Academia, Free Speech, Media, Society

Protesters Succeed In Preventing Conservative Speakers From Appearing At The University of California At Davis

the_university_of_california_davis-svgWe have been discussing the largely successful efforts by students and faculty to prevent certain conservative speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos from being able to speak on campuses. The latest such example is University of California at Davis where protesters succeeded in preventing fellow students and faculty from hearing Yiannopoulos. There is one promising element to the story however. Unlike school administrators who have either supported or yielded to the “heckler’s veto,” Interim Chancellor Ralph Hexter denounced the effort to not only silence an opposing voice but to deny the right of others to hear that voice on campus. While the school professes “let there be light” on its seal, the school is now cloaked in a forced silence after the ignoble victory of protesters in curtailing the exercise of free speech.

Protesters blocked efforts to have Yiannopoulos and controversial pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli speak on campus. Screaming “shut it down,” the protesters threatened the safety of organizers and attendees, according to the sponsors who finally cancelled the event.

I have been a critic of the erosion of free speech values on our college and university campuses. As discussed recently, Yiannopoulous has been the target of some of the most aggressive efforts to silence certain speakers and prevent other students from hearing opposing views.

Obviously, such success in silencing opposing views only encourages others to replicate such censorship or obstruction on other campuses as was the case this month at LSU.  Once schools allow students and faculty to taste the silencing of speech, the appetite becomes insatiable and we find ourselves on a slippery slope of censorship as groups and individuals cite microaggressions and discomfort from speech.  As academics, we are playing with our own demise in fostering this new age of speech regulation.

That point was made by Hexter who spoke clearly and strong in favor of free speech. Here is his statement:

Dear UC Davis students, faculty, and staff:

In recent days, many members of our community have expressed deep concern over an upcoming event on campus sponsored by the Davis College Republicans, a registered UC Davis student organization. The event, scheduled for this evening, features Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor at Breitbart News known for provocative anti-leftist political and cultural commentary, and guest speaker Martin Shkreli, a controversial hedge fund founder and former pharmaceutical executive.

All of those who expressed concern referenced Mr. Yiannopoulos’s notoriety for making disrespectful and often offensive utterances directed at certain segments of our society, or global society, and for denigrating ideas with which he disagrees. They view the beliefs and statements in question, along with similar ones attributed to Mr. Shkreli, as being in sharp conflict with the type of institutional environment that UC Davis is committed to supporting—one that is inclusive and respectful to people of all backgrounds, and dedicated to the pursuit of deeper understanding through the free and civil exchange of ideas.

Because I believe that many of you have similar concerns, let me clarify the position of UC Davis administration on this event.

We affirm the right of our students—in this instance, the Davis College Republicans—to invite speakers to our campus. Any public university must do everything it can to make sure that all members of its community are free to express their views—both because free expression is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution and enshrined in University of California policy, and because it is an essential ingredient of excellence in higher-education teaching and research.

Indeed, our position on objectionable speech in general is consonant with the following statement by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on “racist, sexist and homophobic” utterances:

“Where racist, sexist and homophobic speech is concerned, the ACLU believes that more speech—not less—is the best revenge. This is particularly true at universities, whose mission is to facilitate learning through open debate and study, and to enlighten. When hate is out in the open, people can see the problem. Then they can organize effectively to counter bad attitudes, possibly change them, and forge solidarity against the forces of intolerance.”

To this, let me add my personal belief that a university is at its best, is most true to itself, and makes proper use of its unique intellectual resources when it listens to and critically engages opposing views, especially ones that many of us find upsetting or even offensive.

To ensure that a respectful and rational exchange of ideas is the strong focus of this event, we urge all involved students, faculty, and staff to participate in a manner in keeping with our UC Davis Principles of Community. To veer from this course due to intentional provocation would constitute missing an important opportunity to publicly demonstrate the character, values, and critical ability of the UC Davis community.

We hope and expect that this event will be conducted professionally and in keeping with our community values. Even so, I want to assure you that our Student Affairs office, the Davis College Republicans, campus security personnel, and others are taking all of the appropriate measures to create a safe and secure environment.

In sum, UC Davis acknowledges Mr. Yiannopoulos and Mr. Shkreli as invited guests of a registered campus student group. We appreciate the opportunity that this event provides us to hear and evaluate their views as well as to affirm our support for untrammeled freedom of expression. This does not mean, however, that we take an approving or even neutral position with respect to speech intended to express hate or to denigrate or offend others, even if that speech is employed as part of a political strategy or for the purpose of self-promotion. Such speech we unequivocally condemn. It is our sincere hope that, in Mr. Yiannopoulos’s and Mr. Shkreli’s visit to UC Davis, they will strike the right balance between frank expression and due respect.

