The Sound Of Silence

By: Rosemary Dewar

Last week, conservative female commentator, Elisha Krauss was invited, then disinvited, and now re-invited to speak at the University of Mississippi. The consistent trend of conservatives being shunned from academia is not going away. The University of Mississippi acted in a manner that few campuses do in these situations.

After getting to the bottom of the reasoning for ‘why’ the invitation was revoked, Ole Miss officially stated, “…This decision was made unilaterally by two individuals on our campus without consulting with members of the university administration.” One of those individuals happened to be Curtis Wilkie who is currently serving as a professor in the School of Journalism and New Media. Mr. Wilkie was a reporter for the Boston Globe.

The University of Mississippi went on to state that, “[It] is committed to promoting freedom of speech, assembly and respectful discourse, which are pillars of a healthy and inclusive learning environment.”

That’s more than could be said of Curtis Wilkie.

Elisha Krauss graciously responded by saying, “[I] appreciate this! I spoke with Noel Wilkin soon after this tweet (while burping the babe and before making dinner) and am thankful the school is working with the [Young Americans for Freedom] chapter leaders to make this happen.”

If there ever was a time to accentuate womanliness, motherhood, and loveliness, this was it.

The University of Mississippi’s action to put the quality of their academic experience over the deafening silence of an overzealous minority is a lesson all universities and academic campuses need to heed. Exposure to nuanced ideas and simple truths are integral to the critical learning experience. Censoring students from those discussions limits their capacity to choose and change.

When you would think women and their viewpoints would be highlighted in the current state of culture, some have continued to be ostracized in recent years. Commentator Ann Coulter’s scheduled event was canceled from UC Berkley in 2017. Heather MacDonald was protested at the University of Pennsylvania and Claremont McKenna. Renowned feminist Christina Hoff Sommers was protested on countless campuses for the past three years.

Students’ right to voice dissent does not and will not override an individual speaker’s right to voice their opinions. The contentious movement to drown out the expressions of those with whom they disagree will eventually become the force that will, one day, silence them if they continue on as they have chosen to do so.
By: Rosemary Dewar