The College Fix

When a mother who lost her son to a drunk driver is talking, the polite thing to do is let her share her grief and resolve.

Protesters at a Bruin Republicans event Thursday at UCLA decided that their feelings were more important than listening.

The Daily Bruin reports that a student hummed “the rhythm of various cultural songs” and others “joined in by snapping their fingers” to drown out Sabine Durden’s speech against illegal immigration.

Durden said her son was killed by a drunk driver who was on “his second round of probation,” and was previously deported to Guatemala for earlier felonies.

Bruin Republicans held a controversial event titled "An Illegal Immigrant Killed My Child" yesterday. https://t.co/yLweVDbpfc pic.twitter.com/NfuD2ONdPD

— Daily Bruin (@dailybruin) October 14, 2016

She has campaigned with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and backs his proposal to build a wall “because we need to stop the bleeding.” Durden said that “every illegal student takes the place of an American one”:

But the event devolved into a shouting match between audience members and panelists. A Bruin Republicans member shouted “Deport him!” at the humming student, said Frida Ramirez-Aldapa, a fourth-year human biology and society and French student.

One undocumented protester said it was people like her who were actually silenced:

[Daysy] Palma-Cruz said she thinks many undocumented students may have felt uncomfortable speaking out at the event because they worry that exposing themselves can lead to deportation.

Palma added that she only felt comfortable talking about her immigration status because she was protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

Read the story.

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