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- Weber State University canceled its Unity Conference due to diversity initiative shifts.
- The 2024 Utah law requires eliminating diversity programs at public institutions.
- The Wildcat Collective, which operates outside of official university programming, organized an uncensored version of the conference for Friday.
OGDEN — A conference focused on censorship was canceled Thursday at Weber State University. The university's Unity Conference committee shared the "difficult news" with collaborators in an email announcing the termination of the event.
The conference, "Redacted: Navigating the Complexities of Censorship," was going to include a screening of the documentary "Banned Together," which examined censorship and the fight to protect intellectual freedom, followed by a student panel discussion with audience participation. The second day would have included a panel discussion with what the committee said would be "faculty, staff and community voices," followed by workshops.
"The Unity Conference strives to strengthen our community, foster compassion and celebrate the unique experiences and histories that make our community vibrant," a press release from Sept. 25 states. "Our mission is to increase student success and readiness for a world that demands a nuanced understanding of others."
The conference, however, was canceled due to recent shifts in diversity initiatives at colleges and universities in Utah.
"Presentations should not describe legislation or policies in ways that take a side, such as labeling them 'harmful' or attributing them to a partisan 'strategy,'" Jessica Oyler, vice president of student access and success at Weber State, said in an email sent to the conference committee. Oyler said the email was intended to provide clarity on the law that took effect July 1, 2024, that requires the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at all public institutions, including universities, public schools and other government entities.
"The intent here is not to suggest that operating this way is ideal, as I know there are strong feelings about the legislation itself, but rather to be transparent about how we are operationalizing the law."
The 2024 Utah law reshaped diversity initiatives in the state's higher education programs, which defines and prohibits policies and procedures related to personal identity characteristics.
"I was excited to share my research and perspectives on one of my favorite topics to discuss," Richard Price, a professor of political science at Weber State who was scheduled to speak and served in various roles for the conference, told Weber State University President Brad Mortensen in an email. "Little did I expect that the university would censor the content of the conference to the point at which I could no longer ethically participate."
"I am arguably one of the foremost academic experts on book banning in modern politics," Price continued. "I have conducted extensive archival research into the history of literary censorship and the shifting political tropes used to justify purging material perceived as dangerous from the public sphere."
Price has published several articles and book chapters over the past five years on book banning and runs a blog, "Adventures in Censorship, Contesting the Right to Read," where the email from Oyler to conference organizers and Price's response to Mortensen are posted.
Price said Oyler's email is an order to "lie to my colleagues, students and the general public."
"I am told to pretend that politics and partisanship play no role in one of the most significant political problems of our age: what we are allowed to teach, read, or research," he wrote. "I will not lie to people about the realities of censorship in modern America."
The event, previously known as the Diversity Conference, "celebrates a legacy of education and open dialogue on topics related to diversity and inclusion," according to organizers. The event name was changed last year to the Unity Conference in response to the new law.
The Wildcat Collective, a union at Weber State for faculty and staff, has reorganized a similar event. In an email to colleagues and on social media, the group invited the public to "join WSU faculty and the Wildcat Collective for a Unity Conference Uncensored Version.
"Our unity conference got censored into cancellation, so we're still going to talk about censorship — but on our own terms," the collective stated.
Wildcat Collective President Aminda O'Hare stated that many of the presenters scheduled to speak at the conference would be included in the uncensored version of the conference.
"We just wanted to provide a space and a format for people to have these conversations around censorship and what it means for education and society, without worrying about the constraints from legal language," she said. Not being sponsored by Student Affairs is a way the group could circumvent that concern.
The "Unity Conference Uncensored Version" is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. in the Stewart Library at Weber State University in Ogden.
