New York University’s College Republicans had advertisements pulled by the school’s newspaper over fears they would be spreading “white supremacy.”
An Oct. 24 event featuring National Review editor Rich Lowry was deemed too dangerous for students by Sakshi Venkatraman, editor-in-chief of The Washington Square News.
The author planned to discuss his book “The Case for Nationalism: How it made us powerful, united, and free.”
“On Sunday night during our weekly print production of the paper, I decided to pull the ad from the issue,” Ms. Venkatraman wrote. “The ad’s pro-nationalist message does not align with the values of our paper, and after much thought, it was my decision to cancel it. The word ’nationalism,’ as it exists in today’s political lexicon, connotes xenophobia and white supremacy, and printing it in large letters on the back of our paper would have marginalized people of color on our campus and our staff. I prioritized the sensibilities and trust of our audience over the ad revenue, and I stand by my decision.”
The educational watchdog Campus Reform obtained the original ad on Monday.
“Nationalism is based on love, not hate. Nationalism created a world of peace, not war. Nationalism unites us, rather than divides us,” the ad states.
“One wonders if anyone at NYU is allowed to mention that Alexander Hamilton, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, and TR were all nationalists, or if this would be too triggering,” Mr. Lowry began a series of tweets. “This poisonous and lazy misunderstanding of the word nationalism — and the idea behind it — is why I wrote the book, and why people inclined to reflexively reject it should pause and actually listen.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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