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Ben Shapiro, the conservative commentator whose planned visit to Syracuse University drew criticism from the SU Student Association last spring, is “almost certainly” not coming to campus this fall, the president of SU’s College Republicans said.

In March, College Republicans secured $39,000 in funding from SA’s Finance Board to bring Shapiro to campus in October. The Finance Board’s decision was met with backlash from the SA Assembly, which condemned the event in April. 

The Assembly’s resolution called Shapiro a white supremacist and urged the university to block his visit by any means possible. College Republicans disputed the characterization of Shapiro.

An in-person speaking event at SU featuring Shapiro is only possible if conditions change, said Rody Conway, president of the College Republicans, in a message to The Daily Orange.

“The event is almost certainly not going to happen in person unless conditions change significantly,” Conway said. “We’re going to try our best to make something happen, but the constantly changing conditions make it difficult to plan.”

Social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic forced College Republicans to reconsider Shapiro’s visit. The College Republicans are also considering a virtual version of the event.

Shapiro hasn’t indicated “one way or the other” whether he would be open to an online-only speaking event, Conway said.

In 2015, Shapiro founded The Daily Wire, a conservative news and opinion website. His controversial comments, many of which the SA resolution’s authors included in their document, have gone viral on social media in recent years.

Even after College Republicans received funding for Shapiro, the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Student Activities still had to clear his invitation to campus. The university never completed the vetting process for Shapiro before it transitioned to online classes, not confirming or denying his visit, Conway said.

“The whole process was put on hold when we left,” he said. “We never reached that part of the negotiations last semester.”

If College Republicans do not use the $39,000 they received from SA to host Shapiro or a similar speaker, the money would return to SA’s rollover fund.

After last year’s candidates for SA president and vice president criticized the Finance Board’s decision to fund Shapiro’s visit, the board released a statement saying that its Finance Codes do not allow the board to consider a speaker’s ethics when making its decisions. The Finance Board funds budgets that follow the Finance Codes and are prepared correctly.

The Finance Board also funded an earlier $23,000 request by the College Republicans to bring Sean Spicer, a former White House Press Secretary under the Trump administration, to SU campus in the spring. The university’s decision to suspend residential instruction in March put those plans on hold.

While it is unclear if, or how, Shapiro’s speaking event with College Republicans will take place, the organization has begun looking forward to hosting other speakers once conditions allow. 

“It’s too early to say who we would invite but we will definitely seek funding for a speaker if the spring regulations allow for it,” Conway said.

Published on August 31, 2020 at 10:55 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu