Stanford University is rightfully on the hot seat for the extremely childish behavior of Stanford Law students.

To recap: The Stanford Federalist Society invited 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Appellate Judge Kyle Duncan to speak. Judge Duncan was given little to no opportunity to speak as the supposed law students spent the entire time screaming invectives at him. When Judge Duncan asked for an administrator to step in and calm the crowd down (there were at least three in the room during this mess), Stanford’s DEI administrator Tirien Steinbach stepped up with a prepared speech. And proceeded to blast Duncan for causing her and all the Stanford children pain. 

Steinbach: I’m also uncomfortable because it is my job to say: You are invited into this space. You are absolutely welcome in this space. In this space where people learn and, again, live. I really do, wholeheartedly welcome you. Because me and many people in this administration do absolutely believe in free speech. We believe that it is necessary. We believe that the way to address speech that feels abhorrent, that feels harmful, that literally denies the humanity of people, that one way to do that is with more speech and not less. And not to shut you down or censor you or censor the student group that invited you here. That is hard. That is uncomfortable. And that is a policy and a principle that I think is worthy of defending, even in this time. Even in this time. And again I still ask: Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Oh those children engaged in free speech alright. But what those supposed law students DIDN’T do is engage in debate. They unequivocally didn’t want to hear any reasoned discussion about any topic they didn’t like, so they shouted down Judge Duncan, and had an administrator back them up! 

What consequences have there been for the disruptive students? NONE. Instead Stanford apologized to Duncan. THEN Stanford sent a letter to the student body telling them that if anyone had their feelings hurt by Duncan’s presence on campus they should seek help with lots of loving pats on the head and ‘there there’s’ from the professionals in charge, INCLUDING DEI Administrator Tirien Steinbach.

…It is akin to the Oscars telling Chris Rock that Will Smith is available as an emotional support coach. You know what is emotionally therapeutic for those denied free speech? Free speech.

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 13, 2023

And yes, that letter was sent to the students in the Federalist Society as well. Furthermore, it was suggested that NOT speaking about the incident on social media was the best tactic to take. In other words, curtail free speech so this can all go away. Can we say tone deaf??

I doubt any future apologies are forthcoming. Needless to say, the tantrums didn’t stop. You see, the students were triggered by the apology and decided to silently protest the Dean in her classroom. The whiteboard was papered with pithy sayings such as “Counter speech is free speech” and “We have free speech rights too” plus demanding that Judge Duncan apologize. 

When Martinez’s class adjourned on Monday, the protesters, dressed in black and wearing face masks that read “counter-speech is free speech,” stared silently at Martinez as she exited her first-year constitutional law class at 11:00 a.m., according to five students who witnessed the episode. The student protesters, who formed a human corridor from Martinez’s classroom to the building’s exit, comprised nearly a third of the law school, the students told the Washington Free Beacon.

I guess it’s ok to scream at Judge Duncan, but use silent glaring protests when it’s the college Dean. What would she do to them? Expel them from Stanford? Not hardly as there were no consequences for their childish behavior during the Federalist Society event. By the way, counter speech is free speech if BOTH sides can speak. But these children shouted down Judge Duncan and kept HIM from exercising his own free speech rights because reasons. And they fail to see the irony in their actions because they are so caught up in throwing tantrums over ideas and information they don’t like.

This is the direct result of participation awards. Those students should’ve known to shut up and try to learn something rather than screeching like stupid animals.

— Completelywoke (@completelywoke) March 13, 2023

In fact, while lamenting about how THEIR free speech was supposedly infringed upon, the childish Stanford students are planning more tantrums if they don’t get their way. Supposedly this was Stanford law students giving us their very “best,” with more to follow. 

The guild stands “in support of confronting judicial architects of systems of oppression with social consequences for their actions,” the group wrote, implying that it would disrupt any other conservative speaker who spoke at Stanford.

“The law school cannot have a culture where LGBTQ+ students, especially queer and trans [people of color], ‘share a sense of belonging and respect’ if speakers like Judge Duncan are normalized on our campus,” the guild’s email read. “Stanford can accede to the Federalist Society’s interest in the outcome of this event (namely, that such generative protests not be allowed to happen again), or it can further its supposed commitment to belongingness. It cannot do both.”

If that is the “best” that Stanford Law can come up with, then Stanford’s bar for acceptable behavior and debate is below the gutter. 

Feature Photo Credit: speech, megaphone via Pixabay, cropped and modified