Professor Mike Adams, who lectures at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and also is a Townhall columnist, fired back this week after being blocked from speaking at the University of Montana.
In an email to one of the outside organizer’s of Adams’ scheduled speaking event at the University of Montana, Larry Abramson, the dean of the journalism school at the University of Montana explained his reasons for canceling Adams’ scheduled appearance:
If you jump in at 3:30 on the link at the bottom, you can hear (Dr. Adams) talking about his opposition to tolerance of transgender accommodations. He appears to be siding with Christians in the “culture war.” In this one (link) he talks about his efforts to make sure that abortion providers give time to Christian speakers, in the interest of freedom of speech. He also talks about the prevalence of “cultural Marxism,” and exclusively speaks on right wing sites. In this one, (link) he talks about why he will no longer allow “illegal aliens” into his classes. I think we can find a speaker who will talk about free speech issues, without running the risk of offending students. We can still have a conversation with him if you want, but he is pretty extreme in his views.
Abramson told a local newspaper that Adams does not match the journalism school’s goals of being a “tolerant, welcoming school. “I’m not a lawyer,” he said, “but I’m sure our lawyers would tell you that there are requirements that we accommodate different people’s views, but the J-school does not have to invite people that we think don’t match with our priorities or our values as a tolerant, welcoming school.”
In a response posted at Townhall, Adams refuted each of the concerns.
“The Dean claims that I “speak” exclusively on right wing sites. That is false,” he wrote. “I have been on MSNBC, Air America, and numerous other left-wing stations and sites. I have also appeared on NPR where Abramson worked for nearly 30 years. Most importantly, I have spoken at 93 different universities, the overwhelming majority of which have been dominated by left-wing academics such as Dean Abramson. In short, I have stepped out of my comfort zone and demonstrated the kind of intellectual courage the Dean lacks.”
“In the satirical column, to which the Dean links, I criticize a professor who holds open border views and yet insists that juniors be prevented from “jumping in line” to sign up for senior classes,” he adds. “We know it is satire because I am not actually in possession of the immigration status information of students who seek enrollment in my classes. Everyone seems to understand my journalistic satire except for your Dean of Journalism.”
Adam’s concluded by suggesting that the dean’s past career at NPR may be impacting issues that students at the school face today with regards to intellectual honesty. “After finishing a career with NPR, now he’s teaching future journalists. Any wonder why we have a problem with honesty both in reporting and in higher education?”
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