Mob shuts down residential school debate at University of Calgary This week, @DreaHumphrey travelled to the University of Calgary, where the Canadian Students for Free Speech invited her to join Dr. Tom Flanagan at a campus booth. The topic was a hard one: whether Canada's residential schools were, in fact, a genocide. For hours, it was exactly what a university is supposed to be. Students sat down with the pair, asked tough questions, and pushed back. Some agreed with what was said. Some didn't. It was peaceful, and Drea said it was an honour to speak with every student who came up respectfully to debate. Then a mob arrived. They shouted over the conversation. They crowded in. And someone crept up behind Dr. Flanagan and Drea and dumped water over them. "I didn't actually see it. I just felt it," told Drea afterward. "It's kind of like getting caught in the shower. So I'm sort of wet but not hurt." Thankfully, the @FreeSpeech_CAN had arranged security, and campus security responded quickly. They escorted Drea and Dr. Flanagan into a small room for safety as members of the crowd cheered the shutdown. Without the addition of private security, "I'm not sure what would have happened," Dr. Flanagan said. Here's the part that should frustrate everyone. Nobody at our table denied the harms that took place in residential schools. The whole point of these conversations is that when people actually talk, they often find common ground, because they discover the thing they were angry about was never being said. William Diaz-Berthiaume, national coordinator with Canadian Students for Free Speech, said the group counted more than five full conversations with students from all points of view before things turned ugly. "We believe that when people stop talking, that's when violence happens," he said. He pointed to the United States, where Charlie Kirk was shot at a speaking event in Utah, and said he hopes Canada never gets there. Dr. Flanagan taught at the University of Calgary for more than 50 years and has been retired for 13. He said the experience didn't erase his memories of the students he loved teaching. "Universities have become something different than they used to be," he said. "I just wish I could sit down with these students and talk to them." Being willing to debate shouldn't require a security detail. But on Canadian campuses today, it does. The Canadian Students for Free Speech say they won't back down, and they're raising money to cover the security that kept both Drea and Dr. Flanagan safe. You can support them at StudentsForFreeSpeech.ca. What do you think? Should universities do more to protect open debate, or has that ship sailed? You can find more of Drea Humphrey's reporting on this topic at ReconciliationOverreach.com.