Today’s lead op-ed piece is by Harvard’s Ruth Wisse. It was inspired by the recent spate of “victories” for students and administrators who think it proper to keep speakers off campus who might “offend” anyone — at least anyone in a group that must never be offended. The disinvitations for Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Raymond Kelly, Condi Rice, and Charles Murray are all part of a broad, worrisome trend: speakers who challenge the deep beliefs of people who are apt to throw a tantrum if their beliefs are challenged should be kept away. That’s the safe thing to do.
Decades ago, liberals insisted that their protests were a matter of “speaking truth to power.” Now that those same people hold the reins of power, they’re often hostile to anyone who offers counter-arguments to their pet ideas.
Whether it’s due to timidity or a truly illiberal cast of mind, when administrators act this way, they do their students a great disservice. Instead of worrying about their schools “modeling diversity” they should worry about modeling civil debate.