Charles Murray Speech Cancelled, College Worried About ‘Hurting Students Of Color’
Charles Murray, perhaps the most well-known Libertarian in the country, just had his speech at Azusa Pacific University “postponed” at the last minute. Administrators at the university were reportedly worried about the bestselling author “hurting our faculty and students of color.” The Bell Curve author was slated to address the Azusa Pacific University students about striving for success in American and his latest book, The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead.
Murray responded to the postponement of his speech in this open letter posted on the American Enterprise Institute website:
“I was scheduled to speak to you tomorrow. I was going to talk about my new book, The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead, and was looking forward to it. But it has been ‘postponed.’ Why? An email from your president, Jon Wallace, to my employer, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), said “Given the lateness of the semester and the full record of Dr. Murray’s scholarship, I realized we needed more time to prepare for a visit and postponed Wednesday’s conversation. This, about an appearance that has been planned for months. I also understand from another faculty member that he and the provost were afraid of ‘hurting our faculty and students of color.’
You’re at college, right? Being at college is supposed to mean thinking for yourselves, right? Okay, then do it. Don’t be satisfied with links to websites that specialize in libeling people. Lose the secondary sources. Explore for yourself the ‘full range’ of my scholarship and find out what it is that I’ve written or said that would hurt your faculty or students of color. It’s not hard. In fact, you can do it without moving from your chair if you’re in front of your computer.”
The author went on to urge the students to visit the American Enterprise Institute website and read the plethora of articles he has written over the past many decades to garner a better understanding of his views and experience. Murray also stated that while reading the published works (or his many bestselling books) Azusa Pacific faculty and students will find words that people disagree with and are controversial, but added that, “scholarship usually means writing about things on which people disagree.” Authors of scholarly works typically embark on such a task in order to present their viewpoint and back up the mindset with facts in order to influence other.
Excerpts from Murray’s new book as published on Amazon:
Among the curmudgeon’s day-to-day tips for the workplace:
• Excise the word “like” from your spoken English
• Don’t suck up
• Stop “reaching out” and “sharing”
• Rid yourself of piercings, tattoos, and weird hair colors
• Make strong language count
His larger career advice includes:
• What to do if you have a bad boss
• Coming to grips with the difference between being nice and being good
• How to write when you don’t know what to say
• Being judgmental (it’s good, and you don’t have a choice anyway)
And on the great topics of life, the curmudgeon urges us to leave home no matter what, get real jobs (not internships), put ourselves in scary situations, and watch Groundhog Day repeatedly (he’ll explain).
Witty, wise, and pulling no punches, The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead is an indispensable sourcebook for living an adult life.
Charles Murray also said this in his passionate open letter about the college speech cancellation:
“But there’s another way to decide whether you would have been safe in my hands if I had spoken at Azusa Pacific. Go to YouTube and search Charles Murray. You will get links to dozens of lectures, panel discussions, and television interviews. You can watch Q&A sessions in which I field questions from students like you, including extremely hostile ones. Watch even for a few minutes. Ask yourself if I insult them or lash out. If I do anything except take their questions seriously and answer them accordingly. Ask yourself if I’m anything more dangerous than an earnest and nerdy old guy. Azusa Pacific’s administration wants to protect you from earnest and nerdy old guys who have opinions that some of your faculty do not share. Ask if this is why you’re getting a college education.”
http://youtu.be/hZX9bAP5Nio
What do you think about Azusa Pacific University postponing the appearance by Charles Murray?
[Image Via: Julia Reinitz/Chicago Maroon]
