'Unsafe': Conservative student group denied recognition

(Image courtesy Pixabay)

The absolute intolerance of leftists who reject anyone holding a different political perspective was put on stage on Santa Clara University recently when student leaders refused to allow a conservative organization on campus.

The situation developed in a vote rejecting the Young America's Foundation.

That group, which has chapters on campuses across the nation already, is dedicated to assuring that the messages of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise and traditional values are available to those who want them.

It works to provide its message through conferences, seminars, educational materials, internships and speakers.

The organization announced recently that its request to set up a chapter on the campus of Santa Clara University was refused.

Student "senators" had cited their fear of "emotional harm."

YAF explained, "Raul Orellana, an at-large senator, told the YAF chapter 'you do have a history of harm towards the LGBTQ+ community.' He inquired that he 'wanted to know how your stance on safety and traditional values is supposed to include everyone with your history of emotional and mental harm to this community.'"

Another student, Hiwad Haider, opposed YAF's message promoting legal immigration.

He said, "If you are going to celebrate legal immigration, that does not meet the Jesuit values of community and inclusivity. It does not celebrate undocumented immigrants," YAF reported.

He expressed an absolute intolerance for ideas that don't match his own, lashing out at commentator Ben Shapiro, who often speaks at YAF events.

"Ben Shapiro is probably one of the most Islamophobic people. If they bring him to campus, I don't want to go here anymore…these impacts do have emotional harm and I can’t feel good about that and I can’t tolerate that."

"So much for the left being the warriors of tolerance," YAF noted.

Another senator shared a slightly incoherent statement from an unidentified student:

"I also think the presence of YAF would further marginalize minority students on campus and if anything makes minority students feel more unsafe or targeted. What struck me, as a woman who is often labeled as an immigrant by white people, even though I was born here, is 'sharing inspiring stories with legal immigrants' which is very high on the initiatives list. First of all, no human is legal on stolen land. Secondly, sharing these stories is unnecessary and is YAF's way of trying to slight or undermine undocumented immigrants, which in turn will target undocumented students, faculty, and staff on this campus. Also, Ben Shapiro has been known to spew hate speech, and I know that the school loves to preach about Leonard's Law, but hate speech continues to perpetuate bigotry and insensitivity and racism… honestly this club would not make me too safe at SCU and not proud to call myself a Bronco."

The group's 13-13 vote meant the organization would be censored.

The school's stated requirements to be a recognized club are to avoid overlap with another club, have at least 15 students interested and follow school policies and state and federal law.

"I was never a physical or emotional threat to any of these senators until I deigned to disagree with them – It speaks to their character that they're willing to act so dishonestly to suppress the views of people who don't fall in line with their radical intersectional-Marxist agenda," said Quinn Eibert, leader of the Santa Clara University YAF chapter. "I hope that nobody else at Santa Clara University, or anybody anywhere else in the country, has to go through this nightmare – having my legal rights and basic decency so egregiously violated is not how I envisioned my college experience."

The benefits of being recognized are that the group could share in the funding from students that exists on campus, it could reserve rooms for events, and could invite speakers.

According to the College Fix, "In 2017, a chapter of Turning Point USA was also denied approval, with student government leaders saying at the time to approve the club would be a strike 'against humanity.' But the administration overruled the student government and allowed the club.
YAF and FIRE hope for the same thing to happen in this case."

The report said the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is calling for the school's administration to overrule the student government’s decision, which FIRE says is "discriminatory."

"The university administration cannot allow the ASG’s viewpoint-based decision to stand since the student government is an extension of the university, and the decision violates the university’s explicit promises to uphold student free speech," FIRE’s Zach Greenberg said in the report.