Williams College President Adam Falk Cancels speech by Derbyshire

[martybegan]

Williams College is a private college, and thus is immune to 1st amendment criticisms. However they are not immune to free speech criticisms, and Mr. Falks coddling response is both nauseating, and at the same time refreshing, because he at least had the balls to take a (wrong) stand on the issue.


The Condescending Paternalism of Williams President Adam Falk - FIRE

The real kicker is that the Student inviting him (who is black) doesn't agree at all with Derbyshire, but wanted to have him speak so he can be refuted, i.e., actual debate.

If Falk’s patronizing of Williams students was not already clear enough from his nauseatingly condescending letter announcing the cancellation, consider this: Zachary Wood, the president of the student group who invited Derbyshire—known for his controversial statements about race—is African-American. Wood wanted to hear Derbyshire speak, he toldThe Berkshire Eagle, because he “wanted to understand his positions and refute them.” Wood’s comments to the Eagle are worth reading in full, because they reflect a deep understanding of the importance of free expression to society:

As an African-American, Wood said he is strongly opposed to the positions expressed by Derbyshire, but those views are held by millions of Americans and need to be debated and disproved.

“I disagree with John Derbyshire on just about everything, but I think he should be allowed to speak at Williams College,” he said. “We should hear what he has to say, and take him to task for it. I wanted to understand his positions and refute them.”