The University of California, Berkeley said Thursday it will host and pay for Ben Shapiro on Sept. 14 after saying it could not do so, but the latter claim was contested by Shapiro sponsor, Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
UC Berkeley said it will host the conservative author after he and YAF accused the university of censorship, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained an email chain between the school and the Berkeley College Republicans in which the availability of a 500-person room on September 14 appears to be the main source of contention between the two parties. (RELATED: Cal Berkeley Blocks ANOTHER Conservative Speaker)
“We didn’t have any options in terms of the spaces available free of charge,” said Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor for public affairs at Berkeley, to FIRE. “Because of the extent of our commitment to free speech, the campus will help fund any fees associated with hosting this event if need be.”
But while the school is waiving the venue fee, YAF will still pay for Shapiro’s $20,000 speaking fee and also provide for his travel, security, and hotel.
“Berkeley’s desire to receive accolades for providing a room and waiving a so-called fee is outrageous: Berkeley has yet to pay for a conservative speaker to appear on their campus,” said Spencer Brown, spokesman for YAF, to The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Ann Coulter, David Horowitz and now Ben Shapiro have had their speakers fees covered exclusively by Young America’s Foundation and our generous supporters.”
“Furthermore, the email from UC Berkeley administrators to the Berkeley College Republicans flatly rejected the students’ request for a room. It was only after public pressure that Berkeley administrators magically found two available lecture halls.”
YAF’s spokesman also expressed discontent at not being contacted by the university directly, in a press release obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Mogulof explained that while the Berkeley College Republicans originally stipulated a 500-person venue for an event, the organization asked about venues that seated fewer people when told no 500-person locations were available September 14, while speaking with TheDCNF.
“When it comes to event planning we work directly with our student organizations,” said the assistant vice chancellor to TheDCNF, responding to YAF’s press release. “As you can see we’re inviting Mr. Shapiro’s group to join. We never received a request from YAF to be a part of the discussion and if they are interested they should submit that request to be involved.”
Mogulof denied YAF’s assertion that the university was blocking the Berkeley College Republicans from hosting the conservative author.
“We have about 6 or 7 venues of that size and about half of them are on the list for students to use free-of-charge,” said the assistant vice chancellor, noting that September 14 fell in a “high-demand time” for venues. “We’re going to make it work and we also wanted to make it work and we made that clear in our very first communications, so any suggestion that the university somehow didn’t want Shapiro to come is a misrepresentation.”
“The school is trying to save face, and Berkeley now wants a gold star for providing a venue, an act that should not require an ongoing federal lawsuit and nationwide outcry to accomplish<‘ said Brown to TheDCNF. “Berkeley has an obligation to provide a balanced education. After Berkeley’s suppression of David Horowitz and Ann Coulter—and attempts to do the same to Ben Shapiro—Berkeley apparently realized they couldn’t weather another PR nightmare over its unconstitutional actions.”
TheDCNF reached out to the Berkeley College Republicans for comment, but received none in time for press.
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