Stossel Wrap-up

John Stossel spoke on campus Wednesday night. The event got media coverage in the Kalamazoo Gazette and the Western Herald.

The Herald article isn't terribly well-written, but this is understandable, given the short deadline.

Shaw Theater was full; the audience was about 55o people.

Stossel delivered his speech very well. The event was well-run.

In addition to the topics mentioned in the articles, Stossel also discussed the destructive effects of government regulations such as waiting periods imposed by the Food and Drug Administration and the ban on DDT.

Toward the end, Stossel conducted an ambush interview with two members of the audience. He asked whether they would ban a gas that killed twenty people each year. He was referring to natural gas.

There was a strong contingent of Ron Paul supporters in the audience. This was reflected in questions concerning the Patriot Act, RFID chips, the North American Union, and privatizing the police.

One questioner asked a question that Stossel liked. After his answer, Stossel threw his copy of the Declaration of Independence/Constitution toward the questioner. It wasn't a very good throw; the booklet, being fairly light, curved off into the audience, either hitting someone or nearly doing so. We've had a member of the audience throw something at a speaker before, but we've never had a speaker throw something at the audience!

Overall, it was a good event.