Last week the University of Wyoming cancelled a proposed talk by education professor William Ayers amidst threats of violence.
Ayers is a respected professor of education from the University of Illinois – Chicago. He was invited by the Social Justice Research Center, a group of faculty at the University of Wyoming, to deliver two lectures on education and democracy.
In the 60’s Ayers was a co-founder of the radical anti-war group the Weather Underground who carried out bombings of the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. During the 2008 presidential election his involvement in the group became a national controversy when Republican candidate John McCain ran a series of ads linking Ayers to President Obama. Ayers became a central element in the debate over academic freedom when both the University of Nebreska-Lincoln and Boston College canceled proposed lectures by him amidst growing controversy.
The lectures at UW were canceled due to security concerns after members of the Social Justice Research Center, received threats on their persons and their families.
As we’ve said many times before, the Center for Campus Free Speech believes that the right to hear speakers of your own choosing is an integral part of academic freedom. While the organizers’ of the event have the right to make calls on its safety, It’s disheartening to see a hecklers veto and threats of violence trump the rights of the campus community.
For a university to fulfill its educational mission students and faculty need to be free to investigate and engage in a free exchange of ideas and evaluate competing claims on their face. By cancelling Ayers speech the University of Wyoming has dealt a saddening blow to the Academic Freedom of its campus community.