Dickinson College Caves to the Mob and Cancels Commencement Speech by Right-Leaning Pundit
“The decision was an unparalleled act of cowardice by President John Jones”
The person in question here is CNN’s Michael Smerconish, not even a solid conservative.
From Jonathan Turley:
Dickinson College Cancels Commencement Address by Michael Smerconish
In another victory for the mobocracy, Dickinson College canceled the commencement address of CNN host Michael Smerconish after liberal and pro-Palestinian students objected. The school decided to forego any speaker rather than risk the ire of radical students and groups. The greatest loss was not to Smerconish but to the college and the students. These graduates could have heard from one of the brightest legal minds in media and a person who has been a powerful and unflagging champion of free speech.
The decision was an unparalleled act of cowardice by President John Jones, who cited “overwhelming opposition” to Smerconish in a recent statement.
Somehow Jones viewed yielding to the mob to be a virtuous act and announced that “with the support of our Board of Trustees, I have decided to rescind the honorary degree and invitation to speak at Commencement.”
That certainly offered clarity to the question and the solution: Jones and the board should resign.
The very touchstone of higher education is a diversity of viewpoints. We have seen a growing orthodoxy on our campuses with little tolerance for dissenting views, particularly when it comes to conservative or libertarian voices. That is most evident in the selection of commencement speakers. It is now routine to invite far left commencement speakers, including at my own university. Speakers like MSNBC host Jen Psaki this year at GW are treated as ideal choices while the selection of more moderate or conservative speakers would trigger protests and cancel campaigns.
Commencements are now an extension of echo chambers on our campuses where faculties have largely purged conservatives from their ranks.
We previously discussed how surveys at universities show a virtual purging of conservative and Republican faculty members. For example, last year, the Harvard Crimson noted that the university had virtually eliminated Republicans from most departments but that the lack of diversity was not a problem. Now, a new survey conducted by the Harvard Crimson shows that more than three-quarters of Harvard Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences faculty respondents identify as “liberal” or “very liberal.” Only 2.5% identified as “conservative,” and only 0.4% as “very conservative.”
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Comments
“He’s not on our bandwagon with us. Cancel him!”
And they characterize themselves as the enlightened ones.
Cumberland County, where Dickinson College is located, went for Trump by a 54% margin in 2020. Carlisle is also home to the US Army War College, and was not as infested by mamby-pamby DEI scabs as it is now. Surprised that the jelly-spined Jones would just jettison a commencement speaker so callously and publicly, considering that the drawing area of Dickinson includes some pretty conservative areas in Pennsylvania and some other stares around it. Then again, it’s whackademia and they live in such an impenetrable bubble that one wonders how a supply of oxygen is able to percolate through the thickness of it.
like the school board meetings where the pro americans showed up
the same thing has to happen
then you’ll see some *action* as lefty is threatened by common sense actions from pro americans and moves to protect their lefty stronghold
but notttt if pro americans show up!!
Too bad. Dickinson used to have a pretty good reputation (the Law School at least did).
Those days are LONG behind. Now, it’s just another government employment facility under the guise of Penn State. Were it not for government jobs, Pennsylvania might not even exist, beyond Cleveland.
Carlisle remains a pleasant community. I graduated from CVHS in 1970 and still drop by for brief visits every few decades.
Almost went to college there, thanking my decision now to go to SU school of Architecture instead!
“We hold humility, reflection, engagement and dialogue as the most important values to build understanding of complex issues”. I’d say Jones III just trampled on all his purported values by caving to the mob (of which, he has outed himself as one).