The auditorium of Shriver Hall was filled with members from across the political spectrum on Thursday night when conservative analyst Ann Coulter spoke as part of the Milton S. Eisenhower (MSE) Symposium series. Students and members of the community -- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike -- arrived in such large number that the doors were soon shut and many were left outside to listen.
"I wasn't expecting as big a turnout as we had for Patch Adams," said Abby Gibbon, a MSE Symposium publicity coordinator, commenting before the speech on the growing crowd. "It'll be a good show. There's definitely a lot of controversy."
Aside from the interrupting cheers and protests from the audience, the controversy surrounding Ann Coulter was welcomed by both conservatives and liberals. "I know she's very conservative," said junior Elizabeth Kim. "I think she speaks more for publicity than for what she actually believes."
The College Democrats, who distributed some of Coulter's most incendiary quotes to audience members, and the College Republicans, who supported Coulter with posters before the show, were on hand for the evening.
"[Ann Coulter] is refreshing," freshman College Republican Brittany Sterret said. "You don't have to go as far as she does, but it's good to have a conservative voice on campus."
Michael Ashe, also a College Republican, agreed. "She raises a lot of questions, and you have to question the things around you and what the government is doing. At the very least, she brings up a lot of issues," he said.
The issues were the main attraction for those without political affiliation. "I think it's foolish to commit yourself politically before learning about the parties. I'm young. I have a lot of time to decide which way I'm going to fall," said junior Andrew Meaney. "I'd like to see her address the California recall situation, some of the Democratic presidential candidates, and the war in Iraq."
Coulter began her speech by defending President Bush's decision to take military action in Iraq without U.N. support. "A liberal's way to clean up a swamp is to go around and kill each mosquito one by one," Coulter said, "but only after France and Germany say it's okay. What would France be contributing anyway? Their last military mobilization was loading Jews onto trains to concentration camps. The Warsaw ghetto held out longer than the French military."
The author of three bestselling books, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: the Case Against Bill Clinton, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right and most recently Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, Coulter discussed the United Nations position that there had not been enough evidence against the Iraqi regime when the President took action.
"There's plenty of evidence, maybe not enough to convince an O.J. jury, but there is plenty of evidence," Coulter said. "The problem with the liberal anti-war position is that they have no actual policy ideas of their own. They say, "If we attack enraged fanatics who seek our destruction, they'll just get mad and seek our destruction.'"
"Liberals are always talking about why we shouldn't go to war for oil," said Coulter. "But why not go to war for oil? We need oil. Of course we use most of the world's oil; we do most of the world's production."
Coulter also spoke at length in support of racial profiling. "In the past twenty years, one-hundred percent of terrorist attacks against this country have been by Muslim extremists," she said. "Naturally, the democrats won't let us look for Muslim extremists. When there is a one-hundred percent chance that the next terrorist attack will be made by a Muslim extremist, it's no longer a profile, it's a description of the suspect."
Coulter's comments were frequently interrupted by jeers from the audience, especially during the question and answer portion of the night. Protestors chanted, "Ann Coulter's a joke" while her supporters replied with, "We love Ann."
"You're obviously demonstrating the fine analytical skills they're teaching you at Johns Hopkins," Coulter quipped. "At Harvard, they have questions."
Reactions to Coulter's speech were mixed. Following Coulter's comments in support of racial profiling targeting "swarthy looking Islamic men," College Democrat Catie Prior said, "That's the reason they bomb us."
Coulter's supporters were dissatisfied by the audience's behavior.
"The speech was great but I was disappointed in the school's reaction," said freshman Jennifer Snodgrass. "It was so disrespectful. I went to Patch Adams' speech, and he said a number of things that I disagreed with, but I was still respectful."
"Whether you like her or you don't, be quiet," said Ashe. "Seriously."
Others complained that Coulter's speech didn't address the Symposium's topic, "The Sum of Capitalism and Democracy: What is An American?" "I see how she's managed to use capitalism to its fullest advantage: to make a lot of money," said sophomore Emily Ethridge. "The speech was nothing less than what I expected from her."
Those who attended the speech expecting a rousing debate and much controversy were not disappointed.
"MSE invited Ms. Coulter to speak because she represents yet another argument for the campus to hear," said Saul Garlick, a programming coordinator for the symposium. "In my view, any discourse that occurs at Hopkins, enraging or otherwise, is beneficial for the general environment. If students are inspired to voice their opinions in support or opposition of any political pundit, then MSE has met its purpose and has served the campus well."
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