I think CMC felt compelled to act because the Athenaeum, the venue where MacDonald was supposed to speak, is a great source of pride for the college and to do nothing would have damaged the reputation of the Athenaeum. https://www.cmc.edu/athenaeum/athenaeum-guidelines. Usually at Ath events there is a lunch or dinner for which reservations are required and CMC students are given priority; there is a dress code that prohibits shorts, jeans or T-shirts at evening presentations. Typically there is a 5:30 pm reception, dinner at 6 pm, then the speaker presentation which would have included moderated questions from the audience starts at 6:45 pm. https://www.cmc.edu/athenaeum/schedules/current-semester-schedule. I think the CMC administration rightly felt that if they imposed no sanctions, then they would effectively be granting protesters veto power over the selection of Athenaeum speakers and would discourage speakers from agreeing to come. Not to mention discouraging students from attending to hear alternative views.