[From the class of 09]

I love that our school is national political player but I wish we'd figure out how to allow a more open political enviornment. When's the last time we had a big name from the left speak at Liberty? Ted Kennedy?

We had Mittens (who obviously isn't Chrisitian) on campus so why can't we get anyone from the left who at least claims to be Christian?

Is it because we are a Republican University with Christian leanings or are we a Christian School with Republican leanings?

I don't think everyone who speaks at Lib needs to agree with 100% of what we stand for but some balance is important IMO.

Interesting perspective from a left leaning Christian...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... stian.html

[ATrain]

I love that our school is national political player but I wish we'd figure out how to allow a more open political enviornment. When's the last time we had a big name from the left speak at Liberty? Ted Kennedy?

We had Mittens (who obviously isn't Chrisitian) on campus so why can't we get anyone from the left who at least claims to be Christian?

Is it because we are a Republican University with Christian leanings or are we a Christian School with Republican leanings?

I don't think everyone who speaks at Lib needs to agree with 100% of what we stand for but some balance is important IMO.

Interesting perspective from a left leaning Christian...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... stian.html

See my above post. We've had Tim Kaine speak (albeit he is center-left) and Governor McAullife will hopefully be rescheduled (he's left of Kaine, but not far left).

[4everfsu]

Your assumption would be wrong.

“Make it stop! Make it stop! The Huff Po readers will be laughing at us! Whaa!”

AND WHO CARES?

Princeton grad, Harvard Law grad, national champion debater, more sharp after speaking 21 hours straight than Sen. Dick Durbin on his best days, I think Ted Cruz, who will give the biggest speech of his life and which will be replayed a million times, knows a little bit about public speaking and preparation.

It would be foolish NOT TO PREPARE!

Oh, look, an AP cameraman. He’s taking photos. And the Huffington Post writer takes those photos and combines them with a negative article that hurt the feelings of some insecure LU alumni.

“Oh, no! Not again! The cool kids are going to be making fun of us! Can we at least get some balance and have Dan Savage come and talk to us about butt plugs? We’d get mentioned on Huff Po’s LGBTQQUIA…. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Page! Then maybe they’d let us into their club!”

I hope Ted Cruz becomes President and the link with Liberty University is cemented just so he can annoy all you “appoint-for-us-a-king…..then-we-will-be-like-all-the-other-nations” types.

If you hadn’t noticed, the world’s going to Hell right now at an accelerated pace. Some people would like to make a few positive changes. I think Ted Cruz and like-minded Liberty University supporters deserve to have their voices heard whether it’s popular or not. (Hint: The speech nor the school will be portrayed well and the hit pieces are already half written by the critics before the speech is even given.)

It’s time for Christianettes to get over their phobias regarding the embarrassment of big hair, pastel polyester leisure suits, and the old-timey Gospel songs of the past. Why there was even some people who claimed to believe the Bible "from kiver to kiver!" They happened……and Christianity survived.

Embrace the ‘F’ word…..Own it, repurpose it, despite the Huff Po’s best efforts…..Let’s say it together….F-A-L-W-E-L-L

Ah, yes….there is a stirring.....there is still some Fundamental goodness in you. I can feel it. You can be turned from The Dark Side….

God bless Liberty University and God bless the USA! It's a great day to be ridiculed by the "right" people.

+1

[Sly Fox]

I thought he gave a strong speech and the networks gave it strong coverage even with Hillary doing something at the exact same time.

[JakeP50]

Terry Mcaulife(sp?) was the originally intended speaker for today, but Liberty wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for someone to announce they are running for president. They are working to reschedule the governor at some point, probably next semester.

[ATrain]

I thought he gave a strong speech and the networks gave it strong coverage even with Hillary doing something at the exact same time.

You're in Texas and a Texan was speaking, no doubt affiliate stations in Houston gave it strong coverage along with Fox News.

[alabama24]

See my above post. We've had Tim Kaine speak (albeit he is center-left) and Governor McAullife will hopefully be rescheduled (he's left of Kaine, but not far left).

I would like to have Juan Williams. If he comes, can I meet him back stage?

[GoUNCA]

First.....hahahahhahaha

Second....The first was because of the yik yak during the TED talk. See what I did there? Because of the silly microphone headset?

http://www.businessinsider.com/liberty- ... ent-2015-3

Back in reality, Sen. Cruz has about zero chance of winning the primary. Absolute zero at winning the general election. BUT those book deals. Those book deals are great.

[SuperJon]

Those Yik Yak comments were awesome.

[Humble_Opinion]

I love that our school is national political player but I wish we'd figure out how to allow a more open political enviornment. When's the last time we had a big name from the left speak at Liberty? Ted Kennedy?

Is it because we are a Republican University with Christian leanings or are we a Christian School with Republican leanings?

I don't think everyone who speaks at Lib needs to agree with 100% of what we stand for but some balance is important IMO.

We've had Bob Beckel and Sen. Mark Warner here in the past two years.

Also, a few convo's ago, President Falwell stated that they had an interesting slate of speakers coming to LU this semester. He stated that not everyone would agree with what each of these speakers said 100%, but that it was important for the student body to be respectful, as they always have. That last part is a major differentiation between LU and most state-run institutions in this country. Still, most liberals turn down the opportunity to come speak here, despite the fact that they will speak in front of an audience that is far less boisterous about their dislike of them than most conservatives face at public institutions. That to me, shows how thin-skinned liberals are.

[LUminary]

Media folk from a couple of outlets repeated incessantly that it was mandatory for LU students to attend Cruz's announcement. What wasn't noted that it's mandatory for LU students to be at Convo regardless.

[adam42381]

Media folk from a couple of outlets repeated incessantly that it was mandatory for LU students to attend Cruz's announcement. What wasn't noted that it's mandatory for LU students to be at Convo regardless.

Semantics.

[LUminary]

No. Lack of clarity.

[ALUmnus]

The negative reaction to this is mind-boggling, and why anyone would read stuff on yik yak is beyond me. It really is the lowest of the low in terms of social media and its users. But apparently the comments were "awesome" because....

Is the blowback because you guys have something against Ted Cruz? Or is it merely because he's a Republican? It's hard to tell from the incredible lack of substance from these comments other than POLITICAL!!! ANNOYING!!! REPUBLICAN!!! I'm guessing it's the latter.

I suppose we should have way more people who have very little agreement with our school because, you know, diversity.

[ATrain]

The negative reaction to this is mind-boggling, and why anyone would read stuff on yik yak is beyond me. It really is the lowest of the low in terms of social media and its users. But apparently the comments were "awesome" because....

Is the blowback because you guys have something against Ted Cruz? Or is it merely because he's a Republican? It's hard to tell from the incredible lack of substance from these comments other than POLITICAL!!! ANNOYING!!! REPUBLICAN!!! I'm guessing it's the latter.

I suppose we should have way more people who have very little agreement with our school because, you know, diversity.

Yes, we should only have people speak who uphold the agenda in the political arena. No room for dissent or presenting the other side whatsoever. Must be subscribe to beliefs about X, Y and Z or else is anti-Christian and we don't want to ruin our students minds with it

[SuperJon]

They were awesome because they were snarky and funny.

[GoUNCA]

They were awesome because they were snarky and funny.

+∞

[SuperJon]

Here's the root of the issue in my mind: Liberty kids said those things on Yik Yak because they are tired of politics being pushed down their throat. They became so snarky is because they didn't go to Liberty to be forced to sit at a campaign rally where they play Toby Keith and wave American flags. Likewise, the reason we get snarky on here is because most of us signed up to go to the World's Largest Christian University and not the World's Largest Republican University.

[Humble_Opinion]

Here's the root of the issue in my mind: Liberty kids said those things on Yik Yak because they are tired of politics being pushed down their throat. They became so snarky is because they didn't go to Liberty to be forced to sit at a campaign rally where they play Toby Keith and wave American flags. Likewise, the reason we get snarky on here is because most of us signed up to go to the World's Largest Christian University and not the World's Largest Republican University.

I didn't count the number of individual users on yik yak commenting in a "snarky" manner, but I would guess that it was a very small % of the total body of students that had no issue watching the speech. Did you even bother to watch it? At several points, students were providing standing ovations. Were they forced to do that too?

We've talked about this topic in numerous threads before. I said it then and I'll say it now... Having 2 or 3 of our roughly 40 convos a semester contain a political pundit does not make us the World's Largest Republican University.

Btw... it was Aaron Tippin not Toby Keith being played after he spoke, and there was a normal praise and worship session prior to the speech just like there is at EVERY convo.

[thepostman]

I'm tired of universities affiliating themselves politically. That will never change but it's at the core as to why I don't like it. Political party affiliation has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[SuperJon]

I actually didn't get to watch the speech. I had a couple work things come up. From what I've heard, it was a great speech. I want to watch it sometime when I get a chance. Most of my "issues" have more to do with how political we can be as a whole more than what happened this morning.

I would also agree with the 2-3 convos a semester being political. The problem I have lies in the fact that it's more than simply convo speakers. If a politician came in to speak and that was the end of it, I don't think I'd be as bothered. We eat up the attention and always make it a gigantic issue though. Because we talk about those appearances more often and louder than others, we give off the vibe that those speakers are more important than the other things we do as a school.

As for Aaron Tippin: my bad. The Toby Keith reference was second hand info.

[Humble_Opinion]

I'm tired of universities affiliating themselves politically. That will never change but it's at the core as to why I don't like it. Political party affiliation has absolutely nothing to do with it.

I don't think we affiliate ourselves politically. We affiliate ourselves ideologically though for sure. Just because every person that is a conservative happens to have an (R) next to their name doesn't mean we are politically choosing one party over another. I would venture to guess that there are quite a few people with (R)'s next to their names that the administration of LU would likely not be too enthused about. Maybe I'm seeing this through my own eyes though...

[Humble_Opinion]

If a politician came in to speak and that was the end of it, I don't think I'd be as bothered. We eat up the attention and always make it a gigantic issue though. Because we talk about those appearances more often and louder than others, we give off the vibe that those speakers are more important than the other things we do as a school.

As for Aaron Tippin: my bad. The Toby Keith reference was second hand info.

When you say "We eat up the attention..." are you speaking about the school or just us here on the board? If you mean the school, in what ways do they make it bigger in your view?

[bluejacket]

I didn't count the number of individual users on yik yak commenting in a "snarky" manner, but I would guess that it was a very small % of the total body of students that had no issue watching the speech. Did you even bother to watch it? At several points, students were providing standing ovations. Were they forced to do that too?

We've talked about this topic in numerous threads before. I said it then and I'll say it now... Having 2 or 3 of our roughly 40 convos a semester contain a political pundit does not make us the World's Largest Republican University.

I agree. It's the nature of a fairly large university. Some people will not like it; some will love it; many will not have strong opinion. I would like to see more diversity in speakers and topics in convocation but it seems to me that convo is getting better, not worse.

I would also agree with the 2-3 convos a semester being political. The problem I have lies in the fact that it's more than simply convo speakers. If a politician came in to speak and that was the end of it, I don't think I'd be as bothered. We eat up the attention and always make it a gigantic issue though. Because we talk about those appearances more often and louder than others, we give off the vibe that those speakers are more important than the other things we do as a school.

Liberty gets into a frenzy whenever anyone nationally famous comes not just politicians. I agree that the leadership should tone it down sometimes. We love the spotlight and let everyone know it. But this excitement happens at other schools too. When Condoleeza Rice was scheduled to go to Rutgers for 2014's commencement, the controversy got so severe that she didn't even attend. When President Obama spoke at Notre Dame's commencement in 2009, the same frenzy happened. Universities of our size do not consistently have events like this outside of commencement/baccalaureate services. Liberty has a huge university-wide convocation which happens three times a week; disagreements are going to happen. Whether you think that what happened today was good, bad, or are indifferent, convocation (with its positives and negatives) was designed for events like this.

[TH Spangler]

“Oh, no! Not again! The cool kids are going to be making fun of us! Can we at least get some balance and have Dan Savage come and talk to us about butt plugs?

I'll skip that one and just pay the fine .....