In 2018, I was shouted down at the CUNY Law School in New York. I've written at some length about the experience, including a law review article in the First Amendment Law Review. Still, nearly four years later, the experience remains surreal. It is difficult to convey what it feels like when dozens of students are screaming and shouting at you in the most vicious way. In modern discourse, we often speak of the "harm" and "violence" cause by tweets and the like. But I experienced, first hand, personal attacks. Perhaps the one redeeming aspect of the CUNY incident was that I was able to defuse the protest, engage the students in conversation, and ultimately begin a reasoned discussion--albeit not on the topic I intended to speak about.
My good friend and colleague Ilya Shapiro was not so fortunate. On Tuesday, he was slated to speak at the U.C. Hastings Law School about the Supreme Court confirmation process. Ilya has given this talk umpteen times across the country. But this lecture would be different, in light of his ongoing situation at Georgetown. Ilya was shouted down for nearly an hour straight. The students livestreamed the protest on Instagram.
Every time Ilya opened his mouth, dozens students screamed at him and banged the table. He could not get a word out. There was also an element of physicality. Students stood inches away from Ilya, and got in his face. Throughout the process, Ilya stood stoically.
