The Cardinal

Protest On Campus

Students, community to demonstrate as nation watches.

Liz Oiness
Editor
On Saturday, September 26, political radio and television personality Glenn Beck will be visiting McIntyre Hall to be honored by the Mayor of Mount Vernon, Bud Norris.
The ceremony, called ‘Welcome Home Glenn Beck,’ is sold out. Visitors are expected to come from far and wide to attend the event, which will take place after Beck speaks to a crowd at SafeCo Field in Seattle.
“I thought it was a good opportunity to bring someone of national prominence in their field—in his case radio and television—home to recognize them,” says Mayor Norris.
Glenn Beck is the host of his own network radio show, broadcast on over 300 stations, as well as a daily news show on the Fox News Channel.
However, some community members are planning to organize peaceful protest outside of McIntyre Hall.
“It is so regrettable that Mayor Norris has chosen Glenn Beck,” says Steve Crider, a Skagit County business owner who is one of many event committee organizers. “Of all people who have come out of Mt. Vernon and Skagit County, when so many others might be better honored and recognized. So that is the nature of the protest: not against any one’s right to free speech, but to show the rest of the country that we do not honor Glenn Beck and his unctuous views nor does Mayor Norris’s action in any way represent a large portion of this community’s values.”
“It’s not just going to be people protesting against Glenn Beck, but also people protesting for Glenn Beck,” responds Mayor Norris. “I believe those folks have a right to express their opinion, just as Mr. Beck has a right to express his opinion.”
“If they brought a far left-wing person in, someone who wants to socialize healthcare, the Mayor would have nothing to do with it,” says John Marks, a student applying for a position with KSVR. “He wouldn’t be giving them the key to the city.” Marks says he will be out there with the protestors on Saturday, because he feels that Beck is an extremist.
Whatever your political views, one thing is certain: This controversy has thrust Skagit County into the spotlight. The event has snowballed into a national news story, covered by local news stations and papers, such as the Skagit Valley Herald, all the way to national venues like the New York Times and the Fox Network. It’s expected that news outlets from around the country may be on location to cover the events—both the ceremony and the demonstrations.