50 years ago today - Apr 21, 1966

BYU president Ernest L. Wilkinson gives what he, himself calls a "powerful address" that would "rock the campus from one end to the other." Wilkinson designs the speech to be controversial and hopes that it will generate discussion on campus, especially among "liberal" professors. He then instructs the newly-formed student spy ring to solicit and report on the "liberal" professors's reactions to the speech. One professor of political science, Ray Hillam, a target of the spy ring, learns about the spy ring and requests a formal hearing which Wilkinson uses to formally charge Hillam with being pro-communist and disloyal to BYU. Hillam, in the process of defending himself exposes the spy-ring and precipitates a major scandal for Wilkinson. Wilkinson privately confesses his role to the Board of Trustees but publicly denies it.