Earlier this month, the University of California, Berkeley announced that Bill Maher would be its fall graduation speaker — but thousands have signed a petition to protest because they think his presence campus would make students unsafe.
Their concerns come from recent comments he made about Islam, such as “The Muslim world has too much in common with ISIS,” and “Talk to women who’ve ever dated an Arab man. The results are not good.”
“Bill Maher is a blatant bigot and racist who has no respect for the values UC-Berkeley students and administration stand for,” states the petition, written by student government senator Khwaja Ahmed.
“We cannot invite an individual who himself perpetuates a dangerous learning environment,” it continues.
Other students echoed Ahmed’s concerns about student safety if Maher were brought to campus:
“As the Student Regent for the University of California, I cannot stand for any action that makes our students feel unsafe,” Sadia Saifuddin commented on the petition.
At the time of publication, the petition had 2,447 signatures.
— Katherine Timpf is a reporter at National Review Online.