The University of San Diego has blocked a request from a group of college Republicans to bring Daily Wire host Matt Walsh to speak on campus, with members of the campus’s student government calling Walsh’s beliefs “grossly offensive.”
Members of the USD College Republicans had hoped to bring Walsh to the private Catholic university, but were denied approval by campus administrators and the student government, which unanimously voted against approving an event with Walsh, according to the New Guard, a publication of the Young America’s Foundation.
While the council turned down the request for funding needed to host the event, the council has approved events with prominent Left-wing speakers like Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrice Cullors and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Schiff has been a vocal supporter of abortion, which firmly violates the Catholic teachings on the sanctity of life.
“I feel as though conservatives and Catholics are discriminated against for simply holding onto their religious beliefs,” USD College Republicans President Alyssa Jackson told the New Guard. “We hope that we can still bring Matt Walsh to voice conservative beliefs on campus, which are heavily underrepresented. We face discrimination from professors and peers everyday for our values and we believe that Matt would be a strong advocate for our cause.”
Jackson later met with USD administrators who she said told her that the views expressed by Walsh, a Catholic, are not in line with Catholic Social Teaching and are “grossly offensive.”
“The university is in full support of freedom of expression and freedom of inquiry … that’s the basis of a university,” Assistant Vice President for Student Life Byron Howlett reportedly said. “But it’s also a delicate balancing act because we have a duty to protect our community members as well. In that case, that usurps that freedom of inquiry and freedom of expression.”
This view was shared by student senator Isabella Sevilla, who was reportedly involved in bringing a drag event to campus during the spring semester.
“As a Catholic institution, I do think that it is one of the most important things that we hold our Catholic faith first and if he does not align with the values of the Catholic church then that is something we should consider regarding allocating funding,” she said.
Sharing the story on Instagram, the USD College Republicans urged followers to “reach out to USD via email to show your support for freedom of speech and diversity of opinions at USD