Tolerance Strikes Again: College Students Shout Down Rick Santorum During Speech

By Dustin Siggins Published on December 1, 2016

Open-minded, tolerant liberals are at it again — this time, shouting down former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator and two-time presidential candidate Rick Santorum for making a speech at Cornell University on the future of America under President-elect Donald Trump. Famously socially conservative, Santorum made a short speech and opened up the floor to questions from the packed audience.

But liberals couldn’t wait that long to heckle Santorum, both in the marked area outside the auditorium and indoors. Hosted by the Cornell Republicans, the campus’ Young America’s Foundation and the Student Activities Funding Commission, Santorum was introduced by Cornell College Republicans President Olivia Corn. Within a minute of speaking, Corn had to firmly ask hecklers to “please give me the respect I’m giving you.”

It only got worse from there, with hecklers chanting “Shame!” as Santorum spoke. They also said he should leave campus, and were otherwise hostile despite claiming to have liberal values. The event can be seen in full at the video immediately below, starting around 29:00.

In a particularly poignant clip, Santorum seemed to chuckle as he noted that the same liberal students yelling “Shame!” were likely to “walk around this campus and talk about tolerance.” Santorum was interrupted this time by cheers and a partial standing ovation, after which he continued: “And all of them will tell you that you have to celebrate what? Diversity! Celebrate diversity! Preach tolerance! But when it comes to anybody who disagrees with them, there is no tolerance.”

 

The conservative student publication Cornell Review mocked the protesters, while The Cornell Daily Sun gave prominent voice to students who claim Santorum is “anti-gay” and “racist.” The independent student newspaper The Daily Sun article noted that the evening began with the usual reading of the university’s free speech policy, which had to be read again half-way through, “as protesters were continually hindering the speaker’s ability to address attendees.”

The SJW students at Cornell clearly can’t tolerate a viewpoint or rationale with which they disagree, though it appears the number of outlandishly rude and intolerant students was small compared to the 500-person audience reported by the Review. Cornell’s student leadership and administration deserve credit for hosting Santorum despite the students who showed their liberal values go no further than their safe spaces.

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