A shrewd observation

Yesterday I was reading an address by philosopher Peter Van Inwagen entitled Quam Dilecta. It is a very good and accessible description of faith and reason and how they work together in the life of this prominent philosopher. In the course of the biographical portion of his address, he discusses his belonging to the Episcopal Church and how his belonging illustrates "Robert Conquest's Second Law: Every organization appears to be headed by secret agents of its opponents."

Of course, my purpose for citing this is that it is a universal law, not limited to Episcopalians.

Columbia 1968

NPR's Robert Siegel judges the events at Columbia University 40 years ago:

Chaos at Columbia University Epitomized 1968
On April 23, 1968, students involved in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Student Afro Society took over buildings at Columbia University in New York City. Their cause? Civil rights and opposition to the war in Vietnam. Columbia's radio station, WKCR, reported live from each occupied building. NPR's Robert Siegel worked at WKCR at the time, and here he reflects on those live reports.

I wasn't there, but from a description of events from several perspectives, it's evident that taking the dean of the university hostage and occupying buildings by force were acts of violent utopianism. Judge for yourself: 1968 Columbia Protests Still Stir Passion.