Remember when college campuses were supposed to be places of free speech that enabled young people to form opinions based on hearing different points of view? In today’s world, that is only a fond memory. The August 8th episode of Freeform’s The Fosters, titled “Telling,” perfectly illustrated how liberal students no longer accept the First Amendment rights of conservative students on campus.
While on a college campus where she monitors an art class, Callie (Maia Mitchell) is approached by a male student asking her if she’d sign a petition to stop the appearance of a conservative speaker invited to talk to students by a “right wing student group.” ”You look like a human who cares about other humans,” he says.
An invitation extended to an immigration reform expert by a conservative group on campus has triggered the liberal snowflakes. In their sheltered minds, a differing opinion must be stopped. It is claimed the expert has “no real academic credentials” and would “spread her hateful rhetoric on campus.” Difference of opinion equates to hate, apparently. Callie declines to sign the petition, as she is trying to maintain a low profile these days.
Well, regular viewers of this show know Callie is unable to keep a low profile and naturally she ends up joining in with the group after attending a party meant as a fundraiser for Mariana’s (Cierra Ramirez) roller derby team. Mariana’s team mentor, Ximena (Lisseth Chavez), had to be reined in by another friend when she began to challenge police called to break up the party due to noise complaints.
Callie gave Ximena a ride home and asked her why she couldn’t risk being arrested. Yes, you guessed it. Ximena is in the country illegally because she has not reapplied for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival act (DACA), as she is required to do. She gives Callie her reason for disobeying the law as not wanting to jeopardize her parents by the government knowing their address. I guess her parents never bothered to go through the process of being in America legally, either.
Callie, to her credit, tells Ximena that there is a difference between being brave and standing up for yourself – in this case, arguing that since the party had a permit, the police weren’t entitled to break it up early – and being stupid, “even if you are right.” Ximena said, “I have to fight for my right to be here.” Completely lost on Ximena is that she has no right to be here, along with the fact that she loses her right to complain that she can be deported if she is unwilling to comply with the rules that allow her to stay in this country legally under DACA. Instead of being grateful, she acts entitled.
So, as the show comes to an end, Callie joins in with the group of students determined to stop the conservative from speaking on campus. When the guy with the petition notices her, he remarks that she must care about other human beings after all. Callie responds, “I care about keeping people from spreading hate.”
A conservative speaker invited to speak on a college campus about immigration reform is the same as “spreading hate” and tolerance of others only goes one way. This is where we are, America. Art imitates life. Reality will really bite one day when the graduates leave their safe spaces and face the real world of lots of different opinions. Too bad they won’t be able to participate in a debate over ideas, only having listened to one side for so long.
