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Wichita State Cancels Ivanka Trump’s Commencement Speech—And She Blames ‘Cancel Culture,’ ‘Discrimination’

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Jun 6, 2020, 03:37pm EDT

TOPLINE

Wichita State University Tech nixed a virtual commencement speech from Ivanka Trump because of the George Floyd protests, prompting Trump, a White House senior advisor and the president’s daughter, to decry “cancel culture” and “viewpoint discrimination.” 

KEY FACTS

Hours after WSU Tech announced that Ivanka Trump’s would give a commencement speech on Saturday, the university abruptly canceled her address.

In response to complaints from some students and faculty, the university’s president Sheree Utash said the timing of the announcement was “insensitive” because of “social justice issues brought forth by George Floyd’s death.”

In an open letter to the WSU Tech administration, Associate Professor Jennifer Ray said the university’s reputation was at stake if they let Ivanka Trump speak, adding that she was “horrified and disgusted” with the prospect of her commencement address.

In response, Ivanka Trump took to Twitter to post the pre-recorded commencement message and slam the university’s decision, saying that “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination are antithetical to academia.”

Crucial quote

“To many Americans, that administration has come to signify the worst of our country, particularly in its recent actions toward those peacefully protesting against racist police brutality,” Ray said.

Chief critic

Republican Senator Tom Cotton said the president’s daughter was the victim of a “woke mob.” Cotton also blamed a “woke liberal mob” this week for the controversy surrounding his New York Times op-ed calling for the military to be used to quell the sometimes violent protests. After widespread condemnation from the newspaper’s own reporters, the Times said the piece “did not meet” its editorial standards.

Key background

College campuses have been ground zero for culture wars battles over free speech in recent years, with controversial speakers igniting tension between liberals and conservative students and faculty. 

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