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January 29, 2011 10:00:51 by Paula_Kosowski
Former Dancing with the Stars contestant Bristol Palin won’t be speaking at Washington State University on abstinence because of student protests. Keep reading to see why students didn’t want the reality contestant there…
According to Radar Online, “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Bristol Palin’s dealing with student backlash after high speaking fees got her dropped from a Washington State University panel during the school’s Sexual Responsibility Week.
Bristol’s lawyer released a statement saying she’s been “dis-invited” because of several vocal members of the university’s community.
“Bristol is deeply disappointed that an institution that publicly claims to ‘listen to diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives…’ would withdraw an invitation to a speaker because of ‘uproar’ over their assumed content of her message or even worse, because of her last name.”
Radar Online reports Bristol’s appearance on the “Sex Week” panel was canceled after students protested.
According to the Los Angeles Times, some students didn’t want their mandatory activity fees to go towards Bristol’s salary. The university did not reveal the exact speaking fee Bristol was charging, but did say the entire cost for the panel was $20,000.
University representatives tell the Los Angeles Times they didn’t expect so much controversy over the event.
Student representative Scott Elman didn’t either. He tells Radar Online: “We thought that having Bristol, would attract a lot of students to come to the panel and promote discussion about safe sex and abstinence.”
He says Bristol’s experience as a teen mother and abstinence speaker make her qualified for the job.
Other students don’t agree. Ryan McCombe, an economics student, explains to Radar Online why he didn’t want Bristol speaking on the panel.
“She’s promoting ‘do as I say, not as I do,’ and I don’t agree with that. The story she has to tell doesn’t line up with the reality of the situation…she has been way more successful simply because she got pregnant at such a young age.
Ryan says Bristol’s teen pregnancy actually opened doors for her.
“She wouldn’t have been invited on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ if she hadn’t gotten pregnant as a teenager. I have no intention of funding ‘Sixteen And Pregnant’ or ‘Teen Mom’ either!”
Scott says he’s disappointed Bristol isn’t coming to speak at the panel, but says Bristol and her agent decided it would not be the best time for her to speak at the campus.
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Photo Credit: ABC
Topics: ABC Reality TV Shows, Dancing with the Stars |
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