Reformer's Blog
Washington U Shuts Down Mock 'Gulag"
Across the country yesterday, college students observed the 20th anniversary of fall of the Berlin Wall. (You can view photos of the events here and on Facebook.) While some schools such as Liberty University and Middle Tennessee State University featured the events in the school papers, Washington University in St. Louis had issues with the Young American for Liberty display.
The WUYAL chapter built a mock gulag to highlight the ugly side of socialism that many professors gloss over. According to a description at Young American's for Liberty blog:
The four walled, 10 foot high stockade was displayed prominently in the middle of campus for most of the day. Around the prison marched guards dressed in Soviet regalia and inside were abused prisoners who had resisted the socialist regime. Playing in the background was the Soviet National Anthem and a speech containing propaganda to which the prisoners were forced to listen.
Apparently, display of history did not sit very well with Washington University administration, who forced the students to dismantle the display on a technicality: the students had not had their tools approved. A report at the Campaign for Liberty explained:
It was not long before for some professors decided they were unpleased with this sort of political protest. A few walked by and remarked that they would "make some calls" in order to ensure that we were shut down. About two hours into the event, a university official approached the guards and demanded that we provide him with our paperwork. After successfully demonstrating that we were authorized by event services, he marched off. An hour or so later came a police officer following up on a complaint about the event which she received. After being assured that our event was peaceful, she too left. Finally, the University brought out the big guns. They came with several armed officers and a university official and instructed us to take down our protest on account of the fact that our tools were not inspected prior to the erection of the gulag.
John Burns, a local businessman, released a video on Youtube explaining what happened.
According to the KMOX article:
Organizers say they were trying to pay tribute to the 150 to 200 Million people they say have been killed throughout history by socialist regimes. But some students accused the demonstrators of trying to slam the Obama Administration as it pushes for nationalized health care.
Others felt the message was edgy , but worthy of consideration. "I mean it's out there and it's really out of the box," said graduate student Katlin Hartsell, "But I think it's good that it really gets people thinking about what the actual implications of what socialism and communism mean.
Most universities across the country celebrated the event through a partnership with the German Mission's Freedom Without Walls events or at least tolerated conservative and libertarian campus groups. To our knowledge, the University of Washington was the only campus to exclaim that a reenactment of the horrors of a gulag were "offensive."
Gateway Pundit and American Thinker also covered this story.
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Comments
"The Soviet Union wasn't quite that bad," said professors.
Ahahahaha! That's great. Rich.
Nov 10, 4:55 pm
Great job guys. You should plan a free speech protest outside their offices. Keep up the good fight.
Nov 10, 6:54 pm
Thank you for posting our story! There are a couple of corrections, though. This event occurred at Washington University in St. Louis, not the University of Washington, which is in Washington. Also, the video is of John Burns, who is a local construction company owner. Mr. Burns helped us erect the gulag. The head of Washu YAL is Dirk Doebler.
-Phil Christofanelli
Nov 10, 7:17 pm
Phil--Thanks for pointing those out. I'll correct the post.
Nov 10, 11:33 pm
I agree that the University's shutting you down after getting all of the required permits was wrong (assuming that you accurately described what you were going to do in the permit applications). You should demand a meeting with the University on this issue and seek legal counsel if they are stifling your free speech rights.
However, I question the analogy you imply - namely that the actions of the Obama administration have put this country on the road to gulags and Soviet-style Communism. This type of accusation was leveled against President Roosevelt when he created Social Security, which is a single-payer health care system. Republicans were outraged, claiming that Social Security would bankrupt the government, introduce socialism, assault liberty, and destroy America. It did not. Social Security consistently remains an immensely popular program to Americans in polling data.
The Republican Party is afraid of sweeping health care reform for many reasons, not the least of which is their fear that, if implemented it will also become immensely popular and they will be forever be branded (as Republicans were in 1935 when FDR got the Social Security Act passed) for working against what the people wanted (relief from the tyranny health insurance companies and coverage for everyone) and for moneyed special interests (health insurance companies).
Note that the American Medical Association and AARP have now endorsed legislation drafted by top House Democrats.
Nov 11, 3:24 pm
Social Security was not a health insurance program. It was called a "social insurance" benefit to supplement the incomes of retired individuals.
Furthermore, what does polling have to do with either the effectiveness or success of a program? Is populism the measurement of a good government?
Social Security is going bankrupt. It now takes 3 people paying into the system to support one person. This program by itself is crippling our economy. I shudder to think what a socialized health insurance program would do to the backs of average American taxpayers.
Also, members of the AMA have strongly lobbied to reverse the organization's decision, and a reversal may be forthcoming. That's hardly evidence for widespread support. If polling data is so important to you, why is Rasmussen finding that 52% of Americans are opposed to the House health care plan? Also Obama's approval ratings are at 42%, and Obama has seen a 10 point drop since last winter. Americans are clearly not happy with what is going on.
Nov 11, 10:13 pm
My mistake - you're right, Medicare and Medicaid were created by the Social Security Act of 1965 giving health coverage to Americans over age 65, and others in limited circumstances. But my larger point was that Social Security (and Medicare and Medicaid) are immensely popular programs created over the objections of Republicans and conservatives.
Polls can be distorted snapshots. However, over time they do reflect the opinion of the people and Social Security and Medicare have always been very popular with the people of the United States. You seem to imply that what the majority of the people want is not important, only your libertarian opinion is important. The support for Social Security and Medicare runs, in varying degree, throughout all demographics in this country, just as health care reform does and will when it is finally accomplished.
Yes, they are expensive programs, but they are not "going bankrupt," which is like saying someone is almost pregnant - either you are or you are not and it will never become bankrupt. Yes, it can and should be made more efficient, but it will always be expensive. So what? We are the richest country in the world and we, as a nation, can choose to spend part of the wealth to create a system of income supplementation (Social Security) or elderly health insurance (Medicare) or health care for everyone (which is what some are trying to do now) if we want.
Why can other industrialized countries provide health care as a right, provide better health care, and still have a higher standard of living for all of its people? Are they smarter than us, or are we hamstrung by impassioned appeals ("Socialist!" "Communist") to the prejudices and emotions of the populace that amount to nothing more than demagoguery? Besides, as a nation we spend far more on our military and the bailout of relatively unregulated investment banks than we will spend on health care reform - yet I don't hear a peep of protest about those expenditures out of you and your ideological cohorts.
Nov 12, 2:06 am
Adrienne, a postscript - you write: "Furthermore, what does polling have to do with either the effectiveness or success of a program? Is populism the measurement of a good government?" Polling has nothing to do with the effectiveness or success of a program per se, but if polls show that over time the American people overwhelmingly like, value and want Social Security despite its cost, then I think that shows that the vast majority of American people judge it as an effective and successful program despite its cost and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
Everyone gets their opinion, but ultimately it is the American people that judge whether Social Security, or health care reform, is effective, successful or worth having or not. Polls are just one measure of what the people judge worthwhile. The ultimate poll is an election. The American people overwhelmingly elected Barack Obama as president and one of his salient election platforms was health care reform with a public option. Absent a successful constitutional challenge, majority rules in this country - would you have it any other way?
p.s.s. In a non-sequitur you ask: "Is populism the measurement of a good government?" Populism is not justifying the success and effectiveness based on popularity. Populism is a political philosophy supporting the rights and power of the people in their struggle against a privileged elite. In the true sense of the word I am the populist when it comes to the debate on health care reform. The people want it and the privileged elite (the insurance companies and those that shill for them) are fighting against what the people want.
Nov 12, 2:21 pm