A victory for free speech

On Monday, Indiana University of Pennsylvania President Michael Driscoll made an important and courageous decision to reinstate a student who had been temporarily barred from a religious studies class after making controversial remarks on gender identity.

The student, Lake Ingle, was awaiting a decision from the college’s Academic Integrity Board after claiming in class that he believes there are only two genders and after he disputed the existence of “white male privilege.”

Mr. Driscoll announced his plan to “indefinitely pause the formal university process without resolution.” Mr. Ingle will be permitted to return to the class — which he needed to graduate — on the condition that he behave respectfully in the classroom during discussion and debate.

In an email sent to the entire campus community, Mr. Driscoll also expressed disappointment that “in the presence of a test of our devotion to the First Amendment and to the IUP Way, we fell short as a community.”

The IUP Way, as the school defines it, is to include all students and their opinions in a respectful academic environment.

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