Guest Speaker

awebster8
Mar 22, 2017
2 min read

This past Wednesday, I got the opportunity to meet and listen to Nadine Strossen. She is the first and youngest woman to lead the ALCU. I told my parents and they were thrilled to find out I have access to such an opportunity like this. So, again, huge thanks to my school, High Point University, for just being really awesome.

In my junior and senior years of high school, I joined my close friends in starting up a Feminism Club, where we made hygiene and food drives for women who couldn't afford them. Although we didn't get much support from the rest of our school, who a majority of refused to believe that feminism wasn't classified as sexism, so we didn't have the funds to invite any speakers. Despite this, I have a great amount of respect for the women in our country and especially those who have taken a stand on something, stood up for what they believed in, despite what others say.

Within her speech, she was talking about the First Amendment. Her main point was that sensory will result in more harm than good. She went on to explain the difference between two things, hate speech and offensive speech. I'm really glad she did, because I had no idea that there was a difference. She classified hate speech as a separate branch of offensive speech. She pointed something out that my parents and I talk about when we would sit down at the dinner table all the time: when people are confronted with a viewpoint that they don't believe in, they automatically classify it as wrong, and do anything to prove so. It is our responsibility as members of society to open our minds and acknowledge the other side. It is not required to agree with it, but we must acknowledge it's existence. One should not sensor the other side, but to counter it with an argument.

I got a picture with her as soon as I could, before she started talking. She walked right past my row and I asked the girl next to me "Wait is that her?" Despite what I said, I knew it was her, I just couldn't believe she was right there, three or so feet away. She came back towards me and I stood up to say "Thank you so much for coming here to speak, you are an inspiration to many woman across the country". She responded with "Thank you so much, now are you here only because you have to for a class?" We both laughed a bit, and i reassured her that I came out of interest.