Sincerely,

Ralph J. Hexter
Interim Chancellor

I am still a bit unclear why the speech was cancelled since there were no arrests or property damage. The police appear to contradict the claim of property damage but there are various sites reporting that Shkreli was assaulted with dog poop. According to Yiannopoulos, there were assaults and property damage. He posted the following statement:

“Left-wing thugs scared UC Davis into canceling my event last night by damaging property, hurling excrement at guests and starting fights. It was the university and campus PD who told us the event could not go ahead. Why is the university and its police force trying to pretend otherwise? Who are they trying to protect?”

It is the responsibility of the university to ensure that speakers and students are not silenced by those who want to prevent others from expressing contrary views. Nevertheless, the words of Hexter are a welcomed departure from too many administrators who are complicate in the growing denial of free speech on our campuses.

Kudos: Joseph Piazza

231 thoughts on “Protesters Succeed In Preventing Conservative Speakers From Appearing At The University of California At Davis”

  1. Sad to see this as a Davis alum. This stuff is getting pretty serious though, I think; see what’s happening to Dr. Jordan Peterson in Toronto. The left has to do a better job of not letting the whack jobs have the stage.

    1. The left has to do a better job of not letting the whack jobs have the stage.

      The whack jobs are their accomplices. They will do nothing about them. The one thing that will get the attention of ordinary faculty is if academic departments are shut down and all their members are put on the curb. At that point, the ordinary faculty are going to start worrying about their brand.

      1. I think the problem is coming from the humanities at these institutions. Cutting funding by a quarter would probably work better, I think, than shutting down all departments. That would put gender studies and the rest of the nonsense producing departments on the choping block.

        1. How about we impose on them the rules most employees operate under r which is you don’t teach/preach/evangelize your politics. You can always give both sides without your opinion.

        2. I did not say ‘shut down all departments’. I said shut down particular department and discharge every faculty member within them. Reading two sentences is not that difficult.

          Fr. Paul Shaugnessy, SJ, offered about 15 years ago a delineation of what he called ‘sociological corruption’, a problem in many religious orders. He said, an organization may have 5 people who are heroes and 5 who are scoundrels and 90 who just keep their heads down trying to do their jobs. If the 5 who are heroes set the overall tone, the organization disciplines and expels its bad actors and performs its mission. However, a strange institutional alchemy can take over whereby the scoundrels set the tone, in which case, the priority of the institution degrades into managing public relations. The organization can no longer govern itself and must be reformed by an external trusteeship. Higher education is deeply corrupt.

    1. Amazing how you conflate the man’s actions with hearing his words. I’d love to hear from people I don’t like. I’d love to question Hitler or Stalin. I think an evening with Rasputin would be fascinating. I’d even like to talk to W or Robespierre. That doesn’t imply advocacy of their deeds merely their right to be heard if they want to be heard. Hate is a bad substitute for intellectual curiosity.

    1. The NAS has been producing these reports for 27 years. The effect on academe has been nil. Unless state legislators take action, nothing will happen. Our useless Republican pols have done flat nothing to repair higher education, just as they do flat nothing about any social problem which can be addressed through ordinary policy tools.

  5. I think the speech got cancelled when the brown shirts rushed the barricades and the cops had to stop them and then take their hammers away. Just a guess. One arrest of a too exuberant snowflake.

  6. Anybody should be permitted to speak in a public or institutionally supported venue, provided a certain percentage of the institution requests it. There is a difference between one or a few extremists taking over an auditorium and a person or persons invited by a given number of, in this case, students. The scum, if desired to speak, should be allowed to speak. There should be a system for those who cannot obtain enough signatures. Perhaps a permit to speak in the corner of a rarely used parking lot for a limited time, something like ‘Speaker’s Corner’ in Hyde Park, might work.

    The crowd should be physically accommodating. Eggs should not be allowed into the auditorium. However, when the speaker, be it left or right wing, is challenged by the audience, there should be a vehicle for this also. Shkreli is beyond the shadow of a doubt in the Bernie Madoff category of scum. If students truly want to listen to this insect and there are enough to warrant the use of a facility, then so be it. After all that is what elected DDT to the Presidency. Perhaps this disease is better off in the open, doing its worst, in order to be understood and eradicated. Denial is the worst response.

