http://www.newsmax.com/PrintTemplate.aspx/?nodeid=637912Newsmax
Banning 'American Sniper' Screenings Hot Trend on Liberal Campuses
Saturday, April 11, 2015 07:55 PM
By: Sandy Fitzgerald
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a private science and engineering college in New York, has postponed its April 10 screening of "American Sniper" at its student-run theater after a Muslim students' group requested that it be canceled.
“RPI has long upheld the values of respect and coexistence, thus it is only our highest concern that this screening would not create any tensions or hatred among students at RPI,” explained the UPAC Cinema, a Student Union-run theater on the school's campus in Troy, N.Y., in a lengthy Facebook post, reports The Daily Caller.
The statement continued that the movie has caused "heightened tension across communities and college campuses nationwide, including violent actions and even murders, so instead of showing the biographical flick as a regular Friday night selection, it should be "coupled with an educational forum."
But, The Daily Caller points out, the same theater will show "The Losers," a violent movie about a stranded CIA team, and an advance screening of "Unfriended," a slasher movie about Internet bullying.
The theater has also featured other movies with high incidents of violence or mature content in the past, such as "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Django Unchained."
Earlier this week, the University of Michigan reversed a decision to cancel an "American Sniper" screening after a national outcry, with E. Royster Harper, vice president for student life, saying that the decision to cancel the movie "was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters."
Students at RPI are circulating a petition that the movie be shown, with nearly 300 signatures being collected among the school's 7,000 students.
