[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 163 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2244-E2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       THE FREE SPEECH HYPOCRISY AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 25, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, it's Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week. This week 
involves events on college and university campuses across the Nation to 
promote awareness of the ideology that motivates terrorist groups like 
al Qaeda and Hamas.
  While this event has sparked free speech debates on college campuses 
across the country, it has also revealed hypocrisies that exist in 
``free speech.''
  On October 8th, antiwar student activists covered the George 
Washington University campus with anti-Muslim posters. We now know that 
this was a hoax targeted at conservative student-members of the Young 
America's Foundation. Right after the posters appeared on the campus, 
the George Washington University Student Association Vice President, 
Brand Kroeger said he ``would support expulsion'' of the responsible 
students.
  The George Washington University Administration brought the 
conservative students into its office, presumed the students were 
guilty, and pressured the students to sign a statement disavowing hate 
speech. The students refused to sign the statement and said they were 
innocent. The students were then dragged before a university ``peace 
forum'' and subjected to heckles from their fellow students. After all 
of this, 7 antiwar activist students took responsibility. These 7 
students said the entire event was just a hoax. Guess what happened to 
the 7 responsible students? Nothing! No disciplinary action at all! The 
hypocrisy at American universities is appalling. If you are a liberal 
student, you can say anything. If you are a conservative student, you 
are denied free speech by the public university.
  It seems that if you have one viewpoint, universities will punish and 
ridicule you, but if you agree with the universities, you'll be able to 
say whatever you want. There doesn't seem to be any equal opportunity 
in free speech on college campuses.
  Colleges and universities preach liberal viewpoints without 
presenting the other side.

[[Page E2245]]

The politically correct nature of our higher education sparked the 
creation of Islamo-Fascism Week.
  During this week, students on college campuses across America will 
host events to educate students on issues that are not addressed inside 
of the classroom. The events include ``teach in'' panels and sit-ins on 
Women's Studies Department classes, to protest the absence of courses 
that focus on the oppression of women in Islam.

  Islamic oppression of women will be the key focus of this week. In 
one horrific example of Islamic oppression, young Islamic schoolgirls 
were shot to death in Saudi Arabia when they fled a burning building 
without their veils. In another example, an Islamic teenager was buried 
before being stoned to death for alleged sexual offenses.
  The Muslim American Society is protesting this week of events. The 
Society claims that this event is hate speech and promotes intolerance 
of Muslims. This isn't true. The event promotes awareness and 
intolerance of radical Muslim extremists and rightfully so. These 
extremists want to kill Americans. We should be intolerant of them.
  Muslim extremists are responsible for 9/11, for the USS Cole bombing, 
for Embassy bombings, and they target our soldiers abroad. We also know 
that Islamo-Fascists have waged a jihad, or a holy war, against 
America.
  The term ``Islamo-Fascism'' is not hate speech. It is not degrading 
to all Muslims. It degrades radical Muslim extremists. The term 
``Italian Fascism'' doesn't smear all Italians. It smears radical 
Italian extremists. There is a difference between Muslims and radical 
Jihadists, who seek to destroy and murder people indiscriminately.
  Islamo-fascism Awareness Week is a wake-up call for American 
students. Our classrooms need to stop worrying about political 
correctness and start educating our students on the truth. The truth is 
that radical Muslim extremists are the greatest danger that exists for 
Americans at home and abroad. The truth is that women are oppressed by 
Islamic extremists. The truth is that we need to stop garnering 
sympathy for the enemy and start confronting those against America.
  And that's just the way it is.

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