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The University of California at Berkeley, which once championed free speech, is now censoring anyone who doesn't conform to the university's politically correct standards for campus speakers. The most recent victims of this PC policy are right-wing provocateurs Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter.

Although I don't agree with what Yiannopoulos and Coulter are saying, I defend their right to say it on the campuses of taxpayer-supported universities like UC Berkeley. The First Amendment to our Constitution guarantees political extremists on the left and right can publicly expound on their incendiary beliefs and ideas as long as they don't advocate violence or shout "Fire!" in a crowded auditorium. But these days it seems only liberals and "progressives" are welcome on U.S. college campuses.

Let's consider the troubling situation in Berkeley. Last February masked, rock-throwing thugs prevented a speech by obnoxious extremist Yiannopoulis, who was fired by Breitbart News, and late last month 20 "protesters" mostly violent anarchists were arrested in Berkeley as right and left-wing extremists battled in the streets over whether conservatives should be allowed to speak on campus.

As the New York Post opined in an editorial, "The answer to disorder is order. Put on extra security, keep non-students far from the campus event, and have police trained and ready for trouble." The problem in Berkeley, however, is local police answer to a far left mayor and city council who side with anarchists and rioters.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who has never held a real job, is believed to be a member of By Any Means Necessary, an anti-fascist Facebook group who participated in the riots that erupted last February because of the scheduled Yiannopoulis lecture. According to the conservative website Lifezette, the Berkeley riots were organized by Antifa, "a network of far-left anarchist and communist groups that orchestrate violent protests and attacks against populists, conservatives and anyone else they deem to be 'fascists' or 'Nazis.'" Lifezette alleged that video of the Berkeley riot "showed Antifa street fighters throwing bricks and explosives into the crowd."

The New York Post reported UC Berkeley's cancellation of Coulter's speech followed Black Lives Matter's disruption of a UCLA speech by conservative Manhattan Institute scholar Heather MacDonald and efforts to muzzle her the next night at Claremont-Pomona College. And in March, the Post continued, "goons stopped American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray from giving a talk at Middlebury College" in Vermont with one professor injured by violent rioters. The rioters "proudly deny the free speech rights of people whose writings they haven't even read," the Post concluded, adding that such actions on publicly supported college campuses call for "new management." Amen!

Politically correct speech is also in vogue at my alma mater, the University of Washington in Seattle, which recently offered me the opportunity to spend my retirement money on an alumni seminar on "white privilege." Self-confessed white person I am, I could have heard "anti-racist writer and educator" Tim Wise tell me how "racial (white) privilege impedes progressive social change for all," which reminded me of how I enjoyed white privilege by washing dishes in a sorority house to put myself through journalism school.

And just last month I missed a lecture on microaggressions by someone named "Toure'," an alleged journalist, author and cultural critic who talked about "microaggressions the subtle acts of hostility and 'othering' faced by minorities as they navigate society." After reading that subtle warning I urged my Mexican-American children to find "safe spaces" where they could play with Legos.

Well, so much for free speech. It was nice while it lasted.

Guy W. Farmer, a veteran journalist, believes in Free Speech.

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Guy W. Farmer: Free speech on college campuses - Nevada Appeal

, 4:01 p.m.

The Yale women's swimming and diving team won the 2017 Ivy League championship after posting an undefeated dual meet record. (John Lapides)

Yale womens swimming and diving head coach Jim Henry has been named the new head coach of the mens program, replacing former mens head coach Tim Wise following his resignation.

Next season will mark the first time that the Yale mens and womens programs have been united under a single head coach in seven years. Frank Keefe, the namesake of the Ivy League womens swimming championship trophy, led both teams from the 198081 until the 200910 seasons.

Wise resigned as head coach of the mens program on April 18 after seven seasons at the helm. He left the program after a season that saw the Bulldogs earn a 102 dual meet record but a disappointing fourth-place finish at the Ivy League championships. Neither Wise nor Director of Athletics Tom Beckett provided a reason for his departure.

Henry has served as the head coach of the womens program for five years, replacing Cristina Teuscher before the 201213 season. During his tenure in New Haven, he has turned the Eli squad into an Ivy League powerhouse, taking the team from a 34 Ivy record in 201112 to an undefeated record and conference title this past year, the teams first since 1997. For his efforts, Henry earned Ivy League Coach of the Year honors in 2017.

Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Henry was an assistant at the University of Texas for five seasons and the associate head coach there for one heswam for the Longhorns from 1987 to 1990, winning three national championships in that span. At Texas, Henry helped the womens team to three Big 12 titles. Before that, heheaded both the mens and womens programs at the University of Denver, where he was named Sun Belt Female Head Coach of the Year and Male Head Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

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Jim Henry named head coach of men's swimming Down the Field - Yale Daily News (blog)

Al Sharpton asked White House aide Omarosa Manigault on Thursday to deliver a message to President Trump on behalf of blacks and women concerned with the disaster he created during his first three months in office.

Ms. Manigault spoke at the National Action Network summit organized by Mr. Sharpton in New York City this week when the civil rights leader asked her to relay a message to the president.

You are in a very precarious position, because you represent an administration that many of us disagree with, Mr. Sharpton said to the White House aide and former reality show contestant, Politico reported.

But I would not be loyal to what I am if I did not address those issues and ask you to go back and tell them, Yes, they were respectful. No, they would not allow me to be silenced, but they told me to tell you that we as blacks and women are, in the first 100 days, seeing a disaster in Washington, D.C., he added.

Mr. Sharpton raised his concerns during Thursdays event after Ms. Manigault generated groans from the audience while giving her closing marks, according to multiplereports.

I am looking forward to continue to partner with you, continuing to work on behalf of the National Action Network of Los Angeles, but, more importantly, the president of the United States, Ms. Manigault told an reportedly unenthused audience.

Weve had Bill OReilly here, weve had Sean Hannity here. We respect you. But I wish the President would respect us, Mr. Sharpton said on stage afterwards, according to Politico.

Ms. Manigault, 43, gained fame over a decade ago as a contestant on The Apprentice, Mr. Trumps NBC reality show. She previously worked in the office of Vice President Al Gore in the 1990s and was a member of the Democratic Party before switching to Republican in 2015.

Shes currently an aide to the president as well as the communications director for the White House Office of Public Liaison.

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Al Sharpton raises concerns over Trump's 'disaster' of an ... - Washington Times

Anna Iovine, AOL.com

Apr 27th 2017 9:16AM

Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, the Pepe the Frog meme became co-opted as a symbol of the alt-right. The Anti-Defamation League declared it a hate symbol.

Now, another symbol with neutral origins may be going down the same route: the "okay" hand symbol.

The Outline put together a report of evidence that the sign is quickly becoming co-opted by white nationalists as Pepe was.

Prominent members of the alt-right movement have been seen making the gesture, such as Milo Yiannopoulos:

Richard Spencer shared a photo of him making the gesture the night of the election:

According to Forbes, "the air pinch with thumb and forefinger" also happens to be President Trump's most recognized gesture.

Ryan Lenz, a senior investigative reporter at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told The Outline that the meaning behind the symbol depends on the context. He said, "I don't think anybody's going to accuse any user of Facebook for posting a picture of their wife or husband after giving birth to a child and giving the OK symbol as propagating racist messaging."

This can change, however. If an overtly racist politician starts using the symbol, and it becomes a "rallying cry" for supporters, Lenz told The Outline, "then I think the symbol is lost."

"Okay" received national prominence during the 1840 presidential election. "O.K." stood for "Old Kinderhook," a nickname for candidate Martin Van Buren, who was from Kinderhook, New York.

Like Pepe the Frog -- and the swastika before it -- the symbol may be appropriated to be hateful despite different origins.

See Richard Spencer through the years

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Alt-Right leader Richard Spencer through the years

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White nationalist leader Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute speaks on campus at an event not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute arrives on campus to speak at an event not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

Undocumented Texas A&M students and their supporters protest silently as white nationalist leader Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute speaks on campus at an event not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

Organizer Preston Wigginton shakes hands with white nationalist leader Richard Spencer after introducing him at an event on campus not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

Jacob Jackson, a freshman international studies major, listens after asking a question to white nationalist leader Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute at an event not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

White nationalist leader Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute speaks on campus as a silent protester holds a placard at an event not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

White nationalist leader Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute speaks on campus during an event not sanctioned by the school, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

White nationalist leader Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute waves goodbye after his speech during an event not sanctioned by the school, on campus at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Spencer Selvidge

