Over the weekend, the Foundation of Individual Rights in Education jumped on a story out of George Washington University. Someone had posted on campus an Olympic themed poster highlighting the Chinese government's human rights abuses. Some students denounced the poster as offensive and beyond the bounds of tolerable free speech. A Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement administrator jumped into action. The president of the university pledged to find the perpetrators of this "terrible event." FIRE quite correctly called this out.
Today cooler heads prevailed. I have noted before that I believe in positive reinforcement even when university leaders have behaved illiberally in the past. President Mark Wrighton issued a new statement admitting error and reaffirming GWU's commitment to free speech on campus.
It is an impressive statement. It is never easy to admit mistakes, and university leaders are rarely so clear in reversing course as Wright is here. He deserved a lot of blame over the weekend, but he deserves praise now.
