Identity of Speakers
-
Ryszard Legutko
Faculty/Staff
Invited for academic lectureRyszard Antoni Legutko is a Polish philosopher and politician, and professor of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, specializing in ancient philosophy and political theory.
Additional Information
-
Incident Nature:
University-sponsored lecture/address/panel
-
Incident Political Orientation:
Neither -
Incident Responses:
Rally or Protests
-
Incident Status:
No litigation
- Incident Protested
- Did not involve Speech Codes
Summary
Ryszard Legutko—a professor of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków—was invited by the Alexander Hamilton Forum to speak on his book “The Demon in Democracy” at Middlebury College. A few days before the scheduled event, students and professors circulated a petition to organize a protest of the event. The petition labeled Legutko a homophobe, racist, misogynist, sexist, and bigot. However, it appears that most people involved expected the protest to be non-disruptive. Three hours before Legutko’s event was scheduled, the school notified Legutko and all students that the event had been cancelled. The school claimed that the number of people wishing to attend the event and the protest had grown beyond what the school’s staff could safely handle. The school indicated to the Alexander Hamilton Forum that the college was open to a rescheduled visit from Legutko in the future.
