Rant: My free speech club's invite got axed after alumni complained

Back in 2021 at a small Ohio college, we booked a controversial journalist and the event went fine, just a few heated Q&As. This semester at a different uni in Ohio, our board pulled a similar speaker offer after three alumni emailed the president, no vote or debate. Has anyone else seen admin swap a public invite for a quiet private chat, and did that actually solve anything?

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gonzalez.oliver16d ago

Honestly used to roll my eyes at people who said alumni pressure was no big deal, figured it was just loud talk. Then a similar thing happened where I went and the speaker offer turned into a small closed sit down with maybe 15 people. It did not calm anyone down. The alumni went quiet for a bit, but the students who wanted the public event felt shut out, and the whole thing just moved the fight behind closed doors instead of solving it.

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