A private Christian university in Minnesota is blocking pro-life speaker and advocate Star Parker from speaking on their campus.
Shockingly, Parker has lectured at the University of Northwestern in Minnesota twice before, and the evangelical university can’t seem to get its story straight on why it’s blocking the Young Americans for Freedom chapter from hosting Parker this time around.
The event was intended to address abortion in the black community, as Parker is the founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.
UNW Director of Student Programs Kayla Hoy emailed the YAF chapter chairwoman, Hayley Tschetter, stating: “We really don’t bring speakers who radically hold beliefs that UNW as a whole would not agree with.” Hoy continued, “In the past UNW has stayed away from sensationalized speakers. I foresee us continuing to do this. After reviewing some of Star’s material online we didn’t feel she was a good fit for our community.”
The YAF activists attempted to overturn the decision by speaking with UNW President Alan Cureton, but he did not budge and instead requested the students meet with a different administrator.
The university then sent out a campus-wide email stating they agree with Parker’s substance, but not her style.
“Northwestern is unwavering in its pro-life stance, contrary to what has been stated on social media,” the school said in the email obtained by the YAF. According to the email, Hoye’s “quote about Ms. Parker’s beliefs was taken completely out of context. She was referencing Ms. Parker’s communication style, not her personal beliefs or political viewpoints.”
Then, finally, in a comment to Campus Reform, the university blamed the YAF chapter’s procedures as the reason for blocking Parker from speaking.
They said YAF “did not follow policies and procedures that are in place for student club events… In addition, university administration had significant concerns regarding Ms. Parker’s contract, which contained certain requirements the university could not accommodate.”
It is not clear which excuse is actually true, but it is clear UNW is willing to say just about anything to keep Parker from bringing her pro-life values to campus.
This is not the first Christian university to reject the presence of a conservative speaker. Last month, Grand Canyon University was embroiled in controversy when it refused to allow Ben Shapiro to speak on campus when invited by YAF activists.
Alexander James is a contributor to Red Alert Politics and a freelance journalist.
