Students debate politics, feminism, systemic racism

Sophomore President of Young Americans for Liberty Tyler Ferrari spoke about the war on drugs and the LGBTQIA+ community. Photo by Maya Jubran

Topics like police force, systemic racism and feminism sparked controversy at the third annual political club debate on the Student Union Stage April 25, with about 80 people gathering to watch four political clubs debate for more than two hours.

During a discussion about social justice movements, the representative for Chapman Republicans, Stephen Ragsdale, said that the Black Lives Matter movement has “misdiagnosed the problem in the black community.”

“Obviously, we all know that the black community is having problems with the police,” Ragsdale said during the debate. “This is not because of systemic racism. There is zero proof of systemic racism. If there is, you should be able to point me to a law on the books that is racist.”

Ragsdale went on to say that feminism is “based on a conspiracy theory,” which prompted a reaction from the audience. Some audience members clapped at Ragsdale’s statements.

About 80 students gathered in the Student Union April 25 to participate in a debate put on by Civic Engagement. Photo by Maya Jubran

“The white, cisgender, heteronormative patriarchy is not out there to get women,” Ragsdale said. “And the gender wage gap does not exist.”

Some club representatives, like sophomore Tyler Ferrari, the president of Young Americans for Liberty, disagreed with a few of Ragsdale’s statements.

“The war on drugs has disproportionately affected black and brown communities,” Ferrari said during the debate. “To deny that is absolutely insane, and to (say) that somehow black Americans and brown Americans are somehow treated fairly by the police is absolutely insane. To believe that the justice system and the criminal system in this country is somehow equal is absolutely preposterous.”

Ragsdale also said that the LGBTQIA+ movement “doesn’t have a lot of dignity.”

“They want equality and equal rights, but then when it comes to religious people, they want to trample on their religious rights,” Ragsdale said.

Ferrari argued that all people deserve the same legal rights and to be free from discrimination.

“As Libertarians, we believe that all people as individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, class or sex, they have every single right to be treated the same as every other American,” Ferrari said.

The debate, which has traditionally been between the Chapman Democrat and Republican clubs, had four podiums onstage to include Alternatives in Democracy, a libertarian socialist club, and Young Americans for Liberty, a Libertarian club. 

“Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were two of the most unpopular candidates in presidential history,” Vice President of the Chapman Democrats Matthew Reminick, wrote in an email to The Panther. “Amidst discussion about a potential break from the two-party system, we felt it was only fair to invite (the other clubs) to this year’s debate. The traditional parties will have to justify their positions against the Libertarian and Socialist stances.”

Some students thought that the debate was an effective place to hear different opinions.

“I think it’s good to have an open space to discuss politics,” said sophomore public relations and advertising major Skye Sinyard. “Obviously, some things are harder to hear than others.”

Eric Vera, a junior film production major, agreed with Sinyard.

“I think that it’s refreshing to finally see, within the student body, a representation of each party, talking their points in a civilized way,” Vera said. “It definitely stirred the pot.”

Chris Hennigan contributed to this report.

Clarification: A sentence has been clarified to reflect how Ragsdale views the LGBTQIA+ movement.