Conservative students decry left's 'intolerance'

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By Mark Chenoweth and Michael Drost THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Last week's vandalism of crosses used by a conservative group for a pro-life demonstration at George Washington University has underscored conservatives' concerns that they are harassed and marginalized on campus.

James Bopp, general counsel for the James Madison Center for Free Speech, said that the act was part of an "alarming number of acts of intolerance from the left."

"We've seen a lot of suppression on college campuses lately. This takes us down a dark road," Mr. Bopp said.

Robert Lockwood, president of the GW chapter of the Young America's Foundation, said, "Intolerance of conservatism on campus is not a growing trend, it is an accepted norm."

Crosses used by his group for a Jan. 22 pro-life demonstration were found defaced last week. A condom was stretched over one. The group had placed the crosses on university grounds to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

The College Democrats later issued a statement saying that one of their members admitted responsibility for the vandalism and was expelled from the group.

"Leaders of the College Democrats do not condone the disrespectful vandalism of religious figures. We would never as an organization sanction such reprehensible conduct and we are tremendously upset that the organization's trust was violated," the statement said.

University officials said the incident is under investigation. Members of the College Democrats declined to comment because of the ongoing probe.

The incident revived conservatives' complaints about the tenor of political debate on campus and the atmosphere they face as a distinct minority on campus. In October, the president of the GW College Democrats, Cory Struble, was accused of sanctioning harassment of conservatives or Republicans with comments he made on WRGW Radio.

"Democrats and liberals constantly preach tolerance, but this proves they don't walk the walk," said Brand Kroeger, president of the GW College Republicans.

"This shows a trend that conservative students are being marginalized, the idea that people are resorting to this is very childish," said Aakif Merchant, 21, a senior at GW and a self-described conservative.

Jason Mattera, a spokesman for the national branch of the YAF said that this is not the first time such a display has been vandalized. A similar incident occurred last May at the University of Wisconsin when a cross display was vandalized by a group led by a member of the student senate.

"You will not find conservatives vandalizing any type of free-speech demonstration on the left," Mr. Mattera said.

Vishal Aswani, president of the GW Student Association, said that the incident "really put a bad name to the university," and that it "is the university's obligation to create that climate where anyone can express their views."

Students on the GW campus said they felt the incident was a stain on the university's reputation.

"It's definitely regrettable; the university is pretty good at providing a forum for students to discuss their views," said Alex Pazuchanics, 19, a GW freshman.

"It's immature. As someone who is a secularist, this is a step back," said Josh Martin, 18, who is also a freshman.