Ben Shapiro spoke at the University of Southern California on Oct. 4 and now, months later, a bill has been introduced to the student government that would allow students to petition to get funding revoked from speakers, reported Campus Reform.
The bill says “Ben Shapiro’s campus appearance incited undue violence on the day of his presentation; student protest of his presence prior to the event had no official outlet for review.” Let’s get one thing straight: someone’s appearance doesn’t cause someone else to act violently — you have control over your own body. I also didn’t read anything about violence on campus during Shapiro’s event, but I wouldn’t put it past California students to, um, well, lie when it suits their needs. Before his speech, several USC student groups claimed that Ben pushes the “eradication of entire races.”
But let’s take a look at, if this bill passes, the reasons why students can submit petitions to strip speakers of funds. “Grounds for petition…persons who have accepted endorsements from hate organizations (groups designated by SPLC, for example).” Right, right, because the Southern Poverty Law Center is a totally objective arbiter of what is and is not hate and has absolutely no political agenda whatsoever.
The USC bill also says students can start a petition against someone who has incited violence or harassment. And harassment, as we all know, is a very well-defined concept that hasn’t been completely bastardized and weaponized by censors to silence conservatives while letting progressives run amok. No, no.
Under the bill, USC petitioners would need two-thirds of the student senate vote to defund speakers coming to campus. So you know what this bill, if it passes, is going to do. The small unit that once privately decided which speakers to fund — probably with a decent set of rules if it gave money for Shapiro — is now going to be raked over the coals and subjected to public shaming if it dares to stray from the wishes of a few progressive banshees.
