By Punya Bhasin, Assistant News Editor
• September 6, 2023
Pitt is rescinding an $18,743 security fee previously charged to College Republicans for hosting the Michael Knowles event last semester, after receiving a letter threatening legal action against the University.
Michael Knowles and Brad Polumbo debated the question “should transgenderism be regulated by law?” as chants from protestors outside the building echoed throughout the O’Hara Ballroom Tuesday evening.
In terms of whether the University could face legal repercussions if it canceled the “anti-trans” events, some first amendment experts have varying viewpoints on the answer, but they agree that the University is upholding the principles of free speech and the First Amendment.
After transgender scholar Deirdre McCloskey dropped out of an on-campus debate against Michael Knowles, a conservative political commentator who has received enough attention on campus for a lifetime in the past few weeks, organizers for the event scrambled to find a replacement.
Pitt’s College Republicans, sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, has found a new participant to debate conservative political commentator Michael Knowles. They’ve also changed the topic of the on-campus debate.
Load More Stories
Join our newsletter
Get Pitt and Oakland news in your inbox, three times a week.
