(NEW YORK) – In response to a recent spate of controversies and cancellations of commencement speakers across the country, PEN America today called on campuses to uphold principles of free speech and to model tolerance and resilience for their communities.
Several universities are facing growing controversy over commencement speakers for a range of diverse viewpoints, including cancellations of Rami Elghandour at Rutgers University, Sharon McMahon at Utah Valley University, and South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette at South Carolina State University. At Georgetown University Law Center, Morton Schapiro withdrew after a student petition against his selection, and at New York University student speeches for school-based ceremonies must now be pre-recorded and pre-screened this year.
“The recent cancellations of commencement speakers are deeply alarming, and risk normalizing the practice,” said Kristen Shahverdian, Director of Higher Education and Free Expression. “In our polarized society, we cannot expect all corners to agree with these choices, nor should we. However, once an invitation has been extended to a speaker, it should not be rescinded, except in the rarest of circumstances. It is also legitimate for students and others to voice their concerns and to protest invited speakers, but we are in danger of making the cancellation of speakers a given if people raise their voices loud enough, and that is a concerning norm to reinforce.”
Shahverdian continued: “Sometimes speech takes us to new and uncomfortable places, but institutions must model resilience, tolerance, and engagement with speech, and resist reversing their choices in the face of discontent and pressure. We must remember that remarks from a guest speaker are not institutional speech, they are opportunities for graduating students to encounter different views that expand beyond the world of their campus. Trying to control such speech or sanitize any possibility of offense, disagreement, or discomfort, will be a fool’s errand in a diverse democracy. The better solution is to side with speech, both of the invited speakers and of their detractors, and to let people air their views, without rescinding invitations.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Malka Margolies, [email protected], 718-530-3582