Thursday, October 25, 2012

Guess Who Takes The Heat In This Situation

Collin Peterson, the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 7th District since 1991, no doubt expected softball questions and happy glad-handing when he visited Evangelical Lutheran-affiliated Concordia College last week for an event sponsored by the Campus Democrats.

Kate Engstrom, a 20-year-old in the school’s College Republicans, had other ideas. With the help of an unidentified collaborator, Engstrom approached Peterson after the event and recorded as he spoke candidly and controversially about losing the endorsement of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL).

Peterson bashed the group, calling MCCL “a bunch of extremists.”
So what is the uproar about? If you think it's about a congressman's intemperate tone and language, you'd be wrong.  It's about Engstrom's filming the encounter and posting the video on YouTube.
Engstrom’s adviser also told her that Concordia’s president had suggested that she could face disciplinary action from the school for her actions...

Concordia Director of Public Safety William MacDonald later called Engstrom to inform her that she wouldn’t face disciplinary action after all. According to Engstrom, though, MacDonald did say he thinks it’s wrong to upload unedited video on YouTube of a member of Congress speaking.

Engstrom alleges that MacDonald told her “It’s on your conscience.”
It's hard to know what to say when you read stories like this, the sadness is so all-encompassing.

1 comment:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

Sure sounds like a dishonest practice from the article. However, the university should stay out of it. It has nothing to do with them! Let this guy sue the student if he really thinks he's that wronged. (Good luck with that.)