U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Allen West was set to speak on Thursday at Saint Louis University to discuss the growing threat of radical Islam when more than 100 students walked out of the speech in protest.
The student protesters, which were led by the SLU Rainbow Alliance and the Muslim Students’ Association, filled the seats in the auditorium that West was going to speak at. Just as he was going to begin his speech, they walked out of the auditorium in protest of his speech involving the use of the term “radical Islam.”
After hearing that a St. Louis University administrator told the Young America’s Foundation (YAF), a student conservative organization that organized the event, not to use the term “radical Islam” in their advertisements for the speech, West wrote an article saying that he was being censored and that “little cupcakes” are asking for a “safe space where they don’t have to hear opposing views.”
The YAF website post said that same administrator at the school said that West does not “have experience with radical Islam,” even though he is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“If this is just a case of ill-conceived political correctness, we’ll rectify that. But, if this is a case of the influence of stealth jihad radical Islamic campus organizations such as the Muslim Student Association, an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, then you will be exposed. And I recommend to the President of St. Louis University, you do not want it known that a radical Islamic organization is dictating speakers on your campus — that is not the type of PR you really want.”
Saint Louis University president Fred Pestello emailed students saying that he stood in “solidarity” with them and agreed with their message that the term “radical Islam” should not be used.
During Wests’ speech on September 29, he mentioned how radical Islam is reaching the United States and how it is becoming a serious threat to all Americans and not just either Democrats or Republicans.
After the speech, students supposedly motivated by West calling the student protestors “little cupcakes,” sold cupcakes outside of the venue with proceeds going to Syrian refugees. West also donated.
[revad2]
