Will Ben Shapiro be Allowed to Speak at UC Berkeley?
“Ben Shapiro v. Berkeley”
The College Republicans at UC Berkeley have booked Ben Shapiro for a speech in September. After what happened with Milo Yiannopoulos in February, people are wondering if the event will go on as planned.
Campus Reform reports:
Shapiro to brave ‘antifa’ protesters for speech at UC-Berkeley
The University of California-Berkeley College Republicans plan to bring Ben Shapiro to campus in September for a talk on free speech titled, “Ben Shapiro v. Berkeley.”
Shapiro promised to speak “to students of all viewpoints at UC Berkeley,” and challenged UC Berkeley administrators to “not hide behind the heckler’s veto of despicable groups like Antifa to prevent this event from moving forward.”
Shapiro is a frequent target of left-wing criticism, and was even prevented from delivering a speech at California State University, Los Angeles last year when left-wing protesters stormed the venue and pulled the fire alarm.
The UC Berkeley campus, though, has in recent months been the scene of particularly vehement hostility toward conservative speakers, with “anti-fascist” protesters engaging in a violent riot to prevent Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking, after which the mere threat of further “protests” was enough to convince the school to cancel a planned appearance by Ann Coulter.
“The UC Berkeley College Republicans’ last three speaker events were canceled last semester. These continuing infringements of the free speech rights of conservative students on campus deepen the already existing conservative void at UC Berkeley,” CR spokesman Naweed Tahmas told Campus Reform. “As it stands, UC Berkeley has solidified itself as a center for intellectual dishonesty, as only favored viewpoints may be heard on campus, with no meaningful opposition or challenge permitted due to the imposition of unlawful time, place, and manner restrictions on conservative speech.”
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
