Elizabeth Town College is using bureaucratic methods and tactics to block conservative students from hosting North Korean Defector, Yeonmi Park, on campus to share her story, and experiences when fleeing communism.
The College Republicans chapter, in partnership with Young America’s Foundation, is attempting to host North Korean defector and author Yeonmi Park on Oct. 22. But after months of silence from the college, the chapter is now facing a series of restrictions that threaten to severely limit its ability to promote and host the event.
YAF first sent the college a speaker agreement on June 6, 2026. The university did not respond until Sept. 30, less than a month before the scheduled event. For more than four months, the College Republicans were left waiting for the administration to approve or address the event, leaving the chapter with little time to advertise, promote and organize the program.
This is not an isolated incident. Elizabethtown College has a history of placing roadblocks in front of conservative students. Last year, the college blocked an event that would have featured Park during the spring semester.
“In my time, it was incredibly challenging to gain any footing on campus as an organization from an administrative standpoint,” said Former College Republican President at Elizabeth Town College, Thatcher Baney. “It was very difficult to receive fair and consistent treatment as a conservative student on campus.”
In its Sept. 30 email to the chapter, the college demanded that YAF branding not be displayed at the event, despite YAF being the sole sponsor. The college also stated that the event must be restricted to the public, further limiting the chapter’s ability to reach students and the broader community.
With the event less than a month away, the college’s prolonged silence and last-minute restrictions have put the College Republicans in an impossible position.
Rather than supporting student expression, Elizabethtown College is making it increasingly difficult for conservative students to exercise it. The College Republicans should not have to fight their own administration simply to host a speaker on campus.
The repeated delays and restrictions raise serious questions about whether conservative students at Elizabethtown College are being given the same opportunity to organize, promote and host events as other student groups or if there is a systematic operation to limit conservative voices om campus.
The school did not get back to the New Guard for comment.
