Student backlash shuts down Washington College event on free expression

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Students at Washington College caused several disruptions during an event on free expression at liberal arts institutions, expressing unhappiness with the speaker’s right-wing beliefs. The event was shut down, and students involved face the threat of disciplinary action.

Key Players

Founded in 1782, Washington College is a private liberal arts institution located in Chestertown, Maryland. As of fall 2022, it had 955 enrolled students. 

Robert George is a professor of politics and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Since 1993, he has served on various federal public service boards, including the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the President’s Council on Bioethics, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. George, a self-styled conservative, is also a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Joseph Prud’homme is the Burton Family Associate Professor in Religion, Politics, and Culture at Washington College. He has served as founding director of the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture since 2009.

Mike Sosulski is the 31st president of Washington College. After serving as provost at Wofford College in South Carolina for five years, he took office at the Maryland institution in September 2021. 

Further Details

On Sept. 4, 2023, Prud’homme sent a campuswide email informing students of an upcoming “Freedom of Expression” talk featuring George, with the hopes of cultivating “a discussion of the importance of free and open discourse during college of the great questions of human life,” the college’s student newspaper, The Elm, reported. 

In the days leading up to the event, student organizations indicated concern over George’s impending presence on campus, referencing his anti-abortion views and board membership at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Noelle Punte, president of the club Encouraging Respect of Sexualities, implored Sosulski to cancel the talk. “I, along with many other LGBTQ people and allies on campus, feel very unsafe with this man on campus,” Punte wrote in an email.

In addition, some faculty members discovered George’s homophobic and transphobic comments via GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and tried to email others about it. They found their messages were blocked by the school. 

But Sosulski asserted the importance of the talk, explaining that its cancellation would “not be consistent with the core values of liberal learning to which this institution is dedicated.” He further explained that speaker beliefs do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of the college.

The talk was scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 7. Thirty minutes prior, protesters gathered outside Hynson Lounge, where George was to appear. A few students spoke at the top of some nearby steps, while the crowd chanted in response. Antoine Jordan, director of student engagement and himself a graduate of the college, said he was proud of those who assembled.

George began his talk to an audience of 150 people, who watched as he thanked Sosulski and Prud’homme and proceeded to discuss what he believed were the three crucial truths that all liberal arts institutions should follow.

“The pursuit of truth. The preservation of that truth. And the transmission of that truth,” George declared. “And anything these institutions do to undermine these purposes, they shouldn’t allow.”

To reach this truth, George challenged students to consider arguments and perspectives differing significantly from their own, targeting what he described as the threat of the “politicization of the academy” in higher education. According to George, intimidation on campuses keeps people from learning truths in philosophy, politics, science, and literature.

Approximately 25 minutes after the start of the event, protesters entered Hynson Lounge. Carrying posters and flags, they effectively cut off the talk while simultaneously approaching faculty attendees. “You know how many … death threats I get from being trans!” one protester shouted, with another claiming that “[George] thinks being queer is beneath human dignity.”

As George struggled to respond to a variety of accusations, one student compared the spread of his ideas to Hitler being given a platform. Another demanded, “If you tell me you ‘love trans people’ I will leave right now, I will walk out that door now.” George asked to leave the venue about 15 minutes later.

The outcome of the talk was “exactly what we intended,” protesters said. While college policy requires intervention “in the conduct of protests and demonstrations when others are deprived of their rights,” campus security took no action to halt the disruption.

George later told The Star Democrat that “in all his years as a professor, visiting campuses like Berkeley, Yale, Harvard, and multiple other institutions,” he had never before had such an experience. “When intimidation works, they’ll continue to do it,” he said.

Outcome

Sosulski expresses intent to take disciplinary action

In a stern email sent to students later that day, Sosulski said that students involved in the protest would face disciplinary action. “The small number of students who chose to disrupt the lecture violated our clearly articulated community standards and with it the Washington College Student Honor Code,” he stated.

Sosulski emphasized that students would be “held accountable for their actions.” As of Oct. 9, there were no further developments.