Some students at a New Jersey university are attempting to block a conservative, pro-life speaker from lecturing on campus by ripping down flyers and protesting the visit at a student government meeting, according to a tip received through Young America’s Foundation’s Campus Bias Tipline.
Leftists on campus have taken to destroying promotional materials to express their disapproval of the pro-life event, in which Horn will present the “non-religious reasons to oppose abortion and equip pro-life advocates to graciously make their case in the public square,” according to the Catholic Campus Ministry’s website. Others have circulated social media posts urging students to attend a November 3 student government meeting and ask them to block the conservative speaker.
Since students at Drew began advertising the event, posters have been repeatedly torn down, as leftist posters featuring “abolish ICE” and advertising the campus’ Planned Parenthood organization remain intact.
One social media post opposing the event read “Is this what Drew represents?” above a screenshotted tweet from Horn. “If you are uncomfortable with this man speaking at Drew, come to the Student Government meeting Wednesday at 8 pm in the meeting room in the EC.”
A different post called Horn “an openly homophobic religious fundamentalist,” while another attacked him as “anti-trans” for backing a study on transgenderism.
Drew University’s President of Catholic Campus Ministry Nicholas Ramirez told YAF he was disheartened, but not surprised. “…this hostility toward conservative ideas has only been amplified over the past couple of months, and most especially with the invitation extended to Trent Horn to come and speak to our community about the pro-life cause,” he said.
“Free speech may still be alive on campus, but it is dying.”
At the November 3 Student Government meeting, a handful of students expressed their disapproval. One student asked, “I would just like to know why Campus Ministry, in particular, felt we need to sponsor and platform Trent Horn, as he is an openly transphobic, openly homophobic individual who promotes demonstrably false studies and rhetoric.”
Ramirez responded to the student, “[Abortion] is one topic that I am passionate about. It is one of the tenets of the Catholic Church. I think that, as a liberal arts campus, there should be free expression of ideas, there should be an exchange of dialogue and we should be open to having challenging discussions.”
The original student reinforced the claim that Horn uses false studies and rhetoric which, he says, “actively harms communities.”
Another student expressed concern for Horn’s criticism of mask mandates. Under the guise of concern for safety, she asked that mask-wearing be enforced and inquired if it was possible to ensure the vaccination of each audience member.
The next student echoed concerns of transphobia before adding “I just want to clarify that abortion rights aren’t just for cis-women,” which was followed by an applause of snaps from attendees.
Afterward, a student demanded that Ramirez guarantee that Horn would not speak negatively to or about Atheism, liberalism, women, or “…people who can have abortions but do not identify as women.”
The Vice President of Campus Life and Student Affairs/Dean of Students at Drew University then spoke, saying, “Words hurt. And they stick. And even if they’re on Twitter, that hurts,” through tears.
Trent Horn is set to speak at Drew University in New Jersey on November 9. Horn is a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, where he specializes in teaching Catholics to graciously and persuasively engage those who disagree with them. He does so on Catholic Answers Live weekly, and also on his podcast, The Counsel of Trent. Aside from being an adjunct professor at Holy Apostles College, he is also an author of nine books.
Campus free speech is virtually non-existent at modern universities. Ideas are not met with intellectual opposition but instead with tantrums, vitriol, and even violence. Words, despite what the Left says, are not violence. If we allow speech to be censored due to the possibility of feelings getting hurt by the truth, we will have already lost the battle. For more information about this upcoming event visit Young America’s Foundation’s website.
