Suck it up, Buttercup!

Kaylie Plowman | Contributing Writer

A month ago today, we voted for the next upcoming President; Donald Trump. Some were happy with the outcome, but there was also some negativity and backlash.

The next day, a number of state universities did the unexpected. On some campuses, classes were cancelled, students could opt out of tests, and “safe spaces” were created in order to deal with grief. While this may have happened if Hillary Clinton was elected into office, it may not have been as severe. When an Iowa Republican lawmaker, Bobby Kaufmann, heard about this, he was upset and wrote a bill to propose in January to stop funding for grief counseling titled, “Suck it up, Buttercup.”

This past week, Buena Vista University media students celebrate First Amendment Week. The First Amendment consists of five-different freedoms we as Americans have including speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition. “Suck it up, Buttercup” involves the freedom of speech. The reason for grief counseling on campuses was so students were able to express their thoughts on the election while have the freedom of speech in a safe environment.

Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Dale Scully, and BVU junior, Kyle Wiebers, had their own opinion of “Suck it up, Buttercup.”

Both individuals do not agree with the bill. Scully wants students to know BVU is here for them and agrees that students should have the right to speak about how they feel on situations and feel safe in the environment they choose to do so. Wiebers, a psychology student, sees this in a way that could cause a mental illness if individuals are not free to express their feelings; which could even be a bigger mess with mental hospitals closing down.

Not only does this bill include cutting funds for grieving programs, it also risks taking away the freedom of speech from students who do use these programs on a daily basis. Before this bill is proposed, the statistics should be reviewed and funding should be investigated to see if it really is paying for these programs.

The Washington Post wrote, “A number of public colleges in Iowa held events to help students discuss and deal with the election results. But at least three of those — Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa — confirmed they are not spending any additional state resources to run the programs, the Des Moines Register reported.”

When asked about the bill, the director for student relations at the University of Northern Iowa told The Washington Post, “I think universities are the perfect place to have these types of conversations. It’s where people learn. It’s where they share ideas. I don’t consider it coddling.”

His thoughts line up with what Scully and Wiebers think.

“But fear, and fear at a really deep level, fear for safety, security, that is different, and we have to treat that differently. And, we have to make sure that when students are really dealing with that, we are giving them the opportunities to have those types of conversations,” said Scully.

This statement proves that BVU cares about their students and believes in supporting student’s freedom of speech.