An Illinois university has banned a second conservative commentator from conducting speeches on the campus.
Last week, DePaul University in Chicago informed the DePaul Young Americans For Freedom that they would not be able to host Ben Shapiro, due to “safety concerns.”
“Given the experiences and security concerns that some other schools have had with Ben Shapiro speaking on their campuses, DePaul cannot agree to allow him to speak on our campus at this time,” Bob Janis, Vice President of Facilities Operations at DePaul, wrote in an e-mail to the DePaul YAF chapter’s executive board.
The YAF has worked with Shapiro for six months on a high-profile tour of college campuses across the United States.
“If DePaul cannot trust its delicate liberal snowflake students and administrators to allow Ben to speak his mind safely and freely, it has utterly failed in its mission to ‘foster a community that welcomes open discourse,’ the National YAF said in a statement.
The DePaul College Republicans are not backing down against the administration, either.
“It’s amazing to see that DePaul University will allow convicted terrorists such as Rasmea Odeh come to our campus and speak, but when it comes to a speaker who simply has basic conservative values, it is ‘too much’ for the student body to handle,” the Republican organization said. “Ben Shapiro is an accomplished political commentator, columnist, author, radio talk show host, and attorney. As college students, it is important to have our thoughts challenged and to express our freedom of speech. It is how we learn. This is an embarrassment to the University.”
Learn more about Shapiro here.
To book Shapiro on your campus, contact Patrick Coyle at pcoyle@yaf.org.
