By now, some of you might be aware of a “protest” that occurred during Wednesday’s presentation by Domino’s CEO Tom Monaghan.

For those of you who don’t know, the so-called “sit-out” was in protest of Monaghan’s involvement with Ave Maria University, a conservative Catholic institution, and his stances on gay rights and reproductive rights.

As co-presidents of Spectrum, Elon’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight alliance, we’d like to clarify Spectrum’s stance on the issue. The organization is not an official sponsor.

We neither support nor condemn the actions of those who attended the protest, though we continue as always to support events that advance gay rights and support freedom of speech and freedom of

assembly.

As individuals, though, our opinions differ. To us, the gay rights movement boils down to one very simple concept: the First Amendment of the Constitution.

It means being allowed to say, to think and to feel whatever you like. That is why we personally disagree with the protest.

We fully support Monaghan’s rights to say and to believe whatever he chooses about gay rights or abortion.

We may not always agree with him, but that's okay, too. That's what we’re trying to change, and it’ll be a long road, but we’ll get there.

We have found no instances of Monaghan attempting to incite violence against GlBTs.

If there were, this would be different. But he has only offered not-so-uncommon opinions.

Also, we feel that this is an inappropriate venue for such an event.

Monaghan is coming to speak about business. Not his religion, not where he donates his money, not his stance on abortion. Another important part of the gay right's movement to us is the utmost respect for personal privacy.

We feel that this is an intrusion upon Monaghan. We urge all Elon students to always support free speech, and not just when they agree with what is being said.

We encourage the Elon administration to bring speakers with all sorts of viewpoints to campus, and for there to be lively discussion.

However, perhaps there are better ways of having this discussion than to protest a man for his religious beliefs when he is only trying to talk about his business.

Student: Allison Carter and Brandon Tynan, 09 - 04/05/07