Eric Naing criticized Conservative Coming Out Day before we held it and so missed our point. The event, which will be hosted Wednesday on the Quad by the Orange and Blue Observer and the Illini Conservative Union, is not about the persecution of conservatives in society. It is about persecution of conservatives at the University, by the University.

Not all professors discriminate. But I have been kicked out of a class by one and yelled at and graded down by another for my conservative views. Others have similar experiences. Conservatives at the U of I quickly learn to keep their heads down and regurgitate liberal propaganda. We face monolithic textbook bias and liberal students who confidently gang up on any isolated conservative comment. The threat of grade discrimination hangs over us – difficult to prove and for many of us not worth the risk.

So far the University has ignored our plight, but after CCOD, they won’t be able to.

Leo Buchignani

Editor in Chief, The Orange and Blue Observer