Bill Ayers file AP photo /Dave Weaver
Threats of violence are not enough to deny someone the right to speak and therefore Vietnam-era radical Bill Ayers will speak at the University of Wyoming in Laramie tonight.
Ayers is a professor at the University of Chicago-Illinois College of Education and an author. He was also the co-founder of the Weather Underground an anti-Vietnam War group associated with bombings of federal buildings in the 1960s.
A UW student invited Ayers to speak but the University would not rent out space for his speech after reportedly receiving anonymous threats of violence should Ayers be allowed on campus.
UW President Tom Buchanan said yesterday the university will fully comply with the judge's ruling. "We will do everything in our power to provide a safe and secure environment for his visit, " Buchanan said in a press release.
You may recall last March when Naperville North High School canceled an Ayers' speech due to a similar controversy. A local book store in Naperville also canceled Ayers' visit to sign copies of his latest book on education.
In the Wyoming case, Ayers and the student who invited him sued the UW for the right to speak and yesterday, a judge ruled in favor of Ayers.
Ayers is scheduled to take an afternoon tour of the campus and then speak at the campus gym at 7 p.m. The speech will be open to the public. A UW spokesman tells the Associated Press campus police will handle security.
Ayers' radical past became an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign when Republicans questioned Barack Obama's relationship to Ayers. Obama and Ayers both lived in Hyde Park and they would occasionally cross paths at local events.
Comments
BOYCOTT THIS MARXIST SPOKESMAN...STUDENTS SHOULD PROTEST HIS APPEARANCE. JUST BECAUSE A JUDGE SAID HE'S ALLOWED TO DO THIS DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD HAVE TO LISTEN TO HIS TERRORIST IDEAS.
Don't be stupid. Try not to make conservatives look like idiots, ok?
Freedom of Speech is paramount in this great nation. Whether you agree or disagree with the speaker, their right to speak must be protected.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire.
We will welcome Bill Ayers and listen to what he has to say. Education is not about teachers telling us what to believe, but about forming one's own opinion about what goes on around us. Students need to be exposed to every kind of political idea so they/we can decide on an individual basis what they/we believe. It is not by shielding students from such radical members of history that they will grow up ready to deal with such situations in the future
This is not a free speech issue. Anti-American terrorist murderer who would be in prison were it not for a technicality should never be allowed to speak anywhere. Or teach. Shame on the Liberal judge who aided him. Hopefully, there will be a a very large demonstration against him. I am surprised that he would be invited to any place in Wyoming. Students can get there information elsewhere.
@Deborah Leigh who did he murder? Shame on the judges who allowed Bush to be presidents. Shame on the congress for passing the Patriotic Act. Shame on ourself for sucking the world dry. Shame on you for being just a gas guzzling, probably never picked a vegetable, non loving piece of......, won't you slave wage for hundreds of years and tell me did you liked that? Then your allowed the smallest piece of the pie. After you slaved away your countries resources. There is a right to oppose your government whose causing harm to millions of people( especially certain ethnic groups) across the globe. Let alone their own citizens. Don't you realizing closed minds are dumming the American people.
Lots of scary Bill Ayers information and White House ties here: www.commieblaster.com/bill_ayers/
Deborah Leigh-its funny a judge follows the constitution so you assume he is liberal...
@ Ocean: Go proof read your post, then come and talk to us about education. "allowing Bush to be presidents?" Was he two presidents at the same time? "Don't you realizing closed minds is dumming down America?" Based on your post, it certainly appears that the dumBing down is succeeding!
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