The Young America’s Foundation has launched a lawsuit against SUNY-Binghamton for “brazen denials of conservative students’ constitutional rights” after the university’s group of College Republicans were “harassed and assaulted” while promoting a YAF lecture in November of 2019.
NEW: YAF v. SUNY-Binghamton is the latest civil rights action brought by Young America’s Foundation under the First and Fourteenth Amendments following brazen denials of conservative students’ constitutional rights. https://t.co/WJiw9hAtU4
— YAF (@yaf) July 22, 2020
According to YAF, BUCRs were tabling on campus to promote a lecture featuring Dr. Arthur Laffer when they were harassed and assaulted by “leftists College Progressive activists”. YAF allegedly sought assurance from the university administration that such an incident would not occur again after campus police did nothing to protect free speech while the BUCR students were being harassed.
The administration declined to offer any assurance.
Before the lecture, College Progressives and other “leftist agitators” worked together to develop a strategy to interrupt Dr. Laffer’s upcoming lecture and the university took no action to stop the conflict, even after being made aware of these plans.
When Dr. Laffer was scheduled to speak, the leftist students did as they said they would and interrupted his speech moments after he took the stage. According to YAF, campus police instead removed Dr. Laffer and the university “failed to honor its constitutional obligations to protect freedom of speech”.
In addition to the disruption of Dr. Laffer’s speaking event, the university has also denied the formation of a YAF chapter on campus and has yet to take action against the alleged agitators.
“SUNY-Binghamton administrators have demonstrated a pattern of unconstitutional censorship in coordination with off-campus leftist agitators and leftist students on campus. These disruptors and campus leaders worked to unlawfully deprive conservative students of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech and equal protection,” YAF Spokesman Spencer Brown said.
Watch the full video here: