President Lawrence Resigns

IRIS103
Sun, 22 Mar 2015 18:46:00 +0000

The factually incorrect statement (by @couplemoreweeks) was that the university “cancelled the invitation for hirsi ali to give a speech because of the critical comments she has made about certain Practices rampant in the Islamic world such as genital mutilation”. This comment was purported to demonstrate that the university suppresses free speech.

First, it was not an invitation to Ayaan Hirsi Ali to speak that was withdrawn but an honorary degree that she was to have received. Second, it was not her criticism of practices such as genital mutilation that was the problem. Indeed it was precisely for her work on the rights of women and girls around the world that Hirsi Ali was to have been honored.

Objections were raised to Hirsi Ali’s honorary degree because she has extended her criticism of Islam far beyond the violence and abusive practices perpetrated in its name, calling for the defeat not just of radical Islam, but “Islam, period”. When the withdrawal of the degree invitation was announced, President Lawrence explicitly stated that she would be welcome to discuss her views on campus at another time (whether she would be willing to do so after the degree episode is another matter).

Brandeis is only one of several institutions to be in the news in 2014 because of protests over commencement speakers//honorees. (Others include Rutgers, Smith, Haverford and Michigan State, as well as the Harvard Graduate School of Education.) For a discussion of the First Amendment issues raised by such protests as well as a more detailed (and thoughtful) analysis of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali episode, see the following essay
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/fixgov/posts/2014/05/26-protesting-commencement-speakers-lempert

What these protests reveal about college life is a different issue. Prospective students and their parents who have concerns about freedom of expression at Brandeis should learn about the experiences and the comfort level of students on the campus from people who are actually there.