Interview with F.A.C.T. President Sean Devlin
Steve Fair
Maroon News Posted: 4/8/05
With the impending Freedom of Association: The Coalition for Truth (F.A.C.T.) rally causing a buzz on campus, The Maroon-News sat down with F.A.C.T. president senior Sean Devlin for an exclusive interview regarding Tuesday's rally, the website, www.colgate-fact.org, and the organization as a whole.
Maroon-News: What do you hope to accomplish at Tuesday's
rally?
Sean Devlin (SD): I hope to bring the whole student body
together, for the students to rally together for a cause that really affects
them. It affects every student on this campus. If one group of
students does not have its [First Amendment] rights respected by the administration,
all bets are off. Any student group could be sanctioned.
M-N: Do you feel that the administration will apply
these rules, which have been applied to Greek organizations, to other
groups?
SD: I think it's a possibility. Once they open up that
gate, who knows? If you and I want to start a group and it doesn't
fit their vision, they can just threaten us with expulsion, and
we would have no say in it. When I came to Colgate, I was issued a handbook
and it said that our civil rights would be respected. Now, they are changing
their minds on that.
M-N: What type of response are you looking for from
students?
SD: The response that we've gotten from the students
already has been amazing. The students understand that these
issues are important. Students recognize the way that the University has
manipulated and taken advantage of this situation.
M-N: These events correspond with April Visit Days.
Is that just a coincidence, or do you want to reach out to prospective
students?
SD: A lot of people have asked me that, and they feel
like I am harming Colgate. I love Colgate. As chairperson of the Senior
Class Gift Committee, I have worked tirelessly in raising $25,000 for
the Senior Class Gift. But I think it's important that prospective
students understand what kind of environment they're coming into.
It's not this cookie-cutter image that the University gives off to incoming
students. It's important for students to understand that when you come
here, your First Amendment rights are not going to be respected. And that's
an important issue for students who are making that decision. That's
$40,000 a year expecting your First Amendment rights to be respected and
finding that they're not going to be respected.
M-N: Who will be the speakers at the rally?
SD: David Horowitz and David French, the president of
the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (F.I.R.E.).
M-N: Why were these speakers chosen?
SD: These men have been have been active civil rights
activists for their entire lives. We're talking about First Amendment
rights at the rally.
M-N: Horowitz has been brought to campus before, and
his speech, while powerful, was controversial and offended some. Do you
worry that these same students who were offended when Horowitz first came
to campus will not support your cause?
SD: If they do come to the rally - and we hope all students
come to the rally - I think they will hear Horowitz pretty much focus
on the issues of First Amendment rights. It's something that
he's fought tirelessly for, for every American citizen, no matter your
color or sexual orientation.
M-N: Your website has gotten an incredible number of
hits in its first several days of existence. To what do you credit this?
SD: Tireless efforts from the group in getting the word
out. We've been blanketing the campus with fliers and [have just had]
conversations with people. Some people are oblivious to what has been
going on. You have a one-on-one conversation with them, and they start
to understand, so they say, "Yeah, sign me up."
M-N: I've noticed that some of the signs you
have made have been torn down. Would you care to comment?
SD: If you want to put a message out there, that's great,
but don't tear ours down. It's amazing how many signs get torn down on
this campus. It's upsetting. It's a sad campus culture where people
who just don't agree with it, just tear it down. If you have
a problem with it, write an article, write an editorial. Organize your
own group. Protest it that way.
M-N: Do you have any idea who would have ripped your
signs down?
SD: It was probably somebody, or a group of people, who,
for whatever reason, hate fraternities and sororities. They are blinded
by their hatred for fraternities and sororities, so they equate F.A.C.T.
with fraternities and sororities. When F.A.C.T. in reality is really an
issue for all students to save their First Amendment rights.
M-N: So, you would say that your main goal is to protect
First Amendment rights as opposed too the rights of fraternities and sororities.
SD: Yes. We're trying to protect the rights for each
group. It's interesting that somebody sent me an e-mail asking me how
far F.A.C.T. would go. The e-mail asked if we would we support the advocacy
of a Ku Klux Klan here at Colgate? And I said, "Listen, supporting
First Amendment rights is different that supporting how people use those
rights." We would support their right to assemble but publicly denounce
their cause.
M-N: Many people feel like your website shares an ideology
with www.sa4c.com. How is www.colgate-fact.org different?
SD: In addition to focusing on First Amendment issues,
sa4c also focuses on the Core Curriculum, intellectual diversity, general
diversity on campus and other hotbed issues that some students are turned
away from. A lot of the student response was negative; they didn't want
to touch it. But with F.A.C.T., we say "First Amendment rights freedom
of assembly, property rights, that's what we're about."
M-N: Your website has a direct link to the U.S. Constitution
and makes numerous references to the Constitution, particularly the Bill
of Rights and the First Amendment. Do you feel, like in any way, shape
or form, that Constitutional rights should be different for students
at a private University as opposed to a public University?
SD: The importance of student's First Amendment rights
has been recognized at universities across this great nation of ours.
Congress passed and Bill Clinton signed into law the Higher Education
Act of 1997. Congress affirms the importance of student's First Amendment
rights at institutions of higher learning that accept federal funding.
Last time I checked, Colgate receives federal funding. Colgate
abides by Title IX and Affirmative Action laws. Why do they choose not
to abide by the Higher Education Act and respect student's First Amendment
rights?"
M-N: Should the administration not respond to the rally,
is there anything you have planned for the remainder of the year?
SD: Yes. We're not done with F.A.C.T. It won't dissolve
after the rally. One of the great things about F.A.C.T. is that it's not
just seniors. There have been underclassmen who have been involved with
F.A.C.T. and who have been taking leadership roles. So, even if we don't
get our desired results, we'll continue to educate the Colgate
community and challenge the administration's blatant abuse of student
rights.
© Copyright 2007 Maroon News