Conservative University 2001 featured a three-student panel discussion on the battles with political correctness on university and college campuses.

The panel's first speaker, Aisha Jaleel, told the audience that she first encountered political correctness at the University of Maryland when she suggested in a paper that an Eskimo tribe's practice of slaughtering infants thought to be possessed by demons was "primitive." In one particular case, Eskimo parents interpreted the fact that their infant was born with a mature set of teeth as a sign of possession. Her professor sharply criticized her paper with such adjectives as "ethnocentric," "prejudiced," "biased," "racist," and graded her paper a C-.

Determined to organize a conservative student group, Jaleel started one, but not without difficulty. In starting her group, for instance, one student called her a "racist skinhead." The audience erupted in laughter when Jaleel reminded them that she is a long-haired Indian, not a "racist skinhead," as she had been labeled.

Despite the University of Maryland's professed policy of nondiscrimination, Jaleel faced many difficulties in organizing a conservative club. For example, Jaleel reported that when the group attempted, before and during the "Take Back the Night" rally at Maryland, to counter leftwing messages with conservative messages like "Abortion Kills Future Feminists," "An Armed Woman is a Safe Woman," or "Fight Crime, Shoot Back," her group was singled out and hauled before a student government committee. The committee investigated Jaleel and other members of the conservative student group, because, in Jaleel's view, her group's "message was offensive" and "offended the feminists."

After what she described as a "painful" investigation and ensuing negative publicity "censuring our club" and "condemning us," she withdrew registration of the group with the SGA, returned funding given to the group by the SGA, and became more effective and successful as a private student group. The now unaffiliated Maryland Conservative Society is no longer compelled to observe politically correct restrictions on what criteria could be used for membership in the group or what the group could say or do.

The next panelist, Michael Marcavage, told the conference attendees that in November 1999 a theatrical "production [called Corpus Christi] depicting Jesus as a homosexual who had sex with his disciples and is crucified for being King of the Queers, was performed in the Temple University theatre." As Marcavage explained, "Temple has surely come a long way" since its original founding a hundred years ago as "Temple College dedicated to training youth for the Christian ministry."

In the months leading up to November 1999, Marcavage pressed university administration for an opportunity to organize and present an alternative production depicting Jesus Christ in more traditional manner. He was finally granted a meeting with Temple University's Vice-President of Operations William Bergman, and met with him several times in October 1999.

Marcavage explained to Bergman that he and others "did not want to have a protest outside the theatre," but that they wished to hold their own event on campus highlighting traditional Christian doctrine. At that time Bergman allowed Marcavage to schedule an event for November 8, and 9, 1999. Bergman and Marcavage settled on final details for the event on November 1. Marcavage said that by this time he had lined up "several Christian speakers, the Temple University Gospel Choir, a Christian band, several other things, as well as a play for November 8 and 9."

Marcavage told the conference participants that on November 2, however, he was called in to speak with Bergman. "That's when everything came down on me," Marcavage said.

Bergman told Marcavage that he would not permit Marcavage and others to go forward with the event, even though on the day prior final details and arrangements for the event had been worked out between them. Bergman provided Marcavage with no explanation. Marcavage then left the meeting for the bathroom, feeling "confused, and not knowing what to do."

In the bathroom Marcavage heard "pounding on the door," and a plea from Bergman, "Michael, come out of there, we need to talk to you." Marcavage was accosted and later restrained on a couch by Bergman and an associate, despite Marcavage's "pleas to let me go." Marcavage next saw a policeman enter the room. Marcavage said to the officer, "I don't know what's happening here, can you please help me." Marcavage learned later his plea for help from the policeman was in vain because Bergman was in charge of the campus police.

Marcavage recounted, "Bergman ordered the police officer to put handcuffs on me and take me to the Temple University psychiatric ward." Marcavage was in the ward for 3 1/2 hrs, and saw two doctors, who were very confused as to what was happening, and as to why he was sitting in a psychiatric ward in a suit. Marcavage said, "They were looking at me very confused and wondering what went wrong here."

Marcavage recounted that he was released by a Dr. King, who had stated in his notes that "there are no grounds for the [order for involuntary psychiatric examination], we will notify campus police that we intend on releasing the patient." After his release, Marcavage tried to file a report with campus police, but they refused to file a report against their boss.

Currently, Marcavage is suing Temple University for violating his 1st, 4th, and 14th Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution. Kelso Barnett, a senior majoring in Political Economy at the University of California at Berkeley, presented a talk that highlighted the irony that despite being the home of the 1960s free speech movement, Berkeley today suppresses speech.

Barnett reported that leftwing bumper stickers and fliers with such themes as "Abort Bush," "Hail to the Thief," and "Impeach Bush, Then Hang Him" are "commonplace" at Berkeley. Barnett stated that Berkeley's newspaper "is no friend to anybody to the right of Hillary Clinton." He added, "when the Daily Cal disagrees [with an opinion], it will silence the voice."

In September 2000, Daniel Flynn, AIA's executive director, came to speak at Berkeley on the Mumia Abu-Jamal case. Leftwing supporters of Abu-Jamal had flooded the campus with fliers entitled "Free Mumia, Political Prisoner." Having learned that Flynn had closely studied the Abu-Jamal case, and published a booklet exposing the lack of foundation to any claim that Abu-Jamal was a political prisoner, Barnett invited Flynn to present a viewpoint on Abu-Jamal rarely heard on the Berkeley campus.

A few days before Flynn arrived on campus, Barnett and others distributed fliers entitled "Free Mumia or Fry Him?" to publicize and generate interest in Flynn's scheduled visit and speech. Leftwing students at Berkeley expressed their outrage over the flier to university administration officials. Conservative students had also placed a banner with the words "Cop Killer?" at the Berkeley Student Union building. Offended students tore the banner down. Barnett reported that "thugs at Berkeley" told him that the "[Dan Flynn] event will not take place."

Barnett went to the campus police department to report the vandalism, lodge a complaint, and request police attendance at the event. Campus police promised Barnett that they would attend the event and ensure that things did not get out of hand.

Even before Flynn got up to speak, Barnett told theconference participants, Berkeley students denounced Flynn, calling him a "Nazi" and a "fascist." One student even mooned Flynn. Another attempted to rip the microphone he was using out of the wall.

Angry students then held a burning of Flynn's booklet and the conservative student group's literature. Barnett said, "bookburnings do not happen all that often at Berkeley, but the fact that they do should be alarming to everyone." Gathered in a circle, enraged students burned the booklets against the backdrop of loud chanting. Barnett underscored the irony that students at the bookburning held a sign saying "Fight Racist Censorship."

When former conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to speak at Berkeley on the subject of Israeli-Palestinian affairs, the event had to be cancelled.

Berkeley students threatened to break the peace and the campus police could not guarantee the safety of the participants. One politically correct attorney who supported the campus protest against Netanyahu explained publicly and candidly that she did not believe in free speech for those she considered war criminals.

Barnett reported that shortly after the now famous David Horowitz ad (opposing slavery reparations for blacks) ran in the Daily Californian, the newspaper printed a formal apology for having printed it, explaining that the ad was printed in the absence of senior editorial board approval. Soon thereafter Barnett invited Horowitz to come to the Berkeley campus. The Horowitz visit went off well, until the question and answer session when things got out of control, and the event had to end prematurely.

"When free speech does not exist, academia is corrupted," Barnett concluded. "A university should be a place where the free exchange of ideas can take place," and where students should feel "safe to express their ideas without fear of retribution with grades, by physical assaults or insane police reports."