06/13/2016
We are deeply saddened today upon learning of Pres. Rev. Holtschneider's resignation after this upcoming school year. We recognize that while we did not always agree with Father and his decisions, he always tried to do what was best for the whole of the DePaul community. He was a great leader and will be missed by the University.
In the recent days after our Milo Yiannopoulos event, a number of campus groups have called for Father's resignation. The DePaul College Republicans were not one of those groups. While we had disagreements with Father, and while we were certainly not happy with how he treated our speaker after the event, we appreciated his commitment to free speech at DePaul even in the face of so many calling for suppression.
Sadly, that commitment did not last long. It is quite disheartening to see, in today's society, that a throng of radical, thin-skinned students can compel so forcefully the President of the largest Catholic University in the world to resign. Compel it no less, for allowing a guest to speak on campus, for allowing new and different ideas to permeate the space.
That is not what education is supposed to be about.
We hope the University finds a suitable replacement for Father, one who will continue to live out the Catholic mission every day and one who will continue to uphold the values of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and intellectual diversity. Those values are crucial to our school and our society. We implore Father's successor to stay strong in the face of adversity and forcefully adhere to that which makes university what it is in the first place.