Peterson posts response video to cancellation of talk at Linfield

Annika Lindburg, Staff Writer

Dr. Jordan Peterson released his response on YouTube today to having his talk at Linfield canceled, criticizing college administration and stating that his honorarium would be used to pay for the off-campus event space that his talk has been moved to.

Peterson’s 15 minute video posted on his YouTube account used photos of individuals quoted or referenced to in the articles and emails he read from in the video.

The first half of the video is a recap of the events that contributed to his cancellation. Peterson stated that “three days were taken out of my schedule, at my expense” and that the plane ticket and accommodations had been made.

Peterson will speak at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Falls Event Center at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville.

The video’s thumbnail is of Dolores Umbridge, a fictional character from the “Harry Potter” series. Peterson used the image of the fictional character after showing an image of Dean of faculty and vice president for academic affairs Susan Agre-Kippenhan.

Peterson had some choice words for Linfield. “I think you are treating me and the student group that invited me in a manner that is absolutely reprehensible, as well as cowardly, and underhanded,” Peterson said.

As for the controversial tweet, Peterson did not see any issues with it. “Now you cancel it with a plethora of specious reasons, including: your anti-harassment policy, although I have harassed no one nor intimidated, exploited, or threatened force. Had I not previously received notice of the controversy around my arrival, which, in my opinion unwarranted, I would not have tweeted my intent to ‘violate safe spaces’ which is a satirical comment in case it needs to be said. Obviously, you were looking for any excuse no matter how trivial to cancel this event,” Peterson said.

Peterson added, “you might also note that a guest invited to your college might expect to be treated with a modicum of consideration and respect,” Peterson said.

Peterson said the he received nothing in response to his email sent to college administration. He further stated that he thought he was “treated unprofessionally.”

At ASLC’s weekly senate meeting, Susan Hopp, vice president of Student Affairs and Athletics and Dean of Students, provided her opinion on the matter. “The issue was you can’t unring the bell once an event is made open to the public. It was designed to be a conversation, an educational conversation about free speech for our students, faculty, and Linfield people,” Hopp said.

Parker Wells, a member of YAL and organizer of Peterson’s talk, understood where some of the outcry was coming from. “We understand some of the problems that arose. It sort of blew up bigger than we expected. It was really hard to contain the amount of people who were talking about it and the amount who wanted to come. So moving it to a different venue seems like a wise thing. We open it up to the public and we hope that it will be peaceful and a useful exchange of ideas for the wider community,” Wells said.

Peterson’s final remarks let the viewer speculate on his feelings toward Linfield. “The organizing students didn’t have enough money to rent a suitable theater or lecture hall. I told them that they could use my honorarium to pay for the space which they did. You can figure out what I think of the Linfield administrators who pulled this stunt on your own,” Peterson said.