Furor at Washington U. nixes Bristol Palin appearance

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_ce74697f-8e28-57b3-9af0-cc0cb4c76733.html

Furor at Washington U. nixes Bristol Palin appearance

UPDATED 8 a.m. with Palin's replacement on panel.

Anger over a decision to pay Bristol Palin several thousand dollars in student fees to talk to Washington University students about abstinence led to a decision Thursday night to nix Palin's appearance on a panel here next month.

Washington University's Student Health Advisory Committee had extended an invitation to Palin, a spokeswoman to prevent teen pregnancy, to speak on abstinence as part of the university's Student Sexual Responsibility Week.

But because of a growing controversy among undergraduates over the decision to pay for her talk with student-generated funds, the advisory committee and Palin decided Thursday night "that the message that they intended on sharing would be overshadowed by controversy," according to a university statement.

Scott Elman, president of the advisory committee, said the decision to halt Palin's appearance as a keynote speaker was "100 percent mutual" between Palin and the committee. Elman added that he was very disappointed that students weren't more open to having Palin speak.

Palin - the daughter of Sarah Palin, former GOP vice presidential candidate - became pregnant at 17 and is a single mom to a 2-year-old boy.

The university's Student Union Treasury earlier this week approved spending $20,000 to sponsor a panel featuring Palin. Student government sources said they were asked not to divulge Palin's fee. But Palin has signed on for speaking engagements with Single Source Speakers, and she reportedly will command between $15,000 and $30,000 per speech.

A Facebook petition to compel the school to nix Palin's appearance had hundreds of signatures Thursday evening. "It's not necessarily in opposition to the ideas that are being presented," explained Philip Thomas, the Washington U. student who initiated the petition."People are getting so angry because of the opposition to Palin's lack of expertise and the high cost she is charging," especially in light of budget cuts that have adversely affected other student activities, he said.

Palin had not signed a contract for the event.

The panel was to include representatives from the university's Catholic Student Center, Missouri Right To Life and Planned Parenthood. Now, instead of Palin, the panel will feature Dr. Katie Plax, head of adolescent medicine and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Plax is medical director of The SPOT, a teen health center at Washington University Medical Center.