And Your Point Is? Senior Lambastes 'Flimsy Argument'

Author: Nahal Batmanghelidj

In last week's edition of The Campus, Bryan Goldberg claimed that I misinterpreted the law in my opinions piece. However, it is he who is misinterpreting the law. Indeed, the disclaimer on the back of the "Art of Kissing" ticket stubs reads, "We reserve the right to refuse admission or to eject any person violating facility rules, local, state or federal law or whose conduct is deemed illegal or disorderly." Now, I am curious, is Mr. Goldberg aware that this law applies only to violations that occur during the said event?

As much as I was appalled and offended by "The Art of Kissing," I realize that it was a College event, and as such, the College has a right to ensure that the event runs smoothly, even if that means ejecting protestors. But, is Mr. Goldberg aware of the fact that our protest continued after the event had ended. And, is he aware that the Middlebury police were called in to eject us, not while the event was taking place, but after the event, when we were protesting outside of the McCullough Social Space?

For those of you who don't know, we continued to protest after the event had ended. We stood outside the McCullough Social Space, held up posters and engaged in debates with people who had attended the show. It was then that we were asked to leave by two Middlebury police officers, as College security was incapable of handling the situation on their own. So tell me Mr. Goldberg, who is misinterpreting that law? You may want reconsider your belief that, "The Middlebury police department should be commended for the way in which they handled the protest situation."

I'd like to point out the hypocrisy inherent in Mr. Goldberg's argument, as he bashes my claim that the founding fathers had a hidden agenda when drafting the Bill of Rights on the grounds that I was not there to witness the actual event, yet he passes judgment on the protest I was a part of when he clearly did not witness the entire affair.

Now on to the more substantive issue at hand, namely your criticism of my belief that our founding fathers had a hidden agenda when drafting the Bill of Rights. Mr. Goldberg, I shudder to think you have made your way through high school without having learned that women, because they were women, were automatically omitted from the drafting of the Bill of Rights. In fact, anyone who was not a white male was excluded from this law making process, and they were excluded because they were not white men. If that is not cause for me to believe that our founding fathers had a hidden agenda, then I don't know what is. And on the topic of hidden agendas, are you aware that civil liberties were created by men who wanted to protect their property rights?

These laws were designed to make sure that they catered to the needs and desires of wealthy, white males. I see that you have read the First Amendment, as you include a copy of it in your opinions piece, but are you aware of whose needs it was designed to accommodate? Next time you decide to pick apart someone's argument, I suggest you do a bit more research on the topic at hand. Allow me to suggest "The Irony Of Free Speech," by Owen Fiss.

There is far more to the First Amendment than meets the eye. There are people who spend their entire scholarly careers studying the First Amendment. That you might have taken an American history class in the past does not give you the right to claim that you are familiar with the agenda of those who drafted these laws.

Moreover, had you given my opinions piece adequate consideration, you would have known that my argument was not limited to speech. It was precisely because the participants were made to engage in the acts that Mr. Christian dictated through his speech, that the "Art of Kissing" can not be viewed exclusively in terms of free speech. Allow me to suggest "Towards a Feminist Theory of the State," by Catharine Mackinnon. Read it and you will find that the First Amendment has often been manipulated in order to protect far more than speech.

Unlike you, Mr. Goldberg, I make sure that I cover all of my bases before I take a public stance on an issue. I know that I cannot expect everyone to agree with me, but I do expect that when they criticize my views, they take the time to research the subject at hand. I've done my research. Have you?

In the second to last paragraph of our opinion piece you write, "When students write articles in which they misinterpret the law or inexplicably dismiss the first amendment, it not only destroys their validity, but it also reflects poorly on this community." Well, Mr. Goldberg, at least here we can agree. That said, in the future, I suggest you take more care in formulating your arguments. What is embarrassing are students who present flimsy arguments to justify their views.