Â鶹´«Ã½IOS

Cal Poly student Will Taylor has a on the site of the , Cal Poly's main student newspaper, about Â鶹´«Ã½IOS and the director of our Individual Rights Defense Program, Adam Kissel. Taylor writes:

What was so impressive about Â鶹´«Ã½IOS was that they truly are non-partisan. Kissel said that some of the cases he helped defend were completely against his personal belief system and were even shocking to him. But Â鶹´«Ã½IOS pushes ahead anyway. As he said at the beginning of his talk, "This is the beginning of your adult life; we want you to be able to have full and honest free debate."

At a time in our country when it seems that every person involved in political issues, controversial topics and complicated situations is taking a side, it is important to have groups like Â鶹´«Ã½IOS that represent a middle ground. Instead of simply attacking opposing beliefs without any thought or reason, it is important to truly consider the other side of the argument. Acknowledging which parts of the argument make sense and are functional is crucial to not only strengthening one's argument but also to improving personal empathy, something I truly believe is lacking in our culture at the moment.

The whole blog entry is well worth a read, as it gives an informed student's perspective on what a Â鶹´«Ã½IOS speaker can bring to campus. If you want to host a Â鶹´«Ã½IOS speaker on your campus, you can get more information on Â鶹´«Ã½IOS's Campus Freedom Network's speakers page.