Ayaan Hirsi Ali Round 2

My blog entry of April 10 complained about the cowardly actions of the Brandeis University administration when they knuckled under to a few, loud, churlish members of faculty (yuck!!) and students who demanded that Ayaan Hirsi Ali be taken off the program as commencement speaker.

A friend's wife recently said that "Liberals believe that you are entitled to your opinion as long as it agrees with their opinion." The Brandeis University affront to the free exchange of ideas was quickly repeated at Haverford College and some others, as it had been done at Rutgers University regarding Condi Rice. Much has been written by others about how the university settings that should be crucibles for severe testing of ideas and information have become home to cowards that will not join the fray, who will not say "NO!" fearing that damnable sin of being politically incorrect.

Enter former Princeton University President William Bowen who filled in for the fallen speaker before him. Now, it has to be noted that the speaker originally scheduled to give the commencement address at Haverford College has impeccable liberal credentials as former chancellor of UC Berkeley, so there is a bit of irony in the situation to begin with. But speaker Bowen came to the podium and called the students and faculty "disrespectful, disappointing, intemperate, immature and arrogant." A "defeat" for the ideals of the Quaker institution.

He received a standing ovation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer covered the story, but I have not found it on many of the internet sources. Typical. Just go to philly dot com and read the account.