The University of Michigan announced late Wednesday night that they would be showing American Sniper after all despite concerns that the film would make students feel "unsafe."
"The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters," said vice president for student life E. Royster Harper. "The movie will be shown at the originally scheduled time and location."
The uproar was started by students in the Muslim Students’ Association and a "Palestinian solidarity group" called the Students Allied for Freedom and Equality who wrote in an online petition that "Chris Kyle was a racist who took a disturbing stance on murdering Iraqi civilians."
The decision by Michigan to cancel the American Sniper was met with outrage, including from the university's new football coach Jim Harbaugh, who said that his team would be watching the movie no matter what.
Michigan Football will watch "American Sniper"! Proud of Chris Kyle & Proud to be an American & if that offends anybody then so be it!
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) April 9, 2015
The university says that Paddington Bear, a children’s movie about a young bear from England in search of a new home, will still be shown to provide students with another option.