Five students gathered to protest its
showing and nearly 30 came to watch and speak in favor of the movie and its screening. DM Photo | Logan Kirkland
More than 30 students attended a protest concering the Student Activities Association’s screening of “American Sniper” Sunday night at the Turner Center.
“The whole point of this is starting a dialogue and anyone that wants to do that, is happy to join in,” said Scott Schroder, a junior political science major who participated in the protest.
Schroder said the dialogue centers around the perceptions of xenophobia present in the Academy Award-winning “American Sniper.”
Though only five students students who felt the movie was particularly provoking were in attendance, nearly 30 of those who did not came to voice their opinions.
Sydney Marie Heart, a sophomore criminal justice and chemical engineering major, said she came to voice her opinion against the protesters because some of the signs and what was being said were anti-American.
“One of their signs caught my eye and I felt like this was a very specific argument where people who are from the front look anti-American or anti-government or anti-military,” Heart said “They need to be reminded that they have that right because of the sacrifices that people have made.”
Heart said she hopes people appreciate that we get to live in a place where everyone is entitled to their right to protest. She thinks that protesting should be used sparingly and should be used in a way that doesn’t oppress other people or intentionally antagonize people.
“I do appreciate the fact that we live in a world and a country where it’s okay for people to speak their minds even if I do disagree with it,” Heart said.
Anna Lee Phillips, director of the Student Activities Association, said having a protest against a movie the are screening is healthy for the students on this campus.
“At the end of the day it’s kind of a beautiful thing because college campuses are usually catalyst for social discussion and there’s not a lot of times in our lives where we’re in a place with this many individuals of this many backgrounds,” Phillips said.
The Student Activities Association is hosting an open forum discussion on the subject Wednesday at noon in the ballroom in the Student Union.
