Salman Rushdie Withdraws from Speaking at CMC Commencement

Photo Credit: ActuaLitté.

On May 13, President Hiram Chodosh announced that Sir Salman Rushdie will no longer speak at Claremont McKenna College’s Commencement. President Chodosh stated that “this decision was [Rushdie’s] alone and completely beyond our control,” but that the College remains “steadfast in [its] commitment to Sir Salman’s visit” and extends its invitation to Rushdie for future engagements. The reasoning behind Rushdie’s decision to withdraw remains unknown.

Rushdie’s invitation was met with backlash, primarily from the Claremont Colleges’ Muslim Student Association (MSA). A number of Instagram posts and op-eds were published online debating the invitation, with members of the MSA also giving comment to the local news. Notably, the sentencing of Rushdie’s attacker is scheduled one day before Commencement and will likely draw international attention. 

The president of The Lavin Agency, Rushdie’s speaker management group, declined to comment on Rushdie’s decision. CMC’s media department also did not respond for comment. 

In the same email, President Chodosh announced Dr. Richard Heinzl as the new commencement speaker. Dr. Heinzel is a physician, humanitarian, and the current CEO of the genomics company My Next Health Inc. He also founded the Canadian chapter of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), an organization that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. The Lavin Agency also manages Dr. Heinzl’s speaking engagements.