University president celebrates ‘inclusiveness’ by excluding conservative speaker By Thomas Lifson
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/02/university_president_celebrates_inclusiveness_by_excluding_conservative_speaker.html
William Covino, president of California State University Los Angeles, has canceled a planned speech by Breitbart editor-at-large and conservative brainiac Ben Shaprio three days before it was to take place. All in the name of inclusiveness, bringing to mind the notorious Vietnam War statement, “We had to destroy the village to save it.”
In doing so, he has set the stage for what could be a major confrontation, as the speech’s sponsor, Young Americans for Freedom, has vowed to proceed with the speech, titled “When diversity becomes a problem,” regardless of the loss of the sanction by Covino. Will the university president attempt to silence the speech?
The rationale for Covino’s action is ridiculous on its face.
In an email to the Young America’s Foundation chapter at CSULA, university president William Covino wrote, “After careful consideration, I have decided that it will be best for our campus community if we reschedule Ben Shapiro’s appearance for a later date, so that we can arrange for him to appear as part of a group of speakers with differing viewpoints on diversity. Such an event will better represent our university’s dedication to the free exchange of ideas and the value of considering multiple viewpoints.”
The university has no track record at all of imposing similar constraints on left-wing speakers. Breitbart notes:
Covino clearly had no problem with the university hosting radical leftists ranging from Dr. Cornel West to Angela Davis and Tim Wise without the need for a conservative counterpoint. “Balance at CSULA only runs one way,” Shapiro said. “This event obviously threatens the feelings of the precious snowflakes at the university. Tough.”
Covino obviously hasn’t got a leg to stand on, and if he attempts to shut down the talk by Shapiro, or has campus security stand by while leftists attack the event, the door will be open for lawsuits exposing his double standard.
Shapiro is one of the smartest and most eloquent speakers on the right. His talk, if it is not shut down, would be a tonic for the brainwashed students at CSULA.
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