Last week I read a story in The Collegian about how a provisional status organization on campus called “SAAFE” stopped the Hobo Day Parade.

What interests me is the letter “F” in the acronym stands for “freethinkers.” Now, when I think of a person who calls themselves a “freethinker,” I don’t think of someone who stops a parade in order to censor the beliefs of others.

Of course, some might say the problem is that an SDSU-sanctioned parade supported a controversial political stance. They would say SDSU should be neutral and not allow such things to take place.

Perhaps, but SDSU allowing “Jacks for Life” in the parade doesn’t necessarily mean they support pro-life as an entire school. To say it does is like saying SDSU supports atheism just because it allowed an atheistic group in the parade.

Personally, I think it’s okay for groups to have and express their particular beliefs, and SDSU does a great job encouraging multiple religious/philosophical/political views.

Hopefully, what happens in the future is that groups who disagree with each other can rationally discuss their differences in an appropriate setting.

This is what seems right to me, but I guess I’m not a freethinker. I’m just a close-minded Christian.

Mike Berhowspeech communication, philosophy