Students at the City University of New York School of Law tried to shut down a guest lecture from South Texas College of Law Professor Josh Blackman this week.
Professor Blackman, who was named to Forbes‘ “30 under 30” for “Law and Policy,” spoke this week at the CUNY School of Law. Blackman was scheduled to give a lecture entitled “Importance of Free Speech on Campus.” Blackman was met with a horde of protesters shouting “shame on you!” when he went to enter the event room.
“You wrote that I supported the president’s decision to rescind DACA. I actually support the DREAM act,” he bagan. “I actually think the DREAM act is a good piece of legislation…my position is that the policy itself is not consistent with the rule of law, which teaches a lesson: you can support something as a matter of policy but then find out that the law doesn’t permit it.”
“Fuck the law,” one protester shouted. “It’s a bizarre thing to say, ‘Fuck the law,’ when you are in law school,” Blackman responded.
Shortly after Blackman began his speech, the protesters dispersed. Many left the room and a few stayed behind and engaged in a back and forth with Blackman. One protester held a sign that read “oppressors are not welcome here,” while he pressed Blackman on his views on various topics.
Blackman claimed in his blog post that the student protesters who left the event marched over to the dean’s office to complain that they allowed the event to take place.
Only a few students attended the event. In his blog post, Blackman explained that some students were pressured by their peers into skipping the event.
“I learned that some students were either ashamed, or intimidated, and did not want to be seen as attending the event,” Blackman wrote. “A number of students thanked me after the event, and explained that conservative speech is stifled on campus not by the faculty, but by the students. The students swarm on anyone who does not toe the progressive line.”