The Daily Wire reports the University of California, Berkeley College Republicans and the Young America's Foundation (YAF) were told by the university's representative that they are "unable to identify an available campus venue" for Ben Shapiro's anticipated talk on campus.
The university has experienced trouble with this type of thing before with cancellations of both Milo Yiannopolous and Ann Coulter speeches after clashes between police and left-wing "anti-fascist" groups and opposing political groups on campus.
YAF released a statement claiming Berkeley College Republicans received an email from top administrators who "denied the students" requests for a venue for Sept. 14, 2017. In response to the reports, Berkeley claims they never denied Shapiro a spot, but they just need more time to work out security issues.
UC spokesman Dan Mogulof said, "Until these most recent events, we've hosted dozens and dozens of events across the political spectrum without issue. It is clear that things have changed in terms of security, in terms of planning for certain speakers and types of events."
In addition, Mogulof also noted, "Having said that, our police department has yet to conduct a review, and the possibility remains that Shapiro could speak without any extraordinary measures."
The university also posted a draft of the new policy to address security concerns over events that may host conservative speakers. Despite all of the controversy involving scheduling, Shapiro asserts that he will be speaking despite the denial. Shapiro said, "Using ridiculous pretexts to keep conservatives from speaking is unsurprising but disappointing," and "We'll find a way to get this event done, and UC Berkeley has a moral and legal obligation to ensure we do so."
The media coverage of this situation will only continue to push UC into a corner as it continues to suppress free speech from conservative speakers. The opposition to the school's denial of Shapiro will be further supported as he is set to deliver a testimony on free speech on college campuses on July 27th before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Hopefully, the scheduling for the speech can get back on track before the university turns into a media circus one again for denying conservatives a platform to speak freely.
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