  7. I can’t believe you were taken in by that smarmy educract.

    Unless the students are detained by campus security and suspended for at least a semester, the chancellor’s statement is gas. These students are instruments of the student affairs apparat and the worst elements on the faculty. They’re not dissidents at all. The rest of the faculty don’t give a rip about anyone inconvenienced or injured by this rabble, and that’s why nothing is done.

    1. You might ask that question about yourself.

      Who wanted them is obvious to people not brain-damaged: the people who invited them.

      1. I guess you are right. White nationalists and scam artists do seem to be in vogue with a certain segment of the population. Shkreli was able to post his 5 million dollar bail so maybe he can teach them how to rip people off and brag about about it.

        1. You’re operating under the illusion that there is any activity of value between your ears.

    2. “Who would want to see these creeps?”

      The answer to that question will be discovered when you attend the event. Don’t go and you have to rely on 2nd hand reports about the event. Shut the event down and you won’t discover who attended or why You’d have to be one fragile individual to need to silence speech.

      I was a Sonar Technician in the Navy. We had sophisticated acoustic processing systems designed to provide audio and video representations of the ocean space around us. We were taught how to identify relevant acoustic signatures out of the background noise. We listened to everything. We had to because while we would prefer any submarine we encountered would be a friendly, the reality is our enemies have a right to navigate that space with us.

      This is where you and the Left come in. You have what you perceive are enemies. You know they have a right to exist. And instead of learning how to process the information they send out, you turn off your processing system and torpedo everyone you perceive as a threat. When you operate in the blind, you cannot tell the good guy from the bad. Everyone’s a target, including yourself.

      1. “We were taught how to identify relevant acoustic signatures out of the background noise. We listened to everything. We had to because while we would prefer any submarine we encountered would be a friendly, the reality is our enemies have a right to navigate that space with us.

        This is where you and the Left come in. You have what you perceive are enemies. You know they have a right to exist. And instead of learning how to process the information they send out, you turn off your processing system and torpedo everyone you perceive as a threat. When you operate in the blind, you cannot tell the good guy from the bad. Everyone’s a target, including yourself.”

        Damn good post Ollie!! You nailed it. Gonna send this out to my Dim peeps.

  9. “It is the responsibility of the university to ensure that speakers and students are not silenced by those who want to prevent others from expressing contrary views. ”

    i would argue, apparently it is not.

  10. The problem is that humans want to live in a Manichean world with absolute right and wrong, yet people disagree on what is right and what is wrong. The easiest route is to have a closed mind. Uncertainty is the opposite of assertive confidence. People feel stronger with assertive self-confidence even when they have no clue about what they really believe.

  13. It clearly shows what an effective speaker Milo is. God forbid they listen to an effective speaker. I did read that the protesters had crashed the barriers and broken some windows, but there were no arrests.

    1. Milo is appearing at the alt reich inaugural ball in DC. You can catch him there along with the other Nazis.

      1. My, my Goldie aren’t you the tolerant leftist. Milo is constantly threatened by these neo-Nazis over his homosexuality by why let a contrary, easily researched fact or two invade your mind?

        1. He is the entertainment at the nazi ball. Now some of these nazis might not care for him but he is a star of the alt reich movement.

            1. No, she’s a waste of space. One small blessing is that we do not have to interact with her in meatworld.

            3. Goldie didn’t listen to Joe Biden when he said, “The one thing you never want to invoke is Nazi Germany, no matter what the circumstances.”

              But Joe Biden said that in response to Trump comparing media and intelligence community “leaks” and fake news stories with living in Nazi Germany.

              Apparently it’s okay for the Left to call Trump Hitler, but not okay for Trump to turn it back on them?

          2. Goldie – the Nazis were socialists. In fact, Hitler said the red in the Nazi flag represented socialism. Nazis are actually leftists, just not as left as the communists.

            1. The nazis will be at the alt right ball along with Milo. Maybe you can go and figure it all out.

              1. Goldie – you really do not understand what a real Nazi is. Our education system has become so pathetic.

                  1. Goldie – Seriously, if you cannot identify a Nazi, how are you going to identify a Neo Nazi?

      2. I suspect you are lying about the real Nazis planning to attend the inaugural ball. But on the off chance you are not lying, then the only rational conclusion to make is that they are bi-partisan.