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: Richard Spencer is in town for the largest white nationalist and Alt Right conference of the year in Washington, DC on November 18, 2016. Spencer, a 38-year-old Dallas native and graduate of St. Mark's School of Texas prep school, is a key intellectual leader of the alternative right, a label he coined in 2008 to describe the radical conservative movement defined by white nationalism and a fervent resistance to multiculturalism and globalism. Spencer currently resides in the resort town of Whitefish, Montana, in what was described as a 'Bavarian-style mansion' in a profile in Mother Jones. He was born in Massachusetts but moved to the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas when he was about 2 years old. 'It was a fairly idyllic, suburban childhood,' Spencer said with a laugh. 'I remember riding bikes around the neighborhood, and so on. I guess you could say I lived in a bubble to a certain extent, like a lot of the kids in that area. But it was very nice.' (Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 19: Richard Spencer is in town for the largest white nationalist and Alt Right conference of the year in Washington, DC on November 18, 2016. Spencer, a 38-year-old Dallas native and graduate of St. Mark's School of Texas prep school, is a key intellectual leader of the alternative right, a label he coined in 2008 to describe the radical conservative movement defined by white nationalism and a fervent resistance to multiculturalism and globalism. Spencer currently resides in the resort town of Whitefish, Montana, in what was described as a 'Bavarian-style mansion' in a profile in Mother Jones. He was born in Massachusetts but moved to the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas when he was about 2 years old. 'It was a fairly idyllic, suburban childhood,' Spencer said with a laugh. 'I remember riding bikes around the neighborhood, and so on. I guess you could say I lived in a bubble to a certain extent, like a lot of the kids in that area. But it was very nice.' (Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: (L-R) Discussion panelists Peter Brimelow, Jared Taylor, Kevin MacDonald, 'Millenial Woes' (thats the name he goes by) and Richard Spencer field questions at an Alt Right ( alternative right) conference hosted by the National Policy Institute in Washington, DC on November 18, 2016. The think tank promotes white nationalism and critics accuse them of being racist and anti-semitic. The chairman of the National Policy Institute, Richard Spencer, has been permanently banned from entering the UK, and was deemed a 'national security threat' after his arrest in Hungary in 2014. He was recently banned from Twitter in a prominent purge by the company this week. (Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Is the OK sign becoming an alt-right symbol? - AOL

A student group that had been helping to plan the speaking engagement said Tuesday it now will not host the event in Berkeley, California.

But Coulter tweeted she still expects to be at the University of California's flagship campus.

After the Washington Post and other media outlets reported that Coulter would appear at the school's famed Sproul Plaza, Coulter cautioned she knew not where or when she would speak.

"I haven't spoken to any Berkeley students about when and where I will speak because I'm still waiting for Berkeley to tell me," she said in one tweet.

"(Washington Post) emailed, but I can't be on email all day. Sounds like a telephone game of misinformation. Still expect Berkeley to provide a room," she said in another.

The university wanted to reschedule Coulter's appearance until May 2, with campus police citing threats to the commentator and others connected with the event.

CNN reached out to school officials for comment Tuesday but didn't get an immediate response.

Chancellor Nicholas Dirks told the Post the "challenges are immense" if Coulter speaks in Sproul Plaza, where activists started the Free Speech Movement in the mid-1960s.

The Young America's Foundation announced it wouldn't be the host. It blamed officials at the university, saying they have created a hostile environment.

The student group said it doesn't believe there will be proper security.

"Young America's Foundation will not jeopardize the safety of its staff or students," the group said.

The organization says it will continue with suing the school over its efforts reschedule Coulter's appearance.

The lawsuit filed by the YAF and Berkeley College Republicans accuses the school of discriminating against conservative guest speakers by placing onerous time and location restrictions on their appearances.

The lawsuit seeks to end what it calls an "unconstitutionally vague policy" that the school "selectively" applies to stifle conservative viewpoints.

In response to the lawsuit, the school said Monday it welcomes speakers of all political viewpoints, including Coulter.

"UC Berkeley has been working to accommodate a mutually agreeable time for Ms. Coulter's visit -- which has not yet been scheduled -- and remains committed to doing so. The campus seeks to ensure that all members of the Berkeley and larger community -- including Ms. Coulter herself -- remain safe during such an event."

The lawsuit accuses the school of adopting an unwritten "high-profile speaker policy" with the help of the mayor's office and Berkeley Police after the ill-fated Yiannopoulos event. The policy restricts speaking events to before 3 p.m. and says they must be held in a "securable" location, though it's not clear what that means, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit says the stipulations led the Berkeley College Republicans to cancel an event featuring conservative writer David Horowitz after the school said it would have to pay $5,788 for a security fee.

The lawsuit demands make no specific reference to Coulter's event. In addition to unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, it asks for an injunction preventing the school from applying "any unwritten or unpublished policy restricting the exercise of political expression on the UC Berkeley campus."

CNN's Stephanie Becker and Sonya Hamasaki contributed to this report.

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Ann Coulter still plans to speak at UC Berkeley - CNN.com