by Benjamin Yount
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are once again questioning free speech at the University of Wisconsin after a conservative speaker at the Madison campus was met with graffiti, protests, and condemnation from university leaders.
Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, on Monday said the university’s response to Matt Walsh’s visit to Madison is unacceptable.
“A UW-Madison administrator preemptively sent messages to students before an approved event to specifically state ‘viewpoints we believe are harmful’ will be uttered on campus and they ‘feel the impact’ of this not yet uttered speech on campus. I don’t know if this was premeditated appeasement of a political faction or an uncontrolled outburst attacking a viewpoint with which administration disagrees, but neither explanation is acceptable,” Stroebel said in a statement.
That statement, which the university shared on Instagram on Sunday, was directed to UW-Madison’s trans community.
“We are aware that a speaker is coming to campus on Monday whose viewpoints we believe are harmful toward our trans community. We feel the impact this is having on our campus and wanted to reach out,” the message read.
Walsh was invited by UW-Madison’s chapter of the Young America’s Foundation spoke Monday night. He also screened his movie ‘What is a Woman?’
Former Gov. Scott Walker, who is the president of YAF, said on Twitter Monday that the university’s response is why speakers like Walsh must continue to come to college campuses.
“They don’t want mainstream discussions on campus. All the more reason @yaf and @MattWalshBlog will not back down!,” the former governor said in a tweet.
Walsh, for his part, called UW Administrators “cowards” for the message.
There was also graffiti ahead of Walsh’s speech.
Someone spray painted several vulgar messages to Walsh at UW-Madison’s Memorial Union and in Alumni Park.
Stroebel said there are some questions to answer about just what is going on at the UW.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, vandals defaced various pieces of property across campus with slogans vulgarly attacking the upcoming speaker and the sponsoring organization. The vandals clearly believe damaging property is justified to stop imminent ‘harm’ to people. Why shouldn’t some students feel that way when their belief that the mere discussion of ideas harms people was just reinforced by UW-Madison brass?” Stroebel asked. “It is a shame UW-Madison cannot accommodate free expression on campus without an administrator preemptively deriding the speaker.”
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Matt Walsh” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
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