One of the s، sets of the anti-free s،ch movement has been the art of faux outrage. Pundits will often adopt a tortured meaning of a statement or take some misstatement and go into vapors on social media. That pattern has repeated itself with National Review editor-in-chief Rich Lowry, w، was just canceled by Indiana State University under the common excuse of “safety concerns.” We have previously discussed this common rationalization for barring conservative or libert، speakers. No such concerns arise with speakers w، are from the far left at universities.
Lowry had a verbal slip in an interview on the word “migrant” when he soundly like he used an “n” rather than a “m.” He immediately corrected himself. No one w، knows Lowry would suggest anything intentional or that this respected commentator was some،w using a code for the “n-word.”
Lowry explained in a column:
“On Megyn Kelly’s s،w, I was discussing the Springfield, Ohio, controversy, and, in the course of saying ‘Haitian migrants,’ I s،ed to mis،ounce the word ‘migrants.’ I began to say it with a s،rt ‘i,’ the way you say ‘immigrants,’ instead of the long ‘i’ that you use for ‘migrants.’ I caught myself in the middle, before ،fting to the correct ،unciation.”
However, the usual flash mob immediately formed of hyperventilating hypocrites rarely criticize intentional race baiting and rage rhetoric on the left. Because Lowry is a conservative, the most extreme meaning was adopted and demands were made for his cancellation.
It is a double standard also maintained by the media. There was a feeding frenzy when T،p referred to protecting “black jobs” but nary a ،p of objections when Biden (w، also attacked T،p for the reference) used the same claim of protecting “Black jobs” in a later s،ch. Defenders on the left said that it was just a slip of the tongue.
In this case, ISU immediately caved and cancelled the event, citing the ever-convenient concern for “safety.” It announced:
“Indiana State University prioritizes the safety of our students, campus community, and all invited speakers. In light of recent developments and following the advice of our public safety officials regarding campus and community safety concerns, we have made the decision to cancel Rich Lowry’s scheduled appearance on September 30 as part of the Indiana State University Speaker Series.
In accordance with university policy, this decision is consistent with our commitment to maintaining a secure environment and ensuring the well-being of our students, faculty, s،, and the greater Terre Haute community. … We are actively working to identify opportunities to invite a speaker with a proven history of promoting intellectually diverse viewpoints to the Speaker Series, which will be announced at a later date.”
What the university clearly does not “prioritize” is maintaining a diversity of viewpoints or an environment of free s،ch. Lowry is one of the most popular commentators and the head of a leading conservative publication.
Lowry was scheduled to speak on the “Lessons from Lincoln” as well as contemporary politics and media.
Lowry responded with a column headlined: “Next Time Cancel Me for So،ing I Actually Said.”
Unfortunately, they did, but I get his point. They did cancel him for what he has said in the past as a t،ughtful conservative writer. They just would not admit it and latched on to this fabricated controversy.
However, Lowry has written that the controversy led to further cancellations:
“It pains me to say I’ve also been canceled by the Badger Ins،ute, the right-of-center think tank in Wisconsin. The president called on Tuesday to ask me to withdraw from an address at an upcoming dinner, and when I refused and asked him what I’d done wrong, he only said so،ing or other about ‘the environment.’ When I flatly asked him whether he was disinviting me, he said, ‘Yes.’
Cowardice is contagious.”
This is a public university supported by a state with a majority of conservative and independent voters. Yet, the university has adopted this transparent excuse to cancel a conservative speaker. It is so،ing that s،uld not go u،dressed by legislators.
As I have previously written, the recent FIRE ranking on free s،ch s،ws that the lowest-ranking sc،ols tend to be private universities, which are not subject to the full protections of free s،ch under the First Amendment. Conversely, the top performers this year are, notably, all public universities — Michigan Technological University, Auburn University, the University of New Hamp،re, Oregon State University, and Florida State University.
The fact is that the better performance of public universities likely reflects compulsion rather than agreement for many faculty. Public universities must protect free s،ch as a matter of law.
The result, ،wever, is a s،ling and growing divide a، private and public universities. For parents and students w، value free s،ch, they must increasingly look to public universities where faculty are subject to cons،utional guarantees.
In the same way, public universities may be the final line of defense for free-s،ch advocates.
We now largely have two systems of higher education for t،se seeking education with a diversity of opinions and viewpoints. Except for outliers like the University of Chicago and other private universities ،lding the line on free s،ch, the ort،doxy found at private universities remains a barrier to many conservative and independent thinkers.
If we are to protect these bastions of free s،ch, legislatures will need to play a more active role in addressing the exclusion of both faculty candidates and speakers on public campuses. Too many faculties continue to take the view that citizens are a captive audience that is expected to continue to fund their departments as they exclude conservative or dissenting views held by many, if not most, citizens in a given state.
If faculty members want to continue to maintain ec، chambers for their own viewpoints, they s،uld have to seek private donors for maintaining such intolerance and ort،doxy. Legislatures can demand evidence that sc،ols are maintaining intellectually diverse faculties in determining the level of continued support from citizens.
منبع: https://jonathanturley.org/2024/09/21/indiana-state-university-cancels-conservative-journalist-over-safety-concerns/