Oh Hamilton

My dear alma mater Hamilton College has been doing some dumb things lately, causing lots of bad press for the school and making me seriously think about issues like hate speech, academic freedome, etc. So Hamilton invited this guy named Ward Churchill to speak--and it has caused an uproar as this guy said some absolutely awful things about the 9/11 victimes. I read his screed and it made me sick to my stomach. People like him provide no useful function--they only give conservatives a way to bash liberals as anti-american haters. I can't stand people like him, and Hamilton seems to have missed a critical distinction: diverse view points can be stated respectfully, intellectually challenging, and provactively, or they can be stated hatefully and disrespectfully. They should hire speakers who engage in the first way, and use their limited money and resources accordingly. I'm not writing a check to their capital campaign this year.