College Republicans at Northwestern U. Win Free Speech Battle With Student Government
“We can’t prevent a speaker from coming to campus as student government. That’s done by administration”
The group invited James Lindsay to discuss Critical Race Theory and the SGA froze their funds. Then FIRE got involved.
Breitbart News reports:
Northwestern U. College Republicans Score Free Speech Win over Censor-Happy Student Government
The College Republicans student group at Northwestern University scored a free speech win by defeating a funding freeze that was implemented by the school’s student government after the conservative group hosted author and Critical Race Theory (CRT) opponent James Lindsay.
The reversal came after the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) wrote a letter calling on university to stop the Associated Student Government from freezing the conservative student group’s funds, which were being used to promote an event featuring Lindsay.
“After the letter from FIRE, ASG leadership told the College Republicans that Northwestern’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance had decided not to investigate the flyers,” FIRE announced. “Thus, the freeze on the funding was void.”
The school’s student government had used “emergency legislation” after discovering posters advertising for the event, according to a report by the university’s student newspaper, the Daily Northwestern.
The legislation was based on the student government’s belief that the flyers advertising Lindsay’s speaking engagement were in violation of the university’s Policy on Discrimination & Harassment.
The student newspaper reported that one of the flyers advertising the event featured “sunglasses with a queer pride flag and a skull and crossbones superimposed over the lenses.”
“We can’t prevent a speaker from coming to campus as student government. That’s done by administration,” Molly Whalen, co-president of ASG, said, adding that the student government therefore “focused on the part that we could control, which is student group conduct and student group finances.”
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I’m sorry, but conservative student organizations relying on student government for their financial existence makes as much sense to me as conservative national organizations being entirely dependent on Facebook and YouTube for their outreach. You just don’t make your very continued existence dependent on the good graces of your known, sworn enemy.
Student fees that are paid by all students(and are not optionally paid)are disbursed by the student government to recognized student organizations
Students should be able to opt out of having their fees used to support student government and student newspapers.