The nation’s top colleges and universities are continuing to crack down on the diversity of thought, essentially banning conservative commencement speakers this year.
In its annual survey, Young America’s Foundation said that of the 100 top schools that have identified their speaker, 37 are featuring notable and national liberals and one a conservative.
By comparison to other years, the group said that 2021 may be the worst-ever showing for conservatives.
YAF noted that some liberal speakers are in such high demand that they are giving more than one commencement address, according to the list shared with Secrets.
Included in that group are Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and activist Bryan Stevenson. Other liberal speakers include Oprah Winfrey, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and John Legend.
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Meanwhile, top conservatives, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, have been shut out.
Thomas Jorden, a GOP donor and president of Cimarex Energy Co., is speaking at the Colorado School of Mines.
Wake Forest University is featuring a commencement panel with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Rice and Fauci are also on a panel at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. YAF does not include panels in its list of traditional commencement ceremonies.
YAF asked in its analysis, “Wouldn’t it be beneficial in the current state of affairs for students to hear from a Constitutional expert like Sen. Mike Lee? Where is Clarence Thomas, Megyn Kelly, or Vice President Mike Pence? What about Amy Coney Barrett?”
YAF picks the schools to survey from the U.S. News and World Report top 100. Some schools are limiting the ceremonies, but not as much as last year as the coronavirus hit.
YAF spokeswoman Kara Zupkus said, “As made obvious in this year’s survey, universities continue to push far-left narratives from the first day of classes all the way until students walk across the stage for their diploma.”
She added, “YAF will continue to ensure students have the opportunity to hear conservative viewpoints through its unparalleled campus lecture program — providing students with resources and speakers that schools simply will not.”
President Joe Biden plans to give the commencement to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and his wife, Jill, at George Mason University. But the administration has discouraged top officials from speaking, concerned about promoting virus super-spreader events.
