The University at Buffalo will not stand in the way of a student group bringing a controversial political commentator to speak at the school.
With general public pressure rising in advance of the upcoming appearance of Michael Knowles, including a letter opposing the event from three faculty members to President Satish Tripathi, UB released a statement Sunday reaffirming freedom of expression.
UB says it does not take a position on the views of those who visit campus and will continue to hold true to its values of promoting a culture of diversity, social justice and inclusion.
“We are committed to fostering a safe, welcoming environment at all times – just as we are committed to freedom of speech,” the university wrote.
Knowles, who gave a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend where he called for transgenderism to be "eradicated" from public life, has been invited to speak Thursday by the Young Americans for Freedom student chapter at UB.
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“Student government-sponsored clubs have the ability to invite speakers of their choosing, as long as they follow the laws and guidelines concerning public events on campus,” the statement from the university notes.
“Freedom of expression also gives individuals the right to oppose the opinions of others, but it must be done in such a way that doesn’t limit the speaker or interfere with university operations,” the statement continues. “As we have seen in the past, speakers sometimes hold opinions contrary to university values or make polarizing comments.”
On Monday morning, the university updated its statement, adding, "As UB has seen in the past, speakers may hold opinions contrary to its own or make comments that can polarize the campus as they do the nation. This does not change our core beliefs as a university."
"Please know that our commitment to transgender inclusion is stronger than one speaker and one event," Sharon Nolan-Weiss, director, Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said in the statement. "It is ongoing and will continue through our policies, our educational offerings, our resources, and our interactions."
The statements came as the outrage over Knowles was being expressed on social media and directly to the university.
That included a letter to UB President Tripathi from Carrie Tirado Bramen, professor of English and director of the UB Gender Institute; David Schmid, associate professor of English; and Michael Rembis, associate professor of history and director for the UB Center for Disability Studies.
In the letter sent Sunday, they called on Tripathi to rescind Knowles’ invitation and cancel the event, so as not to provide a platform for hate speech, while standing by UB's "stated core values of diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect."
Knowles is a conservative political commentator, actor, bestselling author and media host, who hosts a show at the Daily Wire.
“Knowles is a notorious right-wing provocateur with a long history of hate speech that implicitly calls for and condones violence against minority and marginalized groups,” the three wrote to Tripathi. “We believe that this inflammatory language is effectively a call for genocidal violence against members of the transgender community and will, at the very least, encourage acts of violence against members of that community.”
The university said it supports the “fundamental right of its community and invited guests to peacefully express their views and opinions – even when others disagree.”
John Della Contrada, UB's vice president for communications, noted Sunday that "colleges and universities across the country face similar issues when controversial speakers visit."
But the three faculty members believe that canceling the event is the only way UB can “prove to its students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the larger Western New York community that the university will not tolerate and will not provide a platform for those who spread hate.”
Some students are taking to social media to express their disappointment in the university. For example, Julianne Neely, a Ph.D. candidate at UB, wrote that she’s "embarrassed" that the university would allow Knowles to speak there.
“All faculty and grad students that oppose this should strike this week and not do an ounce of work for this university,” she wrote.
A Ph.D. candidate in English at UB, Lawrence Mullen, who is transgender, contended that freedom of speech was not designed to allow Knowles a platform for his type of speech and suggested that his talk might violate the university's rules on conduct.
"You just can't have civil discourse in that capacity," Mullen said, "when one group does not believe in the humanity of another."