Considerations.

Dr. Robert George against the world.  Who ya got?

On the Monday before the event, the college sent a campuswide email promoting the lecture. Shortly after, James Hall, an associate professor of English, emailed a student a link to George’s accountability profile from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or Glaad, which features several examples of his anti-LGBTQ remarks.

Information about George’s beliefs quickly began circulating across campus. The next day, a group of students distributed fliers promoting a protest.

Noelle Punte, a junior at Washington College and president of Encouraging Respect of Sexualities, a student group supporting the LGBTQ community, emailed Sosulski and called for the college to cancel the event.

Punte, who did not attend the lecture or protest, said in an interview that regardless of the lecture’s content, inviting George to campus undermines the college’s commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion — at a time, she added, when anti-LGBTQ laws are on the rise. Engaging with diverse perspectives is important, Punte said, but that can be complicated for queer students, who often feel their identities are attacked in the process.

“I’m not saying freedom of speech should be restricted,” Punte said. “But at the same time, in cases like this, there needs to be serious considerations about the ramifications and potential harm that inviting someone like Robert George on campus could cause.”

The day before the lecture, Sosulski sent out a campuswide email announcing that although he understood students’ concerns, canceling George’s lecture would contradict the college’s commitment to “liberal learning.”