Things quickly went south during a speech by federal Judge Kyle Duncan to law students at Stanford University this week when the associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) slammed him to his face after hecklers interrupted his presentation.
Duncan, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, started getting heckled by student protestors who made it impossible for him to continue his speech.
According to video footage from the Thursday event, Dean Tirien Steinbach did nothing to stop the heckling and instead launched a minutes-long emotional speech during his presentation accusing him of causing “harm” through his work on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and suggesting the school needed to reconsider its policies on free speech.
“I had to write something down because I am so uncomfortable up here. And I don’t say that for sympathy, I just say that I am deeply, deeply uncomfortable,” Steinbach said, standing just feet from Duncan in the lecture hall. {snip}
“I have to ask myself … is the juice worth the squeeze? Is this worth it?” she said at the event hosted by the Stanford Federalist Society.
Duncan, appearing frustrated, suggested the event was a “setup” before Steinbach interrupted him and continued.
“It isn’t a setup. For many people in this law school who work here, who study here and live here, your advocacy, your opinions from the bench, land as absolute disenfranchisement of their rights,” Steinbach said.
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Steinbach, who previously served as the chief program officer at the ACLU of Northern California, went on to describe how her job as associate DEI dean was to create “a space of belonging for all people in this institution,” despite not stopping some of the students’ continued aggression towards Duncan.
She told Duncan that she “wholeheartedly” welcomed him because she believed in the necessity of free speech, but also went on to suggest his speech was “abhorrent,” “harmful,” and “literally denies the humanity of people.”
Original article: https://www.amren.com/news/2023/03/stanford-dei-dean-slams-invited-federal-judge-to-his-face-at-campus-event/