According to its website, Accent Speakers Bureau, the Student Government group that brings speakers to campus, “strives to bring controversial and influential speakers to the university, with the intent of further educating the student body, outside of the classroom, on current hot topics and controversies.” If this is the group’s mission statement, Accent is clearly not doing its job.
The group just announced it’s bringing Trevor Noah, comedian and host of “The Daily Show,” to campus. While I agree Noah is very talented and a superior comic, I am extremely disappointed with the selection.
From Fall 2012 to present day, I can’t think of a single conservative speaker Accent brought to campus. Not one. Sure, some will say Ray Kelly, the former NYPD chief recently brought in with Al Sharpton, is conservative. But I wouldn’t bestow that title on someone who supports gun control.
How about Ron Paul a few years back? Well, Ron Paul is Ron Paul. Libertarian perhaps. I won’t get into an ideological debate, but a “conservative,” at least in the mainstream sense, Paul is not.
But for argument’s sake, let’s say they are both conservative. Fine. That’s two conservatives Accent brought to campus during my time at UF.
How many liberals did Accent bring? Well, significantly more than two.
They are: left-leaning activist Al Sharpton; Democratic Congressman John Lewis; James Obergefell, the lead plaintiff of the Supreme Court case that legalized gay marriage; former Democratic President Jimmy Carter; liberal Jay Carney, President Obama’s former press secretary; liberal actor George Takei; Neil deGrasse Tyson, who made fun of George W. Bush in his Accent speech; the rapper and Obama-supporter Common; Bill Nye, who criticizes the right often; Obama’s former national security adviser Tom Donilon; and Obama’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Julian Castro. The list could go on if I consider speakers who support Democrats, like poet Maya Angelou and actress Robin Wright, but this column has a word count.
And the list now includes liberal comic Trevor Noah, who makes fun of conservatives on a nightly basis.
So, we have two “conservatives,” even though I wouldn’t categorize them as such, and a lot more liberals — like, a lot.
I fail to see how this is fair. I fail to see how bringing speakers of the same ideological bent “further (educates) the student body, outside of the classroom, on current hot topics and controversies.”
Surely Accent can bring a right-winger to campus. Didn’t they read my column last semester about brining Ann Coulter to campus? That did a lot. How about bringing Megyn Kelly or Bill O’Reilly? Come on, now.
Not only does Accent bring only liberals to UF, but they also waste too much money on speakers who don’t educate students on any worthwhile topics.
James Franco, who stars in movies I won’t pay $10 to see in theaters, was paid $85,000 to speak at UF. Yes, kids, we are taking out loans and going into debt so James Franco, a C-rated actor, faux intellectual and perpetual stoner, can speak on campus. He’s definitely educating the Student Body.
How about Paul Rudd? He, alongside a writer for The New York Times — the “old, gray lady” of conservative print journalism — was paid $90,000. I’m sure both talked at great lengths about topics really, really important to our community, school and lives. I bet we are all better for it.
Accent doesn’t bring conservative speakers to campus. And, to channel some of The Donald, Accent makes horrible deals.
For these reasons, I demand Accent gives me my money back. I will not allow them to use my money in such an ideologically lopsided, unfair and wasteful way.
The lack of diversity brought to this campus is truly outrageous and completely embarrassing. Accent, a group responsible for bringing intellectual diversity to campus, should act without such a liberal accent.
I doubt it will. Its history speaks volumes. Until then, I demand my money back.
Michael Beato is a UF political science senior. His column appears on Mondays.
