Here's something you don't see all that often in the wake of an 'End of Discussion' anti-speech debacle on a college campus: Positive, constructive news. We wrote about thedisgrace at Middlebury college last week, noting that dozens and dozens of students knowingly violated school policy by disrupting and derailing an event featuring a controversial scholar and author. They were reminded of the rules and warned not to break them prior to the attempted speech, then they did so anyway. Some in this anti-intellectual mob also broke the law, vandalizing an administrator's car and sending a (liberal) professor to the hospital after a violent scrum. The predictable national backlash in the conservative media was swift and predictable -- thankfully, however, strong push-back is also coming from other quarters. We told you about the assaulted professor'spublic statement of disgust and dismay, as well as asearing op/ed from an Iranian Middlebury professor. Since then, the school announced an investigation into the incidents, promising consequences for those responsible. And dozens of Middlebury faculty members signed a strong statement in support of free expression. From Daniel Menninger's excellent Wall Street Journalcolumn on the contretemps:

The letter he mentions is outstanding. It is clear-eyed and principled, and itbats down lazy arguments employed by the outrage mob to justify their behavior. An excerpt:

Bravo, bravo, bravo. And even the New York Times editorial boarddenounced the spectacle in relatively harsh terms, even if they couldn't resist taking a potshot at conservatives (accusing them of playing faux victims by"flopping" like soccer players. Mary Katharine and I use this exact analogyin our book, applying it to the Left's culture of endless grievance. The thing is, right-wing speakers have been genuinely victimized by this silencing phenomenon, almost always at the hands ofLeftists pretending that uncomfortable words are akin to physical or emotional injury. So the Times gets that piece totally backwards). In any case, this could be a sign of an important shift. On that score, I'll leave you withsome recommendations from a University of Chicago'free expression'task force devoted to combating illiberal trends in campus culture -- on which U of C, to its immense credit, has been a principledpioneer:

More institutions of higher learning should follow this lead, and faculty members from across the ideological spectrum should embrace the statement of principlearticulated in the Middlebury letter. Plus,this recent speech from Stanford's former provost is right on the mark.Taken together, thisfeels vaguelylike -- what's the word? -- oh, yes, progress.

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Progress: Following Chaos and Assault at Conservative Event, Middlebury Professors Defend Free Expression - Townhall