Any Discipline for Students Who Vandalized Anti-Abortion Display?

It was an outrage. A bunch of feminist students, members of the campus group Empowerment vandalized an anti-abortion display on campus.

Even worse, in a huge display of chutzpah, two students bragged about doing it on Facebook, one in her own post, and another in comments to a post from the Young Americans for Freedom. One of the students admitted to a reporter that she had “tagged along” with members of Empowerment when they trashed the display.

Both the College Democrats, and the group Empowerment came out with statements supporting the vandalism.

Had any conservative group supported the vandalism of any leftist display on campus, the group would have been quickly suspended.

But what about the students who actually did the vandalism? Were they punished in any way? We have been trying to find out, and have been stonewalled by Marquette.

Starting on October 24, we have sent three e-mails to Xavier Cole, Vice President for Student Affairs, within whose bureaucracy discipline would be administered. We also sent him one Tweet, and sent an e-mail to Brian Dorrington, Marquette’s official spokesman.

From: John McAdams
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2016 2:52 PM
To: Cole, Xavier
Subject: Investigation of Vandalizing of Anti-Abortion Display

Hi, Xavier,

I’m wondering whether you can tell me anything about the progress of the investigation into the vandalizing of the anti-abortion display of Marquette for Life.

I’m sure you are aware of two students who have confessed to (actually bragged about) taking part in it. And further that one of those students told a local reporter that she “tagged along” with members of Empowerment, who did the vandalizing.

Regardless of whether you can comment on the investigation, I’m assuming you can answer a question of policy: will Marquette announce the results of the investigation and what punishment has been meted out to the guilty parties?

On the record (unless you tell me otherwise).

John McAdams
Political Science
Marquette Warrior Blog

@DrXavierCole Are students who vandalized the anti-abortion display being disciplined in any way?

— jmcadams (@jmcadams) November 18, 2016

From: John McAdams
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2016 4:15 PM
To: Cole, Xavier
Subject: RE: Investigation of Vandalizing of Anti-Abortion Display

Hi, Xavier,

I haven’t heard from you on this, perhaps because when you got it, there was no actual information you could share.

But now, I’m assuming that the case has progressed.

I’m particularly interested in knowing whether any discipline has been imposed on the students who engaged in the vandalism.

I would also be interested in knowing whether the student group whose members engaged in the vandalism (Empowerment) and a student group which explicitly endorsed the vandalism (College Democrats) have faced any consequences.

Again, on the record unless you tell me otherwise. I’ll most certainly be blogging about this.
John McAdams
Marquette Warrior Blog

Tue 12/6/2016 4:13 PM
From: John McAdams
To: Brian Dorrington

Hi, Brian,

Can you give me an official statement as to whether any discipline was imposed on the Marquette students who vandalized an anti-abortion display on campus?

I’m sure you are aware that Marquette’s silence on this will necessarily lead to the conclusion that nothing was done, and Marquette implicitly condoned the vandalism.

Interestingly, Penn State does take vandalism of a political display seriously.

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=8468

John McAdams
Political Science
Marquette Warrior Blog

12/14/16
From: John McAdams To: Xavier Cole

Xavier,

I still haven’t heard from you on this.

I’m sure you know that, in the absence of any comment from Marquette to the contrary, it has to be assumed that the students in question were not disciplined at all.

Some universities take attacks on speech seriously.

http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/12/05/penn-state-students-fined-for-destroying-pro-trump-signs/

I hope to hear from you by the end of the day.

John McAdams
Political Science
Marquette Warrior Blog

Marquette has failed to provide any response.

The inference is obvious: the students have gotten off scott-free. Even if Marquette refused to reveal the identity of the students, they could explain what punishment has been meted out. But apparently, none has been.

Marquette has been pandering mightily to the campus leftists. One particularly egregious example was when both Michael Lovell (President) and Daniel J. Myers (Provost) demonstrated with students in support of the bullies at the University of Missouri.

As the links above show, Penn State was willing to discipline students who tore up Donald Trump signs. It’s ironic that Marquette, apparently, is unwilling to defend free expression on campus, and even to defend expression of the Catholic position on abortion.

Update

The vandals in fact received a minor, “slap on the wrist” punishment.