Little could be heard over the roar of the crowd, and the sheer number of students lining up along the ramps connecting the main floors of CCRI’s Knight campus was staggering. The turn out on campus to hear President Bill Clinton speak on behalf of his wife’s campaign was amazing to say the least.
The real story however isn’t to be found in the former president’s speech, but in the complete disregard for our fellow student’s rights to free speech.
Throughout the proceeds, unnoticed by many of those attending, members of Hillary’s campaign staff were weaving through the crowd silencing any dissenting voice. The first of these instances that The Lens witnessed was the suppression of a student named Dantes Carrasco.
Before the event even had a chance to get into full swing, Dantes pulled out his Bernie Sanders sign. This isn’t much of a surprise in and of itself, college students are pretty well known for vocally supporting the Sanders’ campaign.
However, though he was quietly and calmly holding his sign, Dantes was quickly approached by a suited individual who informed him that either the sign had to go, or he did.
This wasn’t the only sign that the Hillary Campaign had a problem with. Students Paul Moore and Brian Bowes created a homemade banner which said “Bernie”, which they hung along the ramp up to the fourth floor across from a sign on the first floor which stated “Rhode Island = Clinton Country”.
“This was quick. I mean, pretty soon after they were put up they were immediately taken down.” says Moore.
But the censorship didn’t stop there. During Governor Raimondo’s speech she asked the audience if they planned to vote for Hillary. Several students in the audience answered in the negative. Within moments they were approached by men in a suits who sternly advised them to stop.
This immediate and decisive decision to silence such a small number of students in a sea of people was not something we at The Lens would have expected to see. Are we as students meant to take this as a sign of Hillary’s position on free speech? How is it that Hillary can claim to be in support of college students, while her campaign team seeks to silence dissenting voices among them?
The real story however isn’t to be found in the former president’s speech, but in the complete disregard for our fellow student’s rights to free speech.
Throughout the proceeds, unnoticed by many of those attending, members of Hillary’s campaign staff were weaving through the crowd silencing any dissenting voice. The first of these instances that The Lens witnessed was the suppression of a student named Dantes Carrasco.
Before the event even had a chance to get into full swing, Dantes pulled out his Bernie Sanders sign. This isn’t much of a surprise in and of itself, college students are pretty well known for vocally supporting the Sanders’ campaign.
However, though he was quietly and calmly holding his sign, Dantes was quickly approached by a suited individual who informed him that either the sign had to go, or he did.
This wasn’t the only sign that the Hillary Campaign had a problem with. Students Paul Moore and Brian Bowes created a homemade banner which said “Bernie”, which they hung along the ramp up to the fourth floor across from a sign on the first floor which stated “Rhode Island = Clinton Country”.
“This was quick. I mean, pretty soon after they were put up they were immediately taken down.” says Moore.
But the censorship didn’t stop there. During Governor Raimondo’s speech she asked the audience if they planned to vote for Hillary. Several students in the audience answered in the negative. Within moments they were approached by men in a suits who sternly advised them to stop.
This immediate and decisive decision to silence such a small number of students in a sea of people was not something we at The Lens would have expected to see. Are we as students meant to take this as a sign of Hillary’s position on free speech? How is it that Hillary can claim to be in support of college students, while her campaign team seeks to silence dissenting voices among them?