Villanova’s decision to cancel Milo Yiannopoulos violates free speech
It’s offensive that the school doesn’t want us to be offended
Yesterday it was announced that Villanova University canceled Milo Yiannopoulos’s appearance after they succumbed to student pressure to prevent him from speaking on campus in November and it’s hard to agree with.
The decision to ban the Breitbart editor Yiannopoulos from campus is a deliberate rejection of something central to every academic institution: freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas.
By un-inviting Yiannopoulos, the university has made a bold statement about its power over the ideas that students are allowed to be exposed to. It has shied away from allowing a controversial speaker to have an open conversation with students who may or may not disagree with him.
Milo’s appearance was canceled yesterday
The incident brings to light a disheartening trend taking hold of campuses nationwide. Across the nation, universities are promoting “safe spaces” where students can detach themselves from conversations that may upset them.
The University of Chicago took an active stance against the trend in a letter sent to freshman students this year. It read “our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”
That is exactly what Villanova has done.
We have been violated by the cancelation of this event
In an effort to protect students from being exposed to a viewpoint they may find offensive or politically incorrect, the university has robbed students of the opportunity to think for themselves. It is as if the school has been child-proofed, and students must deal with the parental controls.
Villanovans should be wise enough to judge for themselves whether they agree with what Yiannopoulos has to say, whether they disavow it completely, or whether they would rather not attend the event. But without the opportunity to engage with him, they cannot make that decision for themselves.
In an ironic twist, the school has still managed to offend students. It has offended students who would rather think for themselves than be shielded from a controversial discussion.
I would much rather be offended by Yiannopoulos than coddled by an over-protective university.