censors its students is by not designating an area of protest on school grounds for students to protest issues they deem important or unjust. Many universities have a designated area for student protests that are unregulated and unsupervised by administration. This allows students to convene and protest in large groups without interference. In this place, freedom of speech and student organization can flourish and provide a public forum for discussion.

Another form of censorship on campus is the selection of Spring Weekend events and artists.

When providing a survey of potential performers to the student body, administration and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) filter out performers with less-than-appropriate lyrics or reputations and present limited options to students.

Most students have favorite artists that might have some inappropriate lyrics, but that does not mean that they should be automatically excluded from the options considered. It is understandable that artists with questionable songs often are not aligned with Fordham’s Jesuit values, but if the student body prefers to have such an artist perform, their preferences should not be silenced. If students are unhappy with the options presented by CAB, they should be able to submit their own considerations so that they do not end up with an artist that many students are not a fan of, such as last year’s Jay Sean.

The example of the Brennan commencement protest illustrates that censorship at Fordham does exist and can present a formidable hurdle to students’ free speech.

This instance, however, is not completely representative of free speech and the student voice. Fordham provides students with multiple routes to express themselves and make their opinions public. Yet, despite the administration’s claims to ensure an unrestricted student voice, the Brennan protest shows that sometimesFordham does not allow students to fully express their views and discuss important issues.

Declan Murphy, FCRH ’13, is a political science major from Parkland, Fla.