YoutubeTed Cruz announced his presidential campaign at Liberty University this morning in front of a captive audience of nearly 10,000 students—none of whom had any choice in whether to attend.
That’s because all Liberty students are obligated to show up for convocations on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Absenteeism results in “four reprimands and a $10 fine,” according to student Daniel Joseph Hayes.
Hayes complained that Cruz’s decision to make his announcement at a Liberty U. convocation was “starkly deceptive,” since it might appear to outside observers that throngs of students had decided to support Cruz of their own volition. He wrote, according to Bloomberg:
I strongly object to Senator Cruz’s choice of venue for the announcement of his 2016 presidential bid: as is well-known by Liberty University students but considerably less well-known by the general public, all students are required to attend convocation every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sen. Cruz is a friend of the Liberty University administration and has spoken at convocation in the past. As such, he knows that all students are required to be in attendance. I bear no ill will toward Sen. Cruz, but his choice to announce his 2016 presidential bid at convocation at Liberty University is a starkly deceptive one. Should the general public be unaware that all students are required to attend convocation, it would seem to the average viewer (as this will be televised and is already being widely publicized) that 10,000 supporters came to Liberty University to hear Sen. Cruz’s announcement. However, every student in attendance has no say in the matter. Students will either attend convocation and lend to the illusion of widespread support for Sen. Cruz, or they will be subject to administrative punishment–specifically, four reprimands and a $10 fine–if they are absent. While Sen. Cruz has every right to run for president and to announce his candidacy, it is a highly deceptive, albeit politically savvy, move on Sen. Cruz’s part to make his big announcement here. I do not support this action, and I am not alone in my belief that such deception is wrong.
Nevertheless, students who support somebody other than Cruz found creative ways to make themselves heard. Several wore “Stand with Rand” T-shirts during Cruz’s announcement, and the campus’s Young Americans for Liberty group canvassed for Paul—who is expected to announce his candidacy next month—before and after the event. Other students used Yik Yak, an anonymous texting app, to voice criticisms of Cruz during the event, according to Business Insider.
While Liberty University, a private organization, is free to compel its students to suffer through whatever soul-crushing campaign announcements it deems perversely essential to their education or moral development, there’s still something vexing (to me, anyway) about an institution with “liberty” in its name requiring attendance at a political event. I emailed Liberty’s press department to find out whether the university would have actually punished students for skipping the event. If I hear back, I will post an update.
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