Excerpt:
Conservative warrior David Horowitz was scheduled to speak at St. Louis University this month. But he won't be. University officials canceled his speech because of its title: "Islamo-Fascism Awareness and Civil Rights."
Horowitz commented: "I have spoken at 400 universities. This is the first time my speech has been censored and stopped by an administration. And they are supposed to be the guardians of intellectual discourse." Cary Nelson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, said that with this cancellation, St. Louis University "joins the small group of campuses that are universities in name only…. The free exchange of ideas is not just a comforting offshoot of higher education; it defines the fundamental nature of the enterprise.
But the free exchange of ideas is something that is increasingly denied to conservative voices. Robert Spencer was set to speak at the American Library Association convention last summer but was canceled at the last minute after pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Michael Savage was set to participate by means of a video link in a debate next Thursday at Britain's Cambridge Union, but last Wednesday the debate was canceled. Julien Domercq and Jonathan Laurence of the Cambridge Union claimed that "there are numerous legal issues with Dr Savage speaking here."