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'We Are Deeply Troubled': Stanford Admins Condemn Klavan YAF Lecture In Pathetic Letter

‘We Are Deeply Troubled’: Stanford Admins Condemn Klavan YAF Lecture In Pathetic Letter

By

spencerbrown

May 14, 2019

In a blog post on Monday, two Stanford University administrators lament the fact that the Daily Wire’s Andrew Klavan will be appearing on campus to discuss America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and why that heritage is important today. Using classic leftist double-speak, Susie Brubaker-Cole (Stanford’s Vice Provost for Student Affairs) and Tiffany Steinwert (Stanford’s Dean for Religious Life) state that while their university “welcomes discussion on all aspects of America’s religious diversity, [they] are deeply troubled by views Klavan has expressed.” Spare me. What the administrators really mean is they welcome discussion, as long as it’s in lockstep with what they think. Brubaker-Cole and Steinwert go on to allege that “Klavan distorts the tenets of the Muslim faith, equating Islam with violence and barbarism” before whining that they are “particularly dismayed that an event of this type is planned for the holy month of Ramadan.” Most absurdly, the administrators slam the “publicity tactics” used to promote Klavan’s speech, claiming conservatives posting flyers across campus, including in Stanford’s Muslim community center, constitutes “an evidently deliberate attempt to disturb and disrespect [Stanford’s] Muslim community” and is “unacceptable behavior that undermines [Stanford’s] community values.” Careful observers will note that Stanford’s Students for Justice in Palestine club hung anti-Semitic posters around campus depicting Ben Shapiro at Seder, yet there’s been no condemnation or scolding from administrators. This is yet another example of the double-standard applied by administrators who favor one viewpoint at the expense of another. But this double-standard doesn’t stop administrators from reiterating their “ethical framework” that “call[s] on our entire campus community to treat with respect the religious traditions and activities of others,” unless of course those religious traditions are Judeo-Christian. Apparently unsatisfied with demonizing conservatives and allowing hatred toward their Judeo-Christian community to fester, Stanford’s administration goes on to attack the very idea of free expression as enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “We are committed to free expression of diverse opinions,” the administrators write, but “at the same time, as a campus we aim to model responsible use of free speech…just because speech is protected does not mean that it is ethical, moral, and/or responsible.” That is, Stanford’s administrators would like you to self-censor in order to avoid sharing ideas they disfavor. The First Amendment evidently isn’t good enough for Stanford’s leadership, who nonsensically ask their community to “aspire to a higher set of standards than the bare minimum letter of the law.” Is free speech just too free for Stanford’s Vice Provost for Student Affairs and its Dean for Religious Life? The post from these two bumbling administrators closes with a veiled attempt at encouraging protests of Klavan’s lecture Tuesday night: “As you decide how you will respond to this speaker and others who may follow, we encourage you to have hope in the communities of solidarity who stand with you and who join you shoulder to shoulder in making a community of care and shared dignity a reality. Together we can be and do better.” Again, these claimed ambitions fall flat as Stanford continues to call for unity while hanging its conservative students out to dry. If they continue to ostracize and demonize those on their campus with whom they disagree, they’ll never be better.

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