Here’s something to consider: Middlebury had rules on the books for respectful dialogue etc. that apparently the admin. didn’t even follow. Isn’t the question “Is Chicago immune to the Middlebury experience” really about whether UChicago admin. would allow a speaker event to get out of hand like that? Given the discipline report they issued just in the wake of the incident (perfect timing!) it would seem unlikely.
Sure, the students might be very poor examples of slogan-shouting firebrands. But University of Chicago undergrads have held demonstrations, sit-ins, and occupations before - some many decades ago, others more recently. The prospect of a few - if allowed - shouting down a speaker or even inciting a small riot, is definitely w/in the realm of genuine possibilities. The real questions to me would be how far does the administrative body allow that to go? When/where does it draw the line, and what happens once that line is crossed? Seems that the school has definitely issued statements to answer those questions so the big challenge is whether it’s true to its word. My guess is “YES”.