Apr 23, 2015 12:35 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) hopes to reaffirm itself as an institution that encourages free speech in the wake of cancelling an event geared toward addressing the Charlie Hebdo shooting massacre.

According to BBC News, QUB stirred up controversy for cancelling the conference for an unspecified risk discovered during an assessment process. Speakers slated to appear were troubled by the announcement, calling the decision ironic and hypocritical given the nature of the event.

"As part of managing the health and safety of the institution, it is a requirement for all major events to have a full risk assessment completed prior to them going ahead on the campus," QUB said in a statement. "Unfortunately the proposed symposium organized by the Institute for Collaborative Research in the Humanities did not have a completed risk assessment and, as a result, the institute has cancelled the event.

"This issue is not related to academic freedom and Queen's continues to uphold the importance of academic freedom in a world-class institution and has demonstrated this over many years."

Charlie Hebdo is a satirical magazine based in Paris, France that endured a bloody terrorist attack for something they published. 11 people were killed and 11 more were injured. McLiam Wilson, a Belfast native who writes for the magazine, was highly critical of the school while also iterating "Charlie Hebdo is anti plenty of things. But it is not anti-Arab or anti-Israeli or anti-immigrant."

"Cancelling such an event in the face of putative menace in a city that endured a 30-year torture of self-immolation seems worse than pusillanimous," he told the Guardian. "Belfast? Seriously? This is not the city I remember. This cancellation says, with trumpeting clarity, that there is no debate because there can be no debate. There is a big boat that can't be rocked."

While many observing the situation cannot seem to figure out why QUB pulled the plug on the event - or who are critical of the suspected reason - the school is seeking to clarify their announcement.

QUB Vice Chancellor Patrick Johnston said in a statement the school was in the midst of a risk assessment procedure. A report on the findings of that assessment is due by May 1, the statement read, and that will allow school officials to make their final decision.

Said Johnson, "Queen's is, and will remain, a place where difficult issues can be discussed."

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