Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) won a critical victory for free speech after Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University tried to silence the group for its political beliefs.
The school had repeatedly shut down members of the group when they sought to express their conservative views on campus. In one instance, YAF members tried to observe Holocaust Remembrance Day, which should not have been controversial.
Yet, the school prevented them from handing out pro-Israel flags and buttons because they didn’t “seem directly connected to the day of significance and could be considered political.”
Meanwhile, the administrator who stopped YAF from commemorating the day proudly displayed LGBTQ paraphernalia on her office door. The school approved a pro “trans day of visibility” at the event.
While @EmbryRiddle deems Israeli flags to be "political," this is the office of the administrator who communicated that determination. pic.twitter.com/KPMp1GPE70
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) February 19, 2025
The school also prevented the group from inviting detransitioner Chloe Cole to speak at an event. Cole has been a leading voice against the progressive gender ideology movement, having been “transitioned” to the opposite sex as a 15-year-old minor through puberty blockers, hormones, and even a double mastectomy.
I have been banned from @EmbryRiddle, a university that is known for great science and engineering, yet they have decided to take a stand against reality and truth.
— Chloe Cole ⭐️ (@ChoooCole) February 9, 2025
This is our message to the admin that thinks they can deny basic biology @EmbryRiddleYAF pic.twitter.com/Rufw7yRD7m
.@ChoooCole responds to school that canceled her YAF speech: "Our universities used to be grounds for free speech...By barring people like me from speaking on your campuses, you are choosing to ignore the truth." pic.twitter.com/VzY8Sku1Cv
— YAF (@yaf) February 8, 2025
However, the school appears to have had a change of heart after the YAF chapter retained an attorney.
I had frequent meetings with the then interim chancellor, Dr. Ken Witcher, about this new policy to try to work through their objections. Despite my efforts, the school provided little or no answer on why these free speech restrictions were enacted. They just cited “the spirit of the policy.” I even went so far as to contact the university president, but I was brushed off. The school seemed to be hoping I would just go away.
In the end, I was told essentially, “If you don’t like our policies, get a lawyer.”
So that’s what I did with the help of YAF.
The organization filed a legal complaint with the Education Department’s civil rights division. This appeared to have done the trick. The school has now indicated that it will allow Cole to speak on campus.
Of course, it goes without saying that the notion that YAF would have had to go through all these steps just to exercise their First Amendment rights is ridiculous. The school argued that YAF’s speech was too political. Yet, it had no problem allowing a pro-trans event to take place without so much as a whisper in opposition.
This is what right-leaning students are facing on college campuses across the country. But this story imparts an important lesson: The authoritarian left will always win when people do not fight back. In this case, YAF didn’t allow itself to be bullied into submission. Instead, they took action, and they won this battle. Hopefully, others will follow their example.