College Progressives Attack Ben Shapiro, Plan Protests Ahead Of Florida State University Speech

Progressive students at Florida State University (FSU) are attacking Ben Shapiro, editor emeritus of The Daily Wire and host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” ahead of a planned speech on campus.

Shapiro is expected to speak on November 15 at the Tucker Civic Center’s Exhibition Hall in front of a capacity 1,500-person audience. Tickets to the event, which is free to enter, were quickly claimed after they were made available, partly due to bot attacks. The event’s organizers, FSU College Republicans and FSU’s Institute of Politics, plan to have a standby line for guests without tickets to fill the seats that were taken by bots, according to Florida Politics.

“The past three executive boards have worked to bring Ben Shapiro to Tallahassee and this year Young America’s Foundation has chosen Florida State to host,” the College Republicans said in a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat.

“We are excited for this opportunity and can’t wait for Ben to share conservative ideas with FSU students and the Tallahassee community.”

Ahead of Shapiro’s speech, FSU’s branch of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a socialist college group, released a statement condemning Shapiro as “violently racist, homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic.” The statement did not cite any examples to support its claims. SDS is also aiding another campus progressive group, Students for Justice in Palestine, plan a protest for the day Shapiro is scheduled to speak.

SDS called Shapiro as well as The Daily Wire “far-right” despite the conservative commentator being the top target of antisemitism on Twitter among journalists in 2016, according to the Anti-Defamation League. SDS also took issue with Shapiro’s stance against Critical Race Theory, which is rooted in Marxism and suggests that most U.S. institutions today are rooted in racism, being taught in schools.

SDS concluded its statement calling on FSU President Richard McCullough to cancel the event to prove the university’s commitment to “equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

The university has remained committed to allowing the event to take place. FSU spokeswoman Amy Farnum-Patronis told the Tallahassee Democrat that FSU “is committed to promoting an environment where the entire community can freely discuss and exchange different beliefs and opinions.”

“FSU encourages recognized student organizations to invite different individuals and groups to speak on campus, and they have the right to do so, even if other students disagree with the ideas that may be presented,” she added.

Read SDS’s complete statement condemning Shapiro below:

On November 15, Florida State University, FSUGOP, and YAF

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases