ASU's Statement
The Chilling Effect
Here is ASU’s statement in response to the WSJ article about the Lewis Center closing. I will put my comments at the end of each point as a private citizen.
Arizona State University remains committed to, in practice, not just rhetoric, all things that support free speech and all of its components. The event in question was held and was a success. [See the WSJ article written by Ms. Atkinson for a description of what ASU made her do in order to hold this event and the constraints they put on her the day of the event. Why couldn’t the presenters speak about politics? Plenty of radical leftists come to ASU and speak about politics. Ibram X. Kendi spoke this spring, was he told not to mention politics? This is called the chilling effect, meaning that while ASU says they support free speech they make conservatives and Christians know that their speech is viewed as suspect and not welcomed]
Ms. Atkinson’s current job at the university will no longer exist after June 30 because the donor who created and funded the Lewis Center decided to terminate his donation. ASU is working to determine how we can support the most impactful elements of the center without that external funding. [The full story is that the donor pulled out of the Lewis Center because ASU faculty called him vicious names and the administration did not defend him or denounce ad hominems as beneath the free speech of a university. Ms. Atkinson had secured other sources of funding for the next year and ASU still closed the Lewis Center]
Ms. Atkinson whose job is linked to the funding for the Center, like all such employees is then eligible for other jobs at ASU. This is the normal process and she has been treated like everyone else. [Read her WSJ article to see how she was treated. Was she told she must face the consequences for bringing controversial speakers to campus? Are ASU employees who bring controversial speakers like Ibram X. Kendi also fired?]
As a public university, ASU is committed to free, robust and uninhibited sharing of ideas among all members of the university’s community. The university values and adheres to the First Amendment to the U.S Constitution, which provides freedom of speech. These values apply to the students and other members of our community who helped to organize the Lewis Center speaker program and to the faculty who expressed strong opinions about the event. [Read the evidence in the WSJ article. Were the speakers told they could not talk about politics? Is that consistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution? Were professors using class time to make students uncomfortable about attending the event? Were all advertisements of the event taken down by ASU? ASU needs to do more than say they support free speech and debate. They need to fight against the chilling effect that currently exists for conservatives and Christians on campus].