CBS Showcases Suppression of Speech at College Graduations

Scott Whitlock | May 19, 2014
Font Size

[For more, see video cross-posted at NewsBusters.] The journalists at CBS This Morning on Monday actually showcased the growing problem of suppression of speech on college campuses, in this case at commencement addresses. Reporter Don Dahler even featured a representative from a conservative group fighting for open dialogue. However, the segment avoided hinting that this is primarily a problem on the left. Dahler featured former Princeton President William Bowen. While speaking at Haverford, he lectured those students for pressuring another speaker to withdrawal. Bowen complained, "I regard this outcome as a defeat, pure and simple, for Haverford. No victory for anyone who believes, as I think most of us do, in openness to many points of view and mutual respect." He added, "In my view they would have encouraged him to come and engage in a serious discussion." Regarding the cancellation of other speakers, Greg Lukianoff from the Foundation  of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) worried, "It's reaching the point where these purity tests are so strict that it's hard to imagine who will allowed to speak on the campus in the future."

donate