Ayers’ Speech at University of Nebraska Lincoln: Cancelled

by Stephan Tawney on October 17, 2008

Apparently they had a sudden change of heart when the news generated so much outrage that the Governor of Nebraska requested the speaking gig be cancelled. Governor Heineman said:

Just 11 days after next month’s election, the University of Illinois-Chicago professor, William Ayers, is scheduled to speak at a student research conference held by the UNL College of Education and Human Science.

Gov. Dave Heineman released a statement saying that UNL leaders should not allow Ayers, a 1960s radical-turned-professor at the University of Illinois, to talk during a campus event on Nov. 15.

“Chairman of the Board of Regents Chuck Hassebrook and President of the University J.B. Milliken should immediately rescind the invitation extended to Bill Ayers to speak at the University,” the governor said. “This is an embarrassment to the University of Nebraska and the State of Nebraska. Bill Ayers is a well known radical who should never have been invited to the University of Nebraska.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, today said in a statement that he is disappointed that UNL invited William Ayers to speak on campus Nov. 15.

“His past involvement in a violent protest group and incendiary comments are not consistent with the agenda of unity that we need in America today,” Nelson said. “I encourage the university to reconsider this decision.”

And here’s the cancellation news:

University officials said in a news release Friday evening that “the university’s threat assessment group monitored e-mails and other information UNL received regarding Ayers’ scheduled Nov. 15 visit and identified safety concerns which resulted in the university canceling the event.”

They’re inviting a guy that bombed buildings and doesn’t regret it to their school and now they’re worried about safety because of emails?



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