ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT IN EDUCATION - AT 10:20 A.M. ET:  From the Boston Globe:

Less than a year after speaking at a Harvard University student conference, the head of an anti-illegal immigration movement had his invitation to speak at a similar forum tomorrow rescinded following a student uproar over his aggressive position on immigration.

Gilchrist was slated to appear on a panel that discussed “Immigration and Its Future in America.’’

But student protests, emboldened since Gilchrist spoke at a Harvard Law School event in February, led to the cancellation of his invitation.

The Undergraduate Legal Committee released a statement that read, “Mr. Gilchrist’s participation in the conference on the behalf of the Minutemen Project was not compatible with providing an environment for civil, educational, and productive discourse on immigration, and we cannot host him at this time.’’

A representative from the group would not elaborate on the statement.

Gilchrist could not be reached for comment, but said in a statement on his website that the protests came from only a few and that “the minute they received threats from fellow students these pre-law students shied away from defending free speech.’’

COMMENT:  Whether you like Gilchrist or not, his charge is accurate - students are intimidated on America's college campuses, where free speech takes a back seat to political correctness and the leftist party line.

If someone had invited Ahmadinejad to Harvard, the invitation would have gone through. Reminds me of the 1930s, when Nazi leaders were feted regularly at Ivy League schools.  In fact, a lot of things today remind me of the 1930s, like a foreign policy based on appeasement and illusion.

The result will probably be the same as well.

October 17, 2009