The American Association of University Professors has decreed that universities ought not tuck tail in the face of public outcry and rescind invitations to folks they've invited to speak.
The AAUP cites a handful of recent examples, perhaps most notably Notre Dame's snaring of President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker. The Obama invitation has bothered some within Notre Dame's catholic community due to Obama's support for stem cell research and views on abortion.
The rescinding of an invitation amounts, according to the AAUP, to an "infringement on academic freedom."
Here's the AAUP's statement. It does not mention UNC Chapel Hill specifically, but cites Desmond Tutu, who is giving commencement speeches at Michigan State and UNC-CH this spring.
The Anti-Defamation League has a problem with the Tutu selection.
