Yesterday, former Attorney General John Ashcroft spoke on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill at Memorial Hall. From all press accounts,
Ashcroft spoke about his term as attorney general and also the passage
of the “Patriot Act,” which he defended. However, as could be expected
protestors attempted to distract Ashcroft during his speech “he fielded
interruptions and accusations from audience members” and “one group of
students, in a coordinated effort, walked out of the theater in the
middle of the speech.”

So what’s that going to accomplish,
walking out of a speech in protest? Who comes up with these ideas? Do
they honestly expect people to agree with them when they do stunts like
this? If anything, it will only garner the cheers of those who agree
with their positions and make others shake their heads, thus adding
nothing to political debate.