Speaker Vos should retreat to his safe room

It is no coincidence that the harshest critic of higher education in Wisconsin is firing a few verbal volleys at the UW System. After all, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is about to determine how much funding the System receives, and he would like higher ed to march more in line with his conservative views. Vos is calling for more conservative guest speakers on campuses like UW La Crosse, arguing all these liberal speakers on college campuses are somehow stifling free speech. He argues our universities intentionally seek out only experts in their fields who happen to be liberal. Most universities say they bring in those who are experts without regard to their politics. Among recent speakers at UWL was Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted by the NFL. Vos may not like Sam, or the fact that he is gay, but Sam’s story is an interesting one, well attended on campus. He spent his time talking about his journey, not telling UWL students how to think, and certainly not how to vote. Vos should go find his safe space if he is so easily offended by the views of others and quit trying to tie state funding of higher ed to his political views.