A conservative speaker was asked by campus police to leave the premises of Saint Louis University after showing up to a leftist protest.
Conservative commentator and speaker Elisha Krauss was escorted by campus police off the premises of Saint Louis University in Missouri on Tuesday where she demonstrated her free speech rights amidst a group of leftist protesters. Krauss is associated with Young America's Foundation (YAF), a conservative youth organization founded in 1969 that hosts a number of conferences, campus lectures, and initiatives geared towards students.
"Proud to take a stand against the intolerant left who for two hours called me an old a--, a b----, and a fascist. I defend their rights to free speech the same as anyone else," Krauss told The Daily Wire's Ian Haworth of her experience being escorted off campus property. "Too bad they wouldn't engage in a discussion or debate about political beliefs."
Young America's Foundation Defends Conservative Speaker
The YAF pointed out how differently Saint Louis University treated Krauss compared to their treatment of a Black Lives Matter event at the very same location. Describing the school as a "Catholic university," YAF lamented that the conservative speaker and fellow activists were escorted from the campus, while BLM protesters were allowed to host other demonstrations on the very same spot. They also pointed out how the pro-abortion counter protesters were allowed to stay in the same area for 20 minutes more.
YAF reported that the free speech demonstration was organized after Saint Louis University declined to sign a contract for an official event that featured Krauss that was to be held on campus for four weeks. The conservative speaker was set to discuss "the dangers on cancel culture." YAF also announced its plans to investigate the university's double standard against conservative voices.
YAF Chairman Denounces Discrimination Against Elisha Krauss
Saint Louis University's YAF chairman Nick Baker denounced the school's move to escort Krauss off campus while leftist protesters demonstrated on the groups, calling it "shameful," especially for a university that he said was "committed to freedom of expression." He criticized the school's "tyrannical administrators" and accused them of "[scaring] so many conservative students into hiding." Baker also vowed to "turn things around."
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This is not the first time a university expressed bias against Krauss and the conservatives she represents. In 2019, the Oxford Eagle reported that Krauss' lecture at the University of Mississippi in November of that year was initially prevented from being hosted in its original location at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics.
While the University of Mississippi did not explain why they canceled the event at the location, it said via Twitter that "two individuals" decided to cancel the event "unilaterally," without consulting the administration of the university. The event pushed through, however, and during her speech, the conservative speaker claimed that "leftist" professors at the university blamed her for alt-right or neo-Nazi sympathizers who may have attended the event.
In her speech, Krauss argued that "the media has been complicit, in my opinion, in the blatant mischaracterization of constitutional conservative Christians as racists and Nazis" and that "the real haters in our society are targeting legitimate conservatives."
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