On Daniel Pipes’ blog, I came across this ridiculous letter from Robert M. Berdahl, chancellor of the University of California-Berkeley, sent in response to a protest about the way the university handled disruptions of his talk there:
First of all, the First Amendment does not protect anyone’s right to disrupt someone else’s speech. That is why people who disrupt a speech can be escorted out by the police. And I presume that if Berkeley can sic the police on someone, they can also warn such individuals in advance that disruptive behavior will be punished by the university. “Pro-Palestinians” are free to hand out literature before and after the speech, and bring in their own speakers. Exercise of their right to freedom of speech does not entail disrupting someone else.February 26, 2004
Dear xxxx:
I would like to respond to your inquiry about the recent lecture of Daniel Pipes on the campus.
The University faculty or some student groups occasionally have invited controversial speakers to the campus. We believe it is important to have all points of view expressed, regardless of the likelihood of criticism that ensues from those who hold opposing viewpoints. When Daniel Pipes was invited by Hillel to speak, we anticipated that pro-Palestinian students would use the occasion to protest, and we planned accordingly.
When we hold an event on campus that we can reasonably anticipate will produce heckling and potential interruptions, our purpose is to assure that the speaker is able to deliver his or her message and complete his or her speech. We can neither insist that only those who agree with the speaker attend, nor can we silence those who attend and disagree with the speaker. We can and do require that anyone who interrupts a speaker leave the event, if necessary at the insistence of the police. We took such action at the Pipes speech.
As the Daily Californian noted in its coverage:
Throughout the speech, a handful of loud commentators were escorted outside by the police, and a large faction of Pro-Palestinian students made a dramatic exit toward the end of Pipes’ speech. Pipes’ supporters often shouted back for those students to listen. And somewhere in between, the moderate Jews, Muslims and community members said they found little resonance in Pipes’ words and even less of an opportunity for real discussion.
Did the campus meet its obligation to preserve the right of a speaker to present his or her message? I believe it did. The article from The Front Page [Magazine] concludes with the observation: “The audience gave Pipes a standing ovation with loud cheers at the conclusion of his speech.”
Uncivil behavior, lamentable as it is, is not a crime, nor is it a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. No matter how ugly and hurtful may be the comments of those who dissent from the opinions of the speaker, those comments are also protected by the First Amendment, and they are punishable only when those who make them refuse to leave when asked to do so by the police.
Note also that the good chancellor feels the need to suggest that “moderate” Jews, Muslims, and community members found “little resonance” in Pipes’ speech, while acknowledging that Pipes received a standing ovation. Way to call hundreds of your students extremists, chancellor.
UPDATE: A reader suggests that, just for fun, pro-Israel students should, in protest of the chancellor’s craveness, disrupt the next major fundraising or alumni event the chancellor holds on campus, in exactly the same way the “pro-Palestinian” folks disrupted Pipes’ speech, and see if the chancellor’s interpretation of the First Amendment changes.
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