Currently there is a petition to ban Milo Yiannopolous from speaking at the University of Washington receiving the support of hundreds of students and the President of the University, Ana Mari Cauce. The University of Washington College Republicans (UWCR) invited Milo with the intention of him only speaking to interested parties that chose to go to the event, yet many students think that what they have arbitrarily deemed “Hate Speech” should be banned from campus.

Not only have these students petitioned the school to disallow an event put on by a student organization, but they have also suggested banning someone from a public university. This fascistic behavior presents a clear and present danger to all students. Regardless of if you believe in what Milo Yiannopolous says, allowing a public university to ban someone from speaking for what is, at it’s core, a difference of opinion is dangerous and should not be tolerated by any entity receiving a single dollar of federal funding. The fact that UW President Ana Mari Cauce is so willing to find ways to silence the University of Washington College Republicans and our guest at the request of a small minority of students should be terrifying.

There is overwhelming jurisprudence that public university administrators are not entitled to discriminate on the basis of speech. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has demonstrated consistently in courts of law that by taking action against speech on campus, public universities expose themselves to costly civil litigation.



In the words of Ana Mari Cauce, “UW is a 'safe' campus within the common parlance of how safe is generally used. That does NOT mean that we keep students safe from unpleasant, or even hateful, ideas. No one can do that -- that's the price of a democracy.”

We ask that Ana Mari Cauce allows Milo to come to the University of Washington to speak and that she releases a public statement on the importance of freedom of expression.

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Please make the right choice, President Ana Mari Cauce. Stand up for student rights and a tolerance of a wide array ideologies and beliefs.

Sincerely,

University of Washington College Republicans,

Students for Trump,

and Washington College Republican Federation