        Because the Chairman of the Nazi Party of America endorsed Barak Obama for president in 2008. So did a KKK faction and some group calling themselves the White Aryan Resistance. I doubt you know about that because the media didn’t obsessively spend a year and a half trying to associate Obama with a tiny handful of white supremacists the way the propagandists have done Trump.

        http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a4719/racists-support-obama-061308/

        1. I just re-read it before closing the link and I was wrong about the KKK guy. Out of the four white supremacists interviewed by Esquire, the KKK guy was the only one who did not endorse Obama. He thinks Obama is a piece of sh!t. I was correct about the Nazis supporting Obama, which is the point I was responding to.

          Sorry for the error.

    2. Apparently we’re only entitled to free speech and tolerance on campuses if the Left agrees with it.

  14. “Shkreli is best known as that guy who increased the price of pyrimethamine, a potentially life-saving medicine that treats people with compromised immune systems, from $13.50 to $750 a pill.”

    He is the one I would be protesting. His secret to fortune is obvious. Extreme markups until someone screams.

  15. This is an example of the Party of No saying No more! This is exactly what the Tea Party did when they started screaming No at everything Obama did. Guess what. It worked! Get ready for a lot more of this.

    BTW, there is a difference between a demonstration and a boycott.

    A boycott is a movement that discourages purchases or handling of products or service by the public to inflict financial hardship on a business and to force them to take actions.

    A demonstration is a pubic gathering to express views on a political issue.

    Excuse any typos from this self-correcting machine.

    1. “This is exactly what the Tea Party did when they started screaming No at everything Obama did.”

      The only thing they have in common is the world No. The Tea Party peacefully organized to protest against the very tyranny that would silence speech. There was no violence and they even cleaned up the site when they finished. They didn’t seek to shutdown businesses that didn’t agree with them or protest at their homes and terrorize their families.

      1. Paul Gottfried offered a generation ago that you could understand this sort of politics with a sociological explanation: affluence begets highly elongated maturation. “They were children. They were behaving in ways normal for children. It’s just that their education gave them specious justifications for their behavior”. The left is chock-a-block with people who believe the phrase “I want” justifies their objects and who believe that institutions are theirs by right. That there was opposition to BOs policy wishlist is something they cannot process intelligently, any more than your 5 year old can.

  16. The UC system of public education is the finest in the land…my wife is a UC Irvine grad. That said…these universities are havens for socialist professors with a hidden agenda…to inculcate the students with an alarming amount of mumbo jumbo, surpassed only by the socialist clap trap they dish up like beans at a chuck wagon…my wife can attest to this, and she graduated back in the 90’s…still these marvelous universities do some awesome, cutting edge research in such a wide variety of scientific fields, it is dizzying

    1. I like this comment Mr. R.I.N.G. The California education system at college level is divine.

      I am not from Ohio by any means but wish to point out a period of time when the government was suppressing speech and gatherings. It was little different than what the student/faculty weenies at this California place want. There was a song which was inspired by this huge incident. The place was called Kent State.

      (music) (from memory)
      Gotta get down to it!
      Soldiers are cutting us down!
      How can you run when you know?

      —
      Can someone send in the entire lyrics and the name of the musician?

  17. These are not “leftist tactics,” they are authoritarian, anti-liberty tactics that suppress free speech and should not be accepted no matter who engages in them, whether they are right or left or in between. Boycotts are not the same thing as suppression of free speech, which requires involvement by the government. Boycotts are political tactics available to all individuals, especially those without the power of government behind them and those with no other means but free association to put political pressure on those with whom they disagree. I don’t always like boycotts, but frequently they are the only non-violent means available to those who lack political power.

    1. Are boycotts the same as protests encouraging “civil resistance” that the anarchists have planned for inauguration day in Washington, DC? Obama has issued the call-to-action for all his Organizing For Action organizers to “lace up their shoes” and get out there. Obama’s buddy Bill Ayers (former domestic terrorist) is a part of this group.

      http://www.disruptj20.org/get-organized/call-to-action/

  18. The Democrats haven’t been this angry since the Republicans took away their slaves.

    We are seeing a tantrum by the left – let them grow up or let the world see the fundamental dishonesty of the pinkos.

  19. Yes, it is the responsibility of universities to ensure that speakers and students are not silenced by the tyrannical Leftists who have take over our higher education institutions.

  20. This is an example of Leftist tactics intended to silence free speech. Just like the Leftists in Hollywood and the music industry are doing to any performer who agrees to perform during the inauguration ceremonies for Donald Trump. If an artist agrees, they are bombarded with threats to their lives and livelihood forcing many to cancel performances altogether. This is not free speech. It is tyranny.

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