Protesting Protesters

To the Editors of The Crimson:

This is a university, a community composed of people dedicated to truth, freedom and knowledge. Incidents such as the one that occurred at Boylston Hall Wednesday have no place here, or anywhere where the freedom to think and speak is valued. It was a disgrace.

I'm sure that the protesters who demonstrated Wednesday night are good people. They put time and energy into the demonstration because they believed in it. They protested for the people of Nicaragua, not for themselves, and for that they are to be commended.

However, the manner in which they conducted themselves was deplorable. Of course, the Contras are unpopular on campus but freedom of speech is not for the popular alone. How would they feel if two of their members tried to speak against Contra aid before a group that was in favor of it, only to be heckled, insulted and chased out of the hall, squirted with fake blood? The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech to ensure that the voice of minorities can be heard. In this case, the Contras are the minority. The protesters could have spoken during the question and answer period. They could have had talks of their own. They believe in their cause. They are fighting for freedom in Nicaragua--freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom from fear and freedom from poverty--and that is good. What they need to understand is that they can't bring about freedom in Nicaragua by suppressing those very same freedoms at home. Jee-Hye Park '88