On Tuesday, Matt Walsh, writer for The Blaze, hosted by the Notre Dame Young Americans for Freedom, gave a lecture entitled “How the Left Corrupts Capitalism.” On the Wednesday morning following his talk he made a post on Facebook detailing his narrative about the campus climate regarding his visit. Central to his points were that the administration may have had a hand in the location and technical difficulties of the event. He states that he was “sent down into the basement of the science hall, in a room that wasn't nearly big enough for the crowd.” Mr. Walsh claims that the administration invited Wendy Davis, who was given “a nice, comfortable room with microphones and everything” in her visit which he believes betrayed the University's Catholic values. Mr. Walsh’s claims present a mixture of fantasy, and with a knowledge of the proceedings of the student activities office (SAO), severe implausibility. The lecture given by Mr. Walsh was held in Nieuwland Hall, room 118, generally not considered a prime event location, and he was not provided a microphone for this event. Having worked with SAO myself in the past, I know that a room request with SAO is a simple process, but must be submitted with time to spare. If a group does not submit a request until a few days or weeks before the event, or do not promptly follow up on SAO comments on their request, they end up with sub-prime real estate. Furthermore, SAO groups must submit audio-visual requests themselves, or end up with a disgruntled speaker. Thus, on the counts of room choice and technical failures, the organizers are more likely to be at fault. Mr. Walsh’s comparison to the Wendy Davis event is then based in pure fantasy. First of all, Notre Dame administrators did not invite Ms. Davis to campus, rather she was hosted by the Notre Dame College Democrats. Her event seemed to be properly planned, as it was indeed held in a spacious room with microphones available. Next time Mr. Walsh comes to campus, he should get his facts straight. It would make his in-speech associations between liberalism and Satanism a tad more believable.
Daniel Barabasi senior April 5
