Senator Johnson criticizes Medical School for cancelling Anti-DEI Speaker.

Sen. Ron Johnson Denounces Cancellation of Researcher on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has spoken out against the Medical College of Wisconsin’s cancellation of researcher John Sailer’s talk on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Johnson believes that students should be able to explore different concepts and ideas freely, without fear of censorship or intolerance. He also expressed concern that higher education has become increasingly intolerant and conformist, rather than a place for open discussion and intellectual freedom.

Concrete Steps to Prevent Cancellations

While Johnson was pleased that another venue was found for Sailer’s talk, he was less specific about how to prevent future cancellations and penalize institutions that give in to anti-speech pressure. He hopes to meet with the leadership of the Medical College of Wisconsin to discuss why they felt they could not host the event and what that says about academic freedom and diversity of thought on their campus and other institutions of higher education.

Background on Sailer and the Symposium

John Sailer is a senior fellow at the National Association of Scholars and has conducted high-profile research on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. He and Johnson were scheduled to speak at the Wisconsin Association of Scholars’ Spring Symposium at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. However, the institution’s president, Dr. John Raymond, informed the organizers that its campus was no longer available to them.

Raymond’s letter stated that a fundamental purpose of a university is to facilitate the exchange of ideas, even when those ideas challenge our cherished values or are offensive to members of our university community. However, the exchange of ideas should not disrupt the core functions of a university or jeopardize the safety of our MCW community. While he has decided to rescind the use of their facilities for the symposium, he is retaining the possibility of allowing the symposium or a similar event to be held at MCW in the future under less disruptive conditions. To be clear, the rescission is not due to the topic or the viewpoints of the speakers.

Concerns About Censorship and Intolerance

Sailer offered a backstory on Twitter, stating that students and faculty organized a petition to have the event booted from campus. Images in the thread show a letter to Raymond condemning the gathering as “pseudo-academic and potentially harmful.” While Raymond’s letter doesn’t mention the petition, it states that discussions about the purpose of the symposium have become unacceptably disruptive. Johnson believes that this incident highlights the growing problem of censorship and intolerance in higher education and hopes to find concrete solutions to prevent future cancellations.