May 16, 2008
At Washington U., Protesters Turn Their Backs on Phyllis Schlafly
Several hundred people — including some faculty members and graduating students — turned their backs on Phyllis Schlafly as she was awarded an honorary degree at Washington University in St. Louis today, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Ms. Schlafly, the conservative activist and founder of the Eagle Forum, called the protests “juvenile.” A 1944 graduate of the university and a 1978 graduate of its law school, she was honored in front of a crowd of about 14,000. She is known for her role in defeating the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and for her vocal opposition to — among other things — abortion rights, gun control, and same-sex marriage.
During the ceremony, she was introduced by Margaret Bush Wilson, a retired civil-rights lawyer, who said she disagreed with Ms. Schlafly on a number of issues but strongly supports free speech. —Lawrence Biemiller
Read the disturbing discourse here.
