Ann Coulter was supposed to speak at UC Berkeley tomorrow night, but is canceling after the conservative groups who were sponsoring her, Young American’s Foundation and the Berkeley College Republicans, backed out. Both groups say the atmosphere surrounding her visit has grown too hostile.
“It’s a sad day for free speech,” Coulter told The New York Times. But administrators at Berkeley see it differently.
“Sadly and unfortunately, concern for student safety seems to be in short supply in certain quarters,” he said. “This is a university, not a battlefield.” He added, “We must make every effort to hold events at a time and location that maximizes the chances that First Amendment rights can be successfully exercised and that community members can be protected.”
Administrators at Berkeley offered to hold the event next week, when students are no longer in class, but Coulter turned the offer down.
This comes two months after the university canceled conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos’s event, after violence erupted on campus in protest to his appearance.
Photo by Gage Skidmore