Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review profiles Fr. Kevin William Wildes, president of Loyola U. (New Orleans) who sent out an apologia defending the school’s allowance of a performance of the Vagina Monologues on campus. (Och, the coarsening of public discourse has gone so far that certan words that should be used in private are now used like we were talking about buying oranges.)
Anyway, Fr. Wildes says he allowed a pornographic play that trumpets sin and sexual abuse of minors on his campus because “Loyola University, like any university, is committed to the free expression of ideas and the rigors of debate.” So, if NAMBLA wanted to stage a play on campus that promoted adult men having sex with boys as a good thing, that would simply be “free expression of ideas” and a chance for debate? What if the KKK wanted a chance to speak on campus about its “ideas” and hold a debate? In fact, are there any ideas to which you will not give a platform?
Of course there are. I would bet that if the College Republicans wanted to hold an “Adopt-a-Sniper” fundraiser, like the ones at Marquette wanted to, they would suddenly find their free speech chilled and such things declared not worthy of debate.
