Students Wear ‘Stand with Rand’ T-Shirts During Mandatory Convocation
Liberty University students are required to attend convocations like the one Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made his presidential bid announcement. These convocations are held three times a week, and students face reprimands and fines if they do not attend.
The students did not make a scene or protest Cruz’s appearance at the mandatory convocation meeting, but they found clever ways to show their allegiance.
Eli McGowan, the Liberty University chapter president of “Young Americans for Liberty,” organized the “Stand with Rand” students. McGowan told me that the students were afraid media would assume the 10,000-strong crowd had chosen to attend, and would not realize that students were required to attend the convocations.
"We decided we would go, but show our support for the candidate we liked best," he said.
In the main, fellow students reacted with support, said McGowan. "We gave away upwards of 50 shirts immediately before the event, and we got even more sign-ups for our Students for Rand chapter which we imagine will kick off after his 7 April announcement," he said.
"Some students feel like any opposition to speakers is disrespectful, but we respectfully disagree," said McGowan. He added that a school administrator, Randy Willis, told them the t-shirts were fine but signs would be forbidden, rules which the "Stand with Rand" students followed.
“I bear no ill will toward Sen. Cruz, but his choice to announce his 2016 presidential bid at convocation at Liberty University is a starkly deceptive one,” wrote Jessica Kramer, another a Liberty University student, in a Facebook post.
Her post continued:
“Should the general public be unaware that all students are required to attend convocation, it would seem to the average viewer (as this will be televised and is already being widely publicized) that 10,000 supporters came to Liberty University to hear Sen. Cruz's announcement. However, every student in attendance has no say in the matter. Students will either attend convocation and lend to the illusion of widespread support for Sen. Cruz, or they will be subject to administrative punishment--specifically, four reprimands and a $10 fine--if they are absent. While Sen. Cruz has every right to run for president and to announce his candidacy, it is a highly deceptive, albeit politically savvy, move on Sen. Cruz's part to make his big announcement here. I do not support this action, and I am not alone in my belief that such deception is wrong.”
Not all students agreed with the "Stand with Rand" t-shirt wearers, however. Shayne Collins wrote on Facebook that students saw his t-shirt and told him to "f--k you" and "screw Rand Paul" "and a guy in the food line here said he was scared for his life standing near me." Collins wrote that he hoped his fellow students could "disagree in love" and that he's "not mad at the many Cruz supporters here today, and I hope the best for Ted Cruz. Maybe his supporters can do the same for me."
On the anonymous gossip app Yik Yak, other students joked "I'm here so I don't get fined" and created snarky memes.
Here are a few via Business Insider:
