The University of Michigan, which had scrapped plans to screen the Iraq war drama “American Sniper” because some students were upset by its “stereotypes,” reversed course late Wednesday, saying it would show the film after all.
University vice president for student life E. Royster Harper issued a statement that called the decision to cancel the Friday night showing a “mistake.”
“The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression,” Harper said. “The movie will be shown at the originally scheduled time.”
The university had canceled the film after sophomore Lamees Mekkaoui started a petition against the Best Picture nominee, saying the Clint Eastwood-directed film “condones a lot of anti-Middle Eastern and North African propaganda.”
