Controversial speaker for Founder’s Day: Erick Erickson
Recently, the university invited Erick Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState.com, to speak at Founder’s Day on Feb. 13. This decision has prompted vocal dissention and disapproval from many within the student body and faculty.
As a group of concerned students, we express serious reservations about inviting Erickson to speak at an event that celebrates Mercer’s dedication to integrity, respect and acceptance of diversity.
Rather than living by the values of responsible citizenship or emulating this dedication, Erickson has made his fame and fortune through a career of incessant vitriol and extremism. He has left behind a legacy of notable sound bites, including calling the Democratic National Convention the “Vagina Monologues in Charlotte.”
Once when referring to Supreme Court Justice Souter’s retirement, Erickson wrote, “The nation loses the only goat f***ing child molester to ever serve on the Supreme Court in David Souter’s retirement.”
Even the First Lady has fallen under Erickson’s verbal abuse, having been called a “Marxist harpy wife.” This is not a matter of political disagreement as we ourselves come from diverse political backgrounds. We also respect Erickson’s right to free speech and expression.
Nevertheless, it is deeply troubling that Erickson has been selected to represent university values that insist on and celebrate diversity by recognizing the dignity and worth of every person. Ideally, we would ask that Erickson’s invitation to speak at Founder’s Day be revoked, but this is unlikely to happen at this late stage.
Instead, we advocate for an opportunity for Erickson to speak with the Mercer community about fostering productive, democratic debate in a question and answer format.
We also encourage SGA and those involved with the selection of Founder’s Day speakers to make the process more transparent in order to invite a speaker who better exemplifies the Mercer ethos of cultivating inclusivity and civic engagement.
We ask our peers to research Erickson in order to become more informed students.
Finally, we are grateful to have had faculty support throughout the entire process, who have modeled what it means to be responsible and concerned citizens, engaged in productive and respectful dialogue and will not blindly support something that goes against the values they adhere to and teach.
No one, including faculty and staff, should be coerced into participating in an arena that challenges their conscience. We are appreciative of an opportunity such as Founder’s Day to celebrate our university as well as the faculty and staff who genuinely care about their students.
Excellent article, Annie. As an alumnus, I balked at the idea of Erick Erickson sharing the same stage as Sam Oni and Ferrol Sams. I don’t mind him speaking at the university, but why does it have to be on a day that celebrates Mercer’s values of honest academic debate, openness, and respect that he seems to have missed out on?
Has anyone asked SGA how they came to this decision? I encourage you to go to the meetings. They really will listen to you.
As one of the original drafters of this letter, I agree with this letter’s content 100%.
Unfortunately for the growing consensus among college students in the liberal arts community, Mercer has a long and celebrated past stemming from the one of the most conservative and typically southern traditions of all: the baptist church. With so many speakers touring through Mercer’s speaking circuit touching on the current progressive agenda that is so endemic in today’s college community, what better way is there to celebrate the school’s founding than a speaker who reflects its true foundation. The University’s rich heritage is one that has combined years of diverse opinions and perspectives that, considered together, have helped to shape the institution into (hopefully) the best version of itself. To ignore the heritage of the institution is to be willfully ignorant of history. This is absolutely contrary to the purpose of higher learning! If we claim to be a people of acceptance and understanding, should we not attempt to accept and understand EVERY aspect of Mercer’s rich heritage as well as all of the ideas that exist between the spires today?
I am a Baptist and a Republican/Libertarian voter, but if Mr. Erickson’s career reflects Mercer’s true foundations, one which is based upon petty name-calling, public profanity, incivility, closed-mindedness, ignorance, and a general lack of civic responsibility, then I suppose I came to the wrong university. Surely there could be a more responsible, respectful conservative whom we could invite next year.
Isn’t inviting him a way to “celebrate diversity,” as written above? Listening to people different than you is a great way to learn and grow.
Now, I’ve never heard of this guy before, so I’m not defending him. But it seems a bit ridiculous to me that we’re preaching openness and understanding, yet at the same time we don’t want to hear this man speak. I’ve never before gone to a Founder’s Day event, but I might go this year, just to see what’s up.
I actually kind of agree. On the one hand I think he was the wrong choice for the event; on the other hand, I want to see whether he can add anything positive to the Founder’s Day experience.
I’m not saying that I think he was a good choice (again, I’ve never heard of him before, so I really don’t know). I am saying that I think we’re reacting the wrong way to him being selected.
You have it exactly right. Diversity (capital “D”) should encompass all things diverse, and should not be lent a separate connotation to support any specific agenda. I do hope you decide to go to the Founders’ Day festivities, as they are both educational and fun. I highly recommend going on the Pilgrimage to Penfield to learn about Mercer’s humble beginnings. Best of luck to you!