The University of Connecticut is being called out for egregious double standards over its treatment guest speakers on campus.
Editor-in-Cheif of The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, was finally allowed to speak Wednesday after having his event closed to the public and open only for students, faculty members, and special pre-registered guests once UConn reviewed the situation.
Spencer Brown, a spokesman for the Young America’s Foundation, has stated that UConn “continues to subject conservative students to strict restrictions and regulations while allowing leftists free reign over their campus” and forwards the argument that, as UConn are a public taxpayer-funded institution, this is an anti-conservative double standard.
Spencer goes on to say that this level of review for Shapiro’s event is due to “the school’s inability to maintain the rule of law at a previous lecture hosted by the campus conservative club where the speaker and a student were arrested after the student allegedly stole the speakers’ notes and personal belongings,” he said, referring to another recent speaker.
Spencer raises concerns as to why the same level of restraint is not imposed on prominent leftist speakers; Anita Hill spoke on the campus previously and the event was advertised as “free and open to the public”.
The president of the UConn College Republicans Tim Sullivan, who helped organize the Shapiro event, told Fox News that his “biggest concern with this change is there’s going to be a discrepancy between who this event review process is for mainly because there is no disruption from speakers of the left […] so it’s really our group and other conservative groups on campus that are going to have to go through this event review process,” further validating the argument that this is a clear double standard by the University.
The restriction of Shapiro’s talk should come to no surprise to conservatives after it was revealed earlier this month that the university’s associate Vice President and Chief Diversity officer sent an email to students to propose that anyone who felt threatened or upset by Shapiro should consult the university’s office of Counseling and Mental Health Services. The email states:
“I wanted to make you aware of a situation we have recently learned about. There has been a request received for Ben Shapiro to come to campus as the guest of the College Republicans. Ben Shapiro is an American conservative political commentator, columnist, author, radio talk show host, and lawyer.
We understand that even the thought of an individual coming to campus with the views that Mr. Shapiro expresses can be concerning and even hurtful and that’s why we wanted to make you aware as soon as we were informed.”
Ben Shapiro, who cuts an incredibly intimidating figure at 5”9 (or so he claims…) was finally permitted to speak Wednesday evening.
Information was not immediately available on how many students sought counseling as a result.
Source: dangerous.com
