A reader snapped this picture from the protest against the NYU College Republicans' "Find the Illegal Immigrant" game in Washington Square Park today. College Republicans president Sarah Chambers denied the event was racist and told the Washington Square News, "The event will open up both vocally and physically the issue of illegal immigration." She added, "The media response was much larger then I expected - the NYU response was no."
NYU's response was, "Our inclination is always to support free speech. Just as one group of students will conduct this so-called 'game,' others will be protesting it. At a university, this is exactly the kind of outcome we hope for from engaged students and scholars." And a media frenzy, as evinced by this video from Gawker.
Senator Charles Schumer, shilling his new book on campus, told students he thought the group's actions were "obnoxious" and explained, "A person who's making a dollar a day in Oaxaca, who risks their life to come and make two dollars an hour here in America, is not to be ridiculed. It's not to be despised. So what I think they're doing is obnoxious."
NYU College Republicans are scheduled to have a general meeting tonight. That's another good time to chat with them about their views.
Photograph by gfhdickinson on Flickr; image from the College Republicans' Facebook invite for the "hunt"
