[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TOM TANCREDO VISIT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, America's colleges and universities are 
training the future leaders of our Nation. In an academic setting, all 
viewpoints on matters of public policy deserve the chance to be heard. 
This tradition of academic freedom must be protected.
  Unfortunately, last week at the University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill, students were denied the opportunity to hear a talk by 
former Congressman Tom Tancredo by protesters who interrupted his 
speech. Congressman Tancredo had been invited by the University of 
North Carolina Chapter of Youth for Western Civilization to speak on 
the topic of in-State tuition for illegal aliens, an issue that has 
been hotly debated in the State of North Carolina.
  Campus police shut down the event after protesters who shouted 
accusations of racism shattered a window of the classroom where the 
talk was to be held.
  Following the incident, I had the chance to speak with the University 
of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp by telephone. Chancellor 
Thorp said he had called Congressman Tancredo to apologize for how he 
was treated during his visit to the campus. The chancellor also issued 
a public statement about the incident.
  He said, and I quote, ``We expect protests about controversial 
subjects at Carolina. That's part of our culture. But we also pride 
ourselves on being a place where all points of view can be expressed 
and heard. There's a way to protest that respects free speech and 
allows people with opposing views to be heard. Here that's often meant 
that groups protesting a speaker have displayed signs or banners, 
silently expressing their opinions while the speaker had his or her 
say.''
  That did not happen during Congressman Tancredo's visit.
  I commend Chancellor Thorp for extending a personal apology to 
Congressman Tancredo and for publicly voicing his disappointment that a 
visitor to the campus was denied the opportunity to express his views.
  On behalf of all taxpayers who support North Carolina's public 
universities and their system, I also would like to apologize to my 
former colleague, because it all comes down to one simple point: If our 
public universities cannot protect freedom of speech on their campuses, 
who will? While his opposition to in-State tuition benefits for illegal 
immigrants may be controversial to some, Congressman Tancredo is a 
respected and knowledgeable leader in the immigration reform movement.
  It is a shame that those with dissenting viewpoints prevented others 
from hearing his comments. I hope disciplinary measures will be taken, 
as warranted, against any student or professor who participated in 
disrupting Congressman Tancredo's talk. It is my understanding that the 
school is working with the students and would like to invite 
Congressman Tancredo back to campus to speak. In fact, Mr. Speaker, 
former Congressman Virgil Goode, another opponent of illegal 
immigration, is already scheduled to speak at the school tomorrow, and 
I hope that his speech will be protected.
  I hope the university will take steps to ensure that future student-
sponsored discussions on the university campus at Chapel Hill do not 
get shut down by those with dissenting viewpoints. We have a right to 
agree and disagree in this country. But if we cannot protect that at a 
university, I don't know what the future holds, quite frankly.
  Again, in closing, I thank the administrators at the University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill for working to protect the integrity of 
the university by allowing free speech to be exercised on their campus.
  If our men and women in uniform or in Afghanistan and Iraq are trying 
to protect the freedom in those countries, then let's do what is 
possible to protect the freedom of different views at our universities 
and our colleges in America, because they are the future leaders of 
America, and they have a right to participate with those who agree and 
disagree.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I ask God to bless our men and women in 
uniform, and I ask God to please bless America.

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