From the Daily Cal: UC Berkeley’s Philosophy Forum is facing pushback from campus students for hosting author and philosopher Peter Singer on Nov. 6 due to controversy from Singer’s comments on people with disabilities. Singer is best known for his novel, “Animal Liberation,” and his advocacy for people living in global poverty. However, he has also faced backlash for his support of euthanasia for infants with severe disabilities. Many in the disability community see his views as eugenics. During the Philosophy Forum event, Singer gave a presentation on effective altruism which was followed by a Q&A session. When asked about a hypothetical scenario regarding procreation, he shared that he believed people with disabilities should refrain from reproducing in some cases.
UC Berkeley’s Disabled Students’ Program, or DSP, sent out an email Sept. 24, approximately two weeks after the event was announced, that said it had been made “aware of a student organization’s efforts to invite a speaker to UC Berkeley.” However, the email did not explicitly mention Singer or the Philosophy Forum by name. The email affirmed a student group’s free speech rights to have speakers on campus while also stating that “constitutionally protected speech can still be deeply hurtful and nothing will hinder our efforts to support impacted members of our community.” ...
Philosophy Forum organizer Matthew Henry said concerns about Singer were valid and important. He agreed that issues such as these need to be discussed, and argued philosophy is the best way to do so. “The reason I am a big fan of Peter Singer is not because of his views on disability,” Henry said. “I am a big fan of Peter Singer because of his views on our obligations toward people in extreme poverty and our obligations toward animals. So, that is why I invited Peter Singer.”
...Henry said it is important to invite philosophers to the forum even when their views are controversial in order to engage with their ideas in conversation. He also said the Philosophy Forum had facilitated discussions with a number of students who reached out with concerns about Singer’s invitation to speak, and was informed of potential protests against Singer...
From the NY Times: The president of the Boston University College Republicans has been attacked online for saying on social media that he had called immigration agents before a raid at a Boston carwash in which nine workers were detained. Zac Segal, a Boston University junior and a track athlete, according to his school bio page, posted on social media on Nov. 7 that he had “been calling ICE for months” about workers at Allston Car Wash, near the Boston University campus in the Allston neighborhood. Federal agents swarmed the business on Nov. 4, detaining five women and four men who worked there, according to their lawyer, Todd Pomerleau. The workers are contesting their detentions in court, he said.
Mr. Segal’s post about the carwash included a link to an article about the raid. He wrote that immigration agents “finally responded to my request to detain these criminals. As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here. Pump up the numbers!” ... It is not clear that Mr. Segal actually had anything to do with causing the Nov. 4 immigration raid in Allston. The Trump administration... denied that Mr. Segal had brought agents to the carwash...
Boston University’s president, Melissa Gilliam, said in a statement that Mr. Segal’s original post had raised “many concerns” and that the school would support “those who are distressed by this situation, as well as ensuring the safety of all others.” ...
Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/us/boston-university-republican-student-ice-carwash-workers.html.
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