An Occasional Reader has said something along the lines that the College presidents are “damned if they do, damned if they don’t”, in how they’ve handled the uprisings, the rioting, the encampments -- the “pro-Palestinians”, more correctly, I think called “pro-Hamas". That is, at the places they’ve been most radical, the likes of Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Penn, UCLA, this OR is saying if they crack down they’re damned and if they don’t crack down they’re damned.
I beg to differ. At the University of Chicago (in a Blue city) and the Univeristy of Florida (in a Red State) the presidents have been robust. They said “it’s simple”. To their students they say:
- You have the rights to free speech.
- You also have the obligation to follow the law. And to follow College guidelines. You must not interfere with the right of others. If you breach laws and codes, we will stop you. If you continue to do so, we will punish you, which may include expelling you.
End of story.
The others, the presidents of Columbia and UCLA and the rest, are pathetic panderers. They are weak. They are cowards. There is no need for them to “negotiate”. WTF? Or else they agree with the protesters, which is another possibility, since almost all of the faculty and administration are very left of centre at US colleges. And that’s also crazy.
In short, they are damned if they don’t. If they don’t take a clear stand. If they don’t stand up to principle. If they don’t stand for western values. If they don’t stand for the rule of law; for college regulations.
If they do, they’re fine. If they don’t they’re damned. Cursed. Reviled. Shamed. There.
