The first disturbance came before Ann Coulter could even mutter a word.

‘Racist!’ one audience member screamed. ‘You’re ugly!’

For Coulter, a right-wing bestselling author and political pundit, it was a preview for what was to come. The College Republicans pegged Coulter’s visit as a speech. But before she spoke Wednesday at Goldstein Auditorium, it turned into a circus.

The audience was split about evenly between supporters and protesters. When Coulter first came onstage, half the audience sat silently while the other half gave a standing ovation.

‘I dozed off and I was almost late here tonight,’ Coulter began. ‘I was listening to that liberal talk radio.’

Of course Coulter blasted Democrats and liberals. But more than anything, Coulter’s visit was a study in partisan politics, not in any particular message. Quickly, her visit delved into a contest of might. Who could scream louder: the protesters or the supporters? What comment would get the most reaction: Coulter’s or a jeering audience member’s?

The divide grew wider as the night wore on, which is exactly how Coulter’s career continues to thrive.

By the end – during the question and answer session – any hope for viable political discourse had completely evaporated. A number of protesters sarcastically asked Coulter what they could do, as Republicans, to help spread hate and racism on campus, questions which Coulter laughed at and brushed off.

Krychelle Davis, a sophomore policy studies and sociology major, asked Coulter what had personally happened in her life to make her so hateful of minorities and the gay community, to which Coulter responded: ‘What did it take in your life to become such a sensitive panty-waste?’

Other questions got similar responses from Coulter. Jamar Hooks, a graduate student in the College of Human Services and Health Professions, asked Coulter if she always kept her hood up while delivering speeches, then called her a bitch, flipped her off and walked away.

‘His response to me is to yell out curse words and give the finger?’ said Coulter, who stood with a bodyguard on stage. ‘They’re doing a fine job at Syracuse University.’

Truth be told, Coulter’s speech was less outrageous than at other campuses, where she has referred to a student as a ‘gay boy.’

‘I was a tiny bit (surprised),’ said Tiffany Damick, president of the College Republicans. ‘I thought she’d say some things that would get people a little more ticked off.

‘I was actually pleasantly surprised. There were also a lot of conservative questions and response. I mean, there were some outbursts, but that’s what you get when you put a bunch of crazy liberals together.’

In between the outbursts, Coulter harped on her typical message. Her targets ranged from current California Sen. Barbara Boxer to former presidential candidate John Kerry to former presidents Bill Clinton and even all the way back to Jimmy Carter.

‘Barbara Boxer is a perfect candidate for the Democrats,’ Coulter said. ‘She’s female and learning disabled.’

Coulter’s topics swerved back and forth between the War in Iraq, the liberal media and abortion, among other things.

‘I wonder why those ‘I Heart Partial-Birth Abortion’ T-shirts aren’t selling,’ Coulter said. ‘Must be (the Democrats) are just having trouble getting the message out. If only they had access to some sort of mainstream media.’

Most of Coulter’s speech focused on liberals and Democrats ruining America with their domestic and foreign policies.

‘We have to hit back,’ Coulter said, ‘not just the terrorists, but the liberals, too, because they hit hard.’

The real story was the protesters, though, as their tactics were diversely applied. Some acted silently, leaving Coulter’s speech in protest. Others screamed. Others still tried discrediting her through flattery.

‘How much of your success do you think is based on the fact that you’re too good-looking to be a Republican?’ asked David Shapiro, a sophomore television, radio and film major.

‘I’m getting this from you?’ Coulter responded, pointing out what she considered his slovenly appearance.

Unlike at other campus speaking events, though, Coulter rarely responded to any jeers or comments. At her Indiana University appearance, for instance, she consistently directed guards to rowdy audience members and refused to continue speaking until they were removed.

Last night, she spoke above them.

One student, who refused to give his name, consistently clapped at inappropriate times, yelled louder than Coulter and, before he was removed, began bolting out, ‘The Times, They Are a-Changin” by Bob Dylan.

‘Shut up and behave yourself!’ yelled an annoyed audience member.

Other protesters were more tactful.

‘When was the last time a Democrat won an election?’ Coulter asked.

‘Al Gore won!’ someone screamed out, as a rousing applause broke out.

‘No,’ said Coulter, in one of the few times she responded to jeers during her speech, ‘he didn’t.’

David Eye, a graduate student and freshman writing teacher, was one of a handful of audience members to silently leave the circus.

‘If any of my freshmen constructed arguments like this,’ he said, ‘I’d give them all F’s.’

Coulter turned a few straight questions into jabs. At one point, a student asked Coulter how she can support a president who has cut student loan programs and forced SU students to pay higher interest rates.

‘Answer the question!’ came a bevy of screams from the audience.

‘We’ve gotta get these guys down to Guantanamo!’ Coulter said. ”Answer the question! Answer the question!’ Well, I think you just answered it yourself – there’s too many dumb people going!’

‘She was funny in the sense that a sick, nasty joke is funny,’ said Sam Eschenbrenner, president of College Democrats. ‘It was like the worst moments of ‘Jackass’ times 10. That kind of funny.’

After the show, one student hung a banner that said: ‘Next week on HillTV: Ann Coulter!’

Still, the protest began before the show even started, as members of the Student Environmental Action Coalition held signs calling Coulter a racist and asking students to fill out bias-related incident forms. After the show, one member estimated that close to 30 reports would be filled out.

Summing up the position of most of the protestors, SEAC member Lauren Winship exclaimed, ‘I don’t think my student fee should be paying a racist.’

Published on March 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm