HOPE CONFERENCE BANNED BY ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY

We've received some disturbing news from the venue of our Hackers On Planet Earth conference. We have been told that "materials and messaging" at our most recent conference "were not in alignment with the mission, values, and reputation of St. John's University" and that we would no longer be able to host our events there. Considering the universal praise from St. John's staff and the smooth handling of HOPE_16 last August, this naturally caught us by surprise. Our content has always been somewhat edgy and we take pride in challenging policies we see as unfair, exposing security weaknesses, standing up for individual privacy rights, and defending freedom of speech. Until now, that has never run afoul of St. John's values - or so we thought.

What we're told - and what we find rather hard to believe - is that all of this came about because a single person thought we were promoting an anti-police agenda. They had spotted pamphlets on a table which an attendee had apparently brought to HOPE that espoused that view. Instead of bringing this to our attention, they went to the president's office at St. John's after the conference had ended. That office held an investigation which we had no knowledge of and reached its decision earlier this month. The lack of due process on its own is extremely disturbing.

The intent of the person behind this appears clear: shut down events like ours and make no attempt to actually communicate or resolve the issue. If it wasn't this pamphlet, it would have been something else. In this day and age where academic institutions live in fear of offending the same authorities we've been challenging for decades, this isn't entirely surprising. It is, however, greatly disappointing, as we truly believed St. John's valued the freedom that we have always stood for. We know the people there who we've worked with understand this and it's unfortunate that those in charge see fit to cut off that invaluable connection.

Where does this leave us? Well, obviously in an awkward position. We had already made plans for HOPE 26 to take place at St. John's next August. Our most recent conference was the first in our 31-year history to take place a single year after the previous one. That's how well things were going. So we now have several scenarios. We can scramble to find a new place for next year. We can take a year off and try to build something bigger. We can do something virtual. Or we can work on a combination of these things. As always, your feedback will help guide us. Write to hope@hope.net with your thoughts.

There will be many people who will say this is what we get for being too outspoken and for giving a platform to controversial people and ideas. But it's this spirit that defines who we are; it's driven all 16 of our past conferences. There are also those who thought it was foolish to ever expect a religious institution to understand and work with us. But we will never regret trying and we are proud of our accomplishments in the three conferences we held at St. John's. We reached a lot of people and opened quite a few minds. And we don't intend to allow this unfortunate event to darken our optimism for the opportunities that lie ahead.

We are not changing who we are and what we stand for any more than we'd expect others to. We have high standards for our speakers, presenters, and staff. We value inclusivity and we have never tolerated hate, abuse, or harassment towards anyone. This should not be news, as HOPE has been around for a while and is well known for its uniqueness, spirit, and positivity.

We don't know exactly how we'll get through this latest challenge. But we know we will. Thanks as always for your interest and support.