CSULA: No to Ben Shapiro, Yes to Angela Davis

Angela Davis, former Communist Party leader and radical professor, is slated to speak at California State University Los Angeles tonight at 7:30 PM PST. This comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that YAF and Ben Shapiro filed a lawsuit with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom against CSULA administrators and professors for violating students’ First Amendment rights. While Ben Shapiro’s lecture was met with violent protests led by professors, Angela Davis’ lecture is literally sponsored by the university itself. According to CSULA’s website, the event is being hosted by the Pan-African Studies Department, the Department of Television, Film and Media, and the Cross Cultural Center. Think about this: When a YAF chapter wanted to host a mainstream conservative who has never been listed as a fugitive or been involved in radical activism, the university administration attempted to cancel the event and dangerous protests broke out, yet that same university is now openly sponsoring a lecture by Angela Davis. [pullquote]It’s abundantly clear that CSULA’s interest in exercising and protecting First Amendment rights applies only to liberals.[/pullquote] Davis is a radical anti-capitalist professor and activist with a long record of inflammatory statements. In the 1970’s Davis was famously placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for fleeing California after being charged with murder. She’s been involved with groups from the Black Panther Party to the Communist Party, and is on the record as recently as 2014 saying, “I still believe that capitalism is the most dangerous kind of future we can imagine.” While it’s unclear what CSULA is paying Davis to speak tonight, Keppler Speakers Bureau lists her fee range at a hefty $10,001-$20,000. In February, CSULA President William Covino attempted to cancel Shapiro’s YAF lecture in order to create a new event wherein Shapiro could “appear as part of a group of speakers with differing viewpoints on diversity.” Unsurprisingly, the university is not applying that same standard to Davis tonight. Can you imagine the president of CSULA publicly canceling an Angela Davis lecture in order to create a new event where she’s forced to appear with conservatives, all in the name of “diversity?” Of course not. It’s abundantly clear that CSULA’s interest in exercising and protecting First Amendment rights applies only to liberals.