Columnist George Will's lecture in Ohio draws protest

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — An appearance by columnist George F. Will has drawn protests on a southwest Ohio campus over his commentary on sexual assault reporting at colleges.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports more than 100 people turned out Wednesday for the protest outside his Miami University lecture. There were also online petitions against Will’s talk; the school said he was paid $48,000 from a gift fund for a university lecture series.

The protests against the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist were over a June column about federal pressure on college reporting of sexual assaults.

Will questioned statistics cited by the Barack Obama administration and suggested that federal authorities were making “victimhood a coveted status.”

Will explained Wednesday he was criticizing loss of due process for those accused of the serious crime.