We have been here before, intolerant students trying to purge and punish people with whom they disagree. It’s not just an undergraduate problem, it’s happening in law schools also, with faculty and administrators condoning or even encouraging this cancel culture.
The most recent example was the shout-down of Ilya Shapiro at UC-Hastings Law School, which involved a student getting within inches of Shapiro as he tried to speak in a clear attempt at physical intimidation. I covered the story in these posts:
Now something similar has happened at Yale Law School. The Free Beacon broke the story:
More than 100 students at Yale Law School attempted to shout down a bipartisan panel on civil liberties, intimidating attendees and causing so much chaos that police were eventually called to escort panelists out of the building.The March 10 panel, which was hosted by the Yale Federalist Society, featured Monica Miller of the progressive American Humanist Association and Kristen Waggoner of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative nonprofit that promotes religious liberty. Both groups had taken the same side in a 2021 Supreme Court case involving legal remedies for First Amendment violations. The purpose of the panel, a member of the Federalist Society said, was to illustrate that a liberal atheist and a conservative Christian could find common ground on free speech issues….When a professor at the law school, Kate Stith, began to introduce Waggoner, the protesters, who outnumbered the audience members, rose in unison, holding signs that attacked ADF. The nonprofit has argued—and won—several Supreme Court cases establishing religious exemptions from civil rights laws, most famously Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission in 2018.As they stood up, the protesters began to antagonize members of the Federalist Society, forcing Stith to pause her remarks. One protester told a member of the conservative group she would “literally fight you, bitch,” according to audio and video obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.With the fracas intensifying, Stith reminded the students of Yale’s free speech policies, which bar any protest that “interferes with speakers’ ability to be heard and of community members to listen.” When the protesters heckled her in response—several with their middle fingers raised—she told them to “grow up,” according to video of the event obtained by the Free Beacon.
From the video the Free Beacon posted, the disruption wasn’t as loud and continuous as at UC-Hastings, but it was enough to prevent the speaker from being heard for a significant time until the protesters left.
Yale Law Professor Kate Stith did something few law professors or administrators have the guts to do, stand up to the mob:
As the Free Beacon described, but is not fully audible on the inside video, a lot of the physical intimidation took place outside the room:
The protesters proceeded to exit the event—one of them yelled “Fuck you, FedSoc” on his way out—but congregated in the hall just outside. Then they began to stomp, shout, clap, sing, and pound the walls, making it difficult to hear the panel. Chants of “protect trans kids” and “shame, shame” reverberated throughout the law school. The din was so loud that it disrupted nearby classes, exams, and faculty meetings, according to students and a professor who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Ellen Cosgrove, the associate dean of the law school, was present at the panel the entire time. Though the cacophony clearly violated Yale’s free speech policies, she did not confront any of the protesters.At times, things seemed in danger of getting physical. The protesters were blocking the only exit from the event, and two members of the Federalist Society said they were grabbed and jostled as they attempted to leave.”It was disturbing to witness law students whipped into a mindless frenzy,” Waggoner said. “I did not feel it was safe to get out of the room without security.”As the panel concluded, police officers arrived to escort Waggoner and Miller out of the building. Three members of the Federalist Society say they were told that the Dean of Yale Law School, Heather Gerken, called the police, though the law school declined to comment on who asked for extra security. The Federalist Society did not call the police, the group’s president confirmed.
Yale law students are upset. Not at the distruption and intimidation, but that the police were called, via Yale Daily News:
Over 400 law students — more than half of the current Law School student body — have signed an open letter condemning the presence of armed police at a student protest at the Federalist Society meeting….The letter was primarily concerned with the presence of armed police at the protest, but additionally condemned law professor Kate Stith, who moderated the event and told the protesters to “grow up.” The letter, which was initially submitted to Law School administrators with over 130 signatures and has since more than tripled in signatories, notes that signatories are “a coalition of queer students and allies deeply concerned with the presence of armed police at a peaceful protest of law students.” ….“Future lawyers should have the critical thinking skills, intellectual curiosity, humility, and maturity to engage with ideas and legal principles that they may disagree with,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, some students who attended the Federalist Society event refused to allow others to speak and acted in an aggressive and hostile manner towards me, Professor Kate Stith, and Monica Miller from the American Humanist Association.” ….Several student protesters characterized the armed response as disproportionate, given what they viewed to be the peaceful and non-disruptive nature of the protest. Sources with the Federalist Society and close to the speakers disputed this, saying that the protest, although peaceful, disrupted the event.
You can read the student letter. If the Free Beacon’s description of what went on outside lecture hall is accurate, then it certainly was reasonable to provide police escort and protection for the speakers as the exited.
This is just more evidence of the decline of legal education and the collapse of values. “Social justice” and feelings trump free speech and debate.
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