By: Pratik Chougule
Posted 04/11/06
03:32 PM
About 60 protestors gathered outside of Brown University's Meehan Auditorium last Saturday, ready to express their anger at the upcoming lecture about to begin. A ferocious crowd of students and faculty furiously chanted and waved signs with slogans ranging from: "TROOPS HOME NOW," to "YOU HAVE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS" to "REMEMBER HIROSHIMA- REMEMBER VIETNAM." Who were these leftist activists so enraged at? Bush? Cheney? Rumsfeld? Actually no. It was Hillary Clinton.
Though Clinton had been invited by the university to lecture on women's leadership, protesters were primarily objecting to Clinton's complicity in the war in Iraq and her failure to take a stand against the "Bush Administration's imperialism," according to one of the organizers of the protest. She continued, "Clinton's record on the war in Iraq and now on Iran is pretty terrible." Another protester lambasted Clinton on her record on women's rights. "How can she claim to stand for women's rights?" she asked, "She really doesn't care about Iraqi women." After criticizing American troops in Iraq for intentionally running over children on sidewalks, another protester screamed, "This is the democracy Hillary Clinton wants for the American people? … What deals are you making for the oil and for your presidency, Clinton?"
Things only got uglier as the lecture began. As Hillary was introduced to the crowd, an array of "BOOOS" echoed throughout the auditorium. After the crowd finally quieted and Hillary began to speak, four protesters stood up and began shouting. Two who would not cease shouting were physically escorted out of the auditorium, including one who had smuggled in a large banner under his jacket that read "Clinton War Senator." The officers who dealt with the protesters offered to allow them to stay and continue to hold the banner if they would be quiet and sit down, but the protesters did not respond. As the officers dragged the man out, he shouted, "This is what freedom looks like."
While protests directed at conservatives are commonplace at Brown University, a school with a long history of leftist activism, I was surprised by the intensity of objections leveled at Clinton. Over the last year, the university had invited a host of liberal speakers including John Kerry, Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Howard Dean, all of whom were greeted with overwhelming praise. Dean received three standing ovations before even uttering a word.
Nor were these protests simply organized by a fringe group of extremists. The demonstrations at the lecture were the culmination of a series of objections launched at Clinton throughout the week before she spoke. The Brown Daily Herald, for instance, published an open letter to Clinton, signed by several notable professors and student leaders, criticizing her for "hawkish" views on Iraq and national security.
Even after the event, most of the Brown community, as seen by articles and letters published in the Daily Herald, were generally sympathetic. Only one editorialist chastised the lecturers, not because she did not agree with the protestors, but only because she "came to the lecture to hear an influential, successful woman address the issues of women's equality and international women's rights struggles. These are vital issues that should not be silenced for any reason."
Brown's reputation for having a far-left atmosphere is certainly well-deserved and it is difficult to exaggerate how overwhelmingly liberal the students and faculty on campus are. Yet at my time at Brown, I have not seen any evidence that the majority of leftists at Brown are significantly more liberal than the mainstream of the Democratic Party at the national level.
The protests last weekend are a microcosm of what Clinton will face in her bid for the presidency. The left at the grassroots level, the people who will raise money, volunteer, and vote in primaries, have moved so far to the left that Clinton, once an icon of the movement, is no longer acceptable.
In light of what I witnessed last weekend, I am not exactly sure whether to be happy or terrified. On the one hand, it is encouraging that Clinton is facing so much opposition within her own party. Hopefully, the left will defeat her before the right is forced to deal with this despicable character. Yet on the other hand, it is disturbing to see that the party of Truman and Kennedy has descended to the point that even Clinton is unable to appease the base. It makes me wonder, is Clinton now the voice of reason on the left?
Mr. Chougule is an international relations, history, and public policy major at Brown University.
Not a subscriber to HUMAN EVENTS? Click here to read more about our no-risk, special offer.
Education & Academia 
