(U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.) — The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) has canceled a lecture by University of Utah professor Paisley Rekdal due to what the Academy called “disparaging” comments she made about President Donald Trump on social media.
“I think this is sadder mostly for the community as a whole, not me,” Rekdal said during an interview with FOX21 on Thursday, Aug. 28.
Rekdal was scheduled to speak as part of a lecture series established to help cadets understand the concept of war. However, her Facebook post on Feb. 6, regarding a presidential executive order targeting student protests and international students, led to the cancellation.
“Upon further review of this year’s invited speaker, the Academy determined some of her public comments were disparaging of the Commander-in-Chief,” according to a U.S. Air Force Academy Spokesperson.
The post by Rekdal read in part, “If you care about free speech at all, Trump’s newest EO targeting student protests and—effectively—all international and/or undocumented students is not just unconstitutional but one more move towards authoritarianism.”
Rekdal explained, “This is not me getting up and saying something awful about his personality; that is just an ad hominem attack. It’s a thoughtful, angry response to policies that have affected students who are on my campus and campuses across the country.”
Just weeks before Rekdal was scheduled to speak to cadets, she was informed that the Academy’s superintendent had canceled her lecture.
The lecture series was created 17 years ago by Air Force Academy graduate David Jannetta to bring in writers and artists to provide insights into war.
Rekdal planned to read from her work “The Broken Country,” which explores memory and trauma among Vietnamese refugees, and share personal poems about her family’s military service.
The Academy confirmed the decision, stating, “While we welcome and will continue to invite speakers who encourage vigorous debate on a variety of subjects, we have chosen not to move forward with this speaking engagement.”
Rekdal mentioned that several faculty members and David Jannetta himself have expressed support, stating that the cancellation is against their wishes.
“He has the right as a superintendent to decide ultimately who comes to campus; my freedom of speech may not have been cancelled, but it sends a chilling message to other writers out there,” said Rekdal.
“We regret any inconvenience this may cause for the speaker, guests, and supporters of the lecture series,” USAFA said in an email confirming Rekdal’s cancellation. “The Jannetta Lecture Series has been a valuable component of the Academy’s educational offerings, bringing respected writers and artists to share their insights with our cadets and contributing to their intellectual development. We are currently reviewing our speaker selection process to ensure it is consistent, thorough, and aligned with our standards, and we look forward to hosting an iteration of the lecture series at a later date.”
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by FOX21. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by FOX21 staff before being published.
