Letter from a Non-Community Member

Dear Middlebury:

Although I am not a Middlebury Alumnus, I have written a sufficient number of tuition checks to your institution to feel that I have earned the right to comment upon the recent student protest over Charles Murray's scheduled presentation.

Stated briefly, your successful effort to prevent him from speaking was, in my humble opinion, an ill-conceived and dangerous interference with the right of free speech.  You have, I hope unwittingly, by your actions promoted the distribution of his nonsense and likely enriched him with increased sales of his stupid book. Had you the wisdom to simply ignore the fool, he might have spoken to a dozen people and then vanished quietly into the night.  Following his almost unattended talk, you could have reported that almost no one was interested in his drivel and eviscerated his talking points with thoroughly researched arguments and scathing prose.

Instead, you elected to give him the gift of the national stage where his ideas and tortured statistics can influence the part of America that wants to hear what he has to say. Plus, in the process, you injured one of your own.

Next time, please think it through.
R. Curtis Brand, Ph.D.