The following quote may be attributed to Boise State University political science professor Scott Yenor—who is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys and who has faced calls for censure and worse in response to his scholarly writing and a commentary piece he wrote—regarding BSU Dean Corey Cook’s acknowledgement that he has not violated any university policy:

“A professor’s duty is to develop students’ ability to weigh competing arguments, facts, and evidence so that they can learn to think clearly about important questions of human destiny. Democracy depends upon a marketplace of ideas where decisions are made by persuasion—not by majority bullying or name-calling. I agree with Dean Cook’s view that truth emerges from a ‘contest of perspectives and an assault on presumptions.’ I would go further. A college campus should never be an echo chamber in which only one set of ideas can be heard. Academic freedom is ultimately connected with a diversity of viewpoints on campuses. President Kustra, Dean Cook, and Boise State have protected my academic freedom throughout this episode, and for that they should be commended. Now the more difficult job of promoting viewpoint diversity and civil dialogue awaits.”

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer:

“We commend Dean Cook for acknowledging that Professor Yenor’s First Amendment protected speech in no way violated Boise State policies. Civility in academia is a two-way street. We are concerned that the university partially entertained the baseless arguments of those who would condemn and investigate him for ‘hate speech.’ We will continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to assist Professor Yenor if the need arises in the future.”

• Background: “Et tu, Boise State? Professor explains the culture wars, campus erupts” by Justin Dyer (National Review, 2017-09-15)
• Pronunciation guide: Yenor (YEN’-er), Langhofer (LANG’-hoff-er)