I should know.
I graduated from Rollins in 1984 with a B.A. in History and witnessed first hand the reactionary socialism of students and teachers who refused to allow conservative author and intellectual William F. Buckley to speak on campus in 1983, but rolled out the red carpet for convicted felon and famous 1960s Leftist radical, Abbie Hoffman, who soon afterward committed suicide by drug overdose.
The tuition at Rollins runs to the gross national product of a small African country, and for this outlay a student who dares to write an honest opinion contrary to the unofficial Leftist PC anti-speech code on immigration gets trashed by her own employees - the tenured Leftist radical professors at Rollins - who mount a witch hunt against one of the few non-brainwashed students at this institution.
Beam me up, Scotty: There is no intelligent life at Rollins College!
Student's op-ed piece stirs controversy
WINTER PARK, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - When Rollins College freshman Jamie Pizzi recently wrote an article about illegal immigrants for the Rollins College Sandspur website, she didn't realize she would create such a reaction.
"I'm sorry if people were offended by what I wrote, but I believe the 14th Amendment should be revised and looked over."
The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. regardless of their heritage. Jamie thinks it should be changed to exclude the children of illegal immigrants for economic reasons, adding it, "had nothing to do with my saying I don't want immigrants to be here."
However, within the article, which was posted on the opinions page, Jamie used a derogatory term to describe the children of illegal immigrants. A picture of a green alien was also posted. Jamie says, it caused two professors to send out a campus wide email opposing the article, "saying things like I was racist in my article, comparable to genocide, Nazism, which I think is very outrageous. A lot of people including myself feel like it was in the form of bullying."
Administrators at Rollins College say the professors didn't violate policy by using the campus wide email system to post their opinions; however, they do think there was a better way to handle the situation.
"It wasn't wrong but it's a situation where there were other ways we could have had that conversation live and in person," says Rollins College spokesperson Ann Marie Varga. Rollins College isn't quashing the debate, but they're making changes so that it's more fair, giving students the power to respond to those emails.
Jamie likes the idea. "I'm glad they're going to change it, and something's going to be done." Administrators say they're working on making those changes to find a better email system. They've already improved their announcement system, so students can release event information campus wide.
MORE:
Illegal Immigration Column Causes Controversy at Florida’s Rollins College
March 26, 2011 by Dan
A student newspaper op-ed arguing citizenship status should not be granted to children of illegal immigrants “has spurred an outcry from some students and faculty” at Florida’s Rollins College.
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At the start of the piece, published late last week in The Sandspur, freshman student writer Jamie Pizzi compares illegal aliens to home intruders. An accompanying image sticks with the metaphor, showing a green alien creature wearing someone else’s clothes, relaxing and channel-surfing in someone else’s home.
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In Pizzi’s words, “‘[A]nchor babies,’ as they are commonly referred, gain full citizenship from simply being born on American soil, and they are entitled to all the same benefits as you and I, including: free public school educations, financial aid for college and even Medicaid. . . . When our own citizens are struggling to afford adequate health care and public schools become more and more crowded, we should not even consider keeping birthright citizenship. . . . America has a crucial decision to make: continue to attract those who want a free ride, or return to a time where America attracted only the best and the brightest to its golden shores.”
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Angry emails, online story comments, and letters to the editor abounded immediately after publication. A campus-wide email sent by a professor in the piece’s wake declared ”this kind of media contributes to a climate of hate and intolerance in our community.” The Sandspur staffer who oversaw the section in which the piece was printed separately said critics were charging her with “being a Nazi and supporting genocide.”
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Others declared the article and image misinformed, misguided, xenophobic, and “hateful rhetoric.” As one student wrote, “[I]t is important to remember that ‘anchor babies’ and ‘aliens’ are, in fact, people– human beings just like you and I, with families. Let us not define them based solely by their immigration status.”
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Additionally, according to the Orlando Sentinel, “The strong reaction from faculty, students and others prompted a big gathering [late last week]. An estimated 200 to 300 people turned out– a significant crowd for the small private college [roughly 2,700 students] . . . Everyone took turns expressing themselves and sharing their views on free press and the role of a school newspaper.”
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In a letter to readers responding to the controversy, Pizzi noted, “My opinion on the 14th Amendment concerns only the law and the effect of undocumented and untaxed individuals on our country’s finances. I have no hatred for people of any race or ethnic group, or for immigrants in general; I actually find other cultures fascinating! I never intended to hurt people or come across in a hateful manner.”
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The student artist responsible for the alien image: “By my understanding, the image concept that the Sandspur had given me was meant to be a satire on the double meaning of the word alien within our language, and nothing more. I did not take into account that paired together the article and image could come off as xenophobic or demonizing to any individual, and if I had, or I’m sure if the staff had, I’m positive it wouldn’t have been published.”
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The student who oversaw the opinion section: “It is preposterous that there are people at Rollins who requested that [Pizzi] be banned from writing again. . . . You cannot take away a person’s right to write or state what they wish. You may disagree, but by banning a school newspaper’s right to publish student opinions, you are starting a chain reaction you can never stop.”
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