Left-wing mobs trying to shut down “controversial” speakers on college campuses is not exactly a new phenomenon. But what just happened at Stanford University may be the most ironic campus censorship effort of all time.

On Feb. 25, two left-of-center economists, Larry Summers, a moderate Democrat, and Emmanuel Saez, a progressive, participated in a debate about the merits of a so-called “wealth tax.” As the Stanford Review reports, this event was held as part of — you can’t make this up — a class titled “Democracy and Disagreement.” 

“A group of ten or so [protesters] occupied the auditorium of the Hoover Institution (where the class is held) after Saez finished his remarks, just as Summers was about to begin speaking,” the Review reports. “For over ten minutes, the protesters prevented Summers from explaining his opposition to the wealth tax. In preventing Summers’ speech, these protesters threw fake dollar bills onto the stage and lambasted Summers as a ‘capitalist who sold our country out,’ and accused him of enabling the rise of the ‘corporate oligarchy which has caused the rise of Elon Musk.’”

The footage is really quite something, with protesters screeching such profound slogans as “tax the motherf***ing rich” and “put people over profits.”

Thankfully, the event was ultimately able to proceed, but this isn’t the first time Stanford has had campus events disrupted by censorious protesters. A 2023 event featuring a federal judge was disrupted by agitators and even a Stanford DEI dean who participated and encouraged the protest against the conservative-leaning judge. Last year, anti-Israel protesters disrupted a family weekend welcome event. (Yes, seriously.)

So, it’s fair to say that Stanford has a serious, reoccurring problem with failing to uphold its commitments and obligations to protecting freedom of expression. But the vibes may be shifting in the right direction. 

During this latest shout-down attempt, footage shows the crowd, largely composed of Stanford students, booing the protesters and even chanting, “Let him speak!” This attitude is a breath of fresh air on campus.

To be fair, the audience of this particular event may be more geared toward support for debate and free speech, seeing as they signed up for a class about debate and that the event was held at the conservative-leaning Hoover Institution. Still, it’s heartening to see students pushing back on disruptive protesters who attempted to violate not just the speakers’ free speech rights but also the audience’s right to listen. 

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Now, Stanford has come out and clarified that these protesters were outside agitators, not students. They should be not just banned from campus but also prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, for trespassing and any other appropriate charges. And, in general, harsh disciplinary consequences must be doled out to any students who do participate in attempted campus shout-downs. 

These agitators accomplished absolutely nothing, other than a temporary delay and making the target of their protest, Larry Summers, look more sympathetic. Oh, and they accidentally proved exactly why basic lessons in the importance of “debate and democracy” are so clearly necessary in the first place. 

Brad Polumbo is an independent journalist and host of the Brad vs Everyone podcast.