Linfield College: Student Group’s Event Canceled Due to Speaker’s Tweet

On April 18, 2017, University of Toronto professor Dr. Jordan Peterson tweeted that he would be “violating some more safe spaces soon” at Linfield College. Linfield’s Young Americans for Liberty chapter had invited Peterson to speak at the college’s “Speak Freely Series,” scheduled for April 24. The next day, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Susan Agre-Kippenhan informed the campus community that Peterson would no longer be allowed to speak at Linfield, claiming his tweet showed “inten[t] to violate the safety of our community” and constituted “the use or threat of force” or “harassment.” On June 9, FIRE wrote to Linfield president Thomas Hellie to remind the college of its commitment to “the principles underlying constitutionally protected free expression.”