University of California President Janet Napolitano belives the “Free Speech Week” featuring controversial speakers such as Milo Yiannopolous and Steve Bannon, slated to begin at Berkeley on Sept. 24, will be a “test” for the state’s flagship school. I suppose that’s true in the same way that a kid who keeps failing the same math assesment is “tested” every time he’s forced to retake it.
“This will be a test for Berkeley,” Napolitano said on Wednesday according to Politico. “It’s a cost that the university is bearing to protect the speakers but also to protect the value of free speech … But the rock and the hard place that the campus is in, is the value of free speech versus the need to protect the safety and the security of the students and the faculty.”
Later in the interview, the former secretary of Homeland Security added, “colleges and universities are places where noxious ideas are expressed.”
That’s exactly right, but it’s also exactly why the reality that “noxious ideas” have become “safety and the security” risks on her campuses is absurd to begin with. By indulging so-called “anti-fascists,” Berkeley forced itself into that position between a rock and hard place.
“Anti-fascist” rioters have created violence on multiple occasions over the past year at Berkeley. Most memorable was the first time the school was “tested” by Yiannopolous last February and Antifa caused $100,000 worth of damage. The school failed subsequent tests involving Ann Coulter and Ben Shapiro as well. Though protests of Shapiro’s lecture last week did not devolve into violence, the school paid $600,000 to provide adequate security. Security for “Free Speech Week,” according to the university, could exceed $1 million.
Berkeley has already failed this test. Napolitano’s lip service to the importance of free speech is great and all, but if I were a California taxpayer, I wouldn’t really be in the mood to pat her on the back right now.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
