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8h ago

Hasan Piker’s Campus Visits Expose University Divide Over Speech

Student-hosted events have ranged from Cornell’s sold-out, livestreamed chapel talk to an overbooked Sept. 30 UT Austin appearance that has raised questions about venue choice and campus safety.

Controversial political commentator Hasan Piker, shown last month at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, is slated to speak Sept. 30 at the University of Texas. Defending his right to speak does not require us to embrace his ideas or remain silent about them, Phillip I. Lieberman writes.
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Overview

  • Cornell hosted a sold-out Hasan Piker appearance on Thursday, Sept. 24, with organizers saying the 600-seat chapel filled quickly and Piker livestreamed the event to his Twitch audience.
  • The University of Washington canceled a planned Piker appearance earlier after officials said the invitation did not meet the review standards for university-hosted speaker series.
  • The University of Texas event scheduled for Sept. 30 has more than 2,400 people registered while the university approved a 466-seat auditorium, leading organizers to seek larger campus and off-campus venues and to face denials tied to security and scheduling concerns.
  • Lawmakers and campus Jewish groups, including Rep. Henry Cuellar and campus Hillel chapters, have condemned Piker’s past remarks as antisemitic while Piker has denied that his criticism of Israel or Zionism equates to antisemitism.
  • Free-speech advocates warn against deplatforming and a so-called heckler’s veto, and the dispute is pushing universities to clarify event-review rules and security plans as influencer-streamed talks extend campus controversies into national debate.