Bigotry Backfires in Montana

Mike Adams

"Larry Abramson, Dean of the University of Montana (UM) School of Journalism, has irreparably harmed the reputation of his school. With its 93% acceptance rate, UM has never been a selective university with a stellar reputation. Nonetheless, Abramson’s decision to reject my selection as the keynote for 10 th annual Jeff Cole Distinguished Lecture Series has backfired and badly embarrassed the institution. To make matters worse, UM President Sheila Stearns has missed a golden opportunity to mitigate the damage by responding with an unequivocal defense of free speech. 

"Those needing additional background information on the controversy can read my column “Grizzly Bigotry at the University of Montana” published here on Townhall.com back in October. The letter/column, which was actually sent to President Stearns, provoked a response. Fortunately, that response has produced a dialogue, which has culminated in a rescheduling of my speech. It will now occur on February 13 th at 6 p.m. in UM’s Dennison Theater, a venue seating 1100 people. 

"As much as I appreciate President Stearns for answering my letter and for assuring me I will be allowed to speak on campus, there are four specific problems with her response to the controversy. Two take the form of affirmative misstatements. Two take the form of omissions. I’ll start with the two misstatements: " 

The outline of the rest of this column:

1. Does the J-school really have unlimited authority to decline to sponsor controversial speakers? . . .

2. Did a speaker ban ever really occur in the current controversy? . . .

"In a similar vein, there are two crucial elements missing from Stearns’ response to the controversy at UM:" . . .

1. Is Larry Abramson guilty of sexism (if not hate speech)? . . . 

2. Is Mr. Abramson even fit to be a Dean? . . .