David Horowitz's FrontPageMag has a big recap of his second "Academic Freedom Conference," which despite the dismal turnout was apparently a "tremendous success."  Without rehashing the specifics of conference, I will instead point out a few misrepresentations put forth by SAF director Sara Dogan and FrontPage rambler Jacob Laksin.

Most likely Sara Dogan called the conference a "tremendous success" because of the "standing-room-only crowd of approximately 500 on Saturday night" who turned out to hear former PA Senator Rick Santorum speak.  The more likely explanation for the large turnout of college Republicans who made their way over from CPAC was the open bar and enormous amount of free food provided during the reception. Moreover, Sen. Santorum speech focused on "the threat of Islamo-fascism," not academic freedom.

Jacob Laksin attempts to recount the conference, writing "[it] drew hundreds of students from at least 24 states, as well as professors, politicians and journalists, for two days of events about the ailments -- from abusive professors to politicized curricula -- afflicting modern universities."  A more accurate description would have been "the reception, with an open bar and free food, drew some overflow from CPAC.  The following day less than 30 or 40 of them (including presenters) bothered to attend the rest of the conference where a few students (most of whom attended last year) complained about what they perceived to be liberal bias."

The rest of Laksin's long-winded account is fairly accurate, albeit with an obvious conservative slant, and he leaves Horowitz's statements and assertions unchallenged. Nevertheless, the overall point to be made is the embarrassingly low turnout for a conference addressing a problem which is allegedly running rampant on America's college campuses.