Been booking invited speakers for 2 years now, the shift since 2023 is wild

Back in 2023, I could line up a controversial campus talk, an ACLU lawyer or someone from the other side, without a single letter from alumni or parents. Since last fall, I've had 4 events cancelled after the invite went public, usually within 48 hours, because of organized email campaigns and one trustee threat. Is it just me, or are schools now killing two-thirds of their invited speakers before they even step off the plane, and what's the breaking point for a campus that wants real debate?

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blair_allen28d ago

That "breaking point" line hits the mark. I've watched this from the trustee side at two schools, and the real issue is nobody wants to be the one who gets yelled at. A vocal minority of maybe 150 emails now overrides what used to be a quiet majority. The scary part is the silence after a cancellation. You'd think the loud pro-debate crowd would erupt, but they just shrug and book someone safer next time.