Former Princeton University President William Bowen ripped protesters at Haverford College in Haverford, PA who forced out a previously-scheduled commencement speaker in his address to the school on Sunday. Bowen stated that the protest that prevented Robert J. Birgeneau, the former chancellor of UC-Berkeley, from speaking at Haverford’s commencement was a “defeat” for the school’s ideals. Bowen further expressed that those who disagreed with Birgeneau should have allowed him to engage in an open discussion.
Birgeneau was slated to give the Haverford commencement address, but withdrew after students and faculty protested his handling of a 2011 student protests at UC-Berkeley when Birgenau was the chancellor. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the many of those who protested Birgenau “had participated in Occupy protests as well and wanted to stand in solidarity with Berkeley students.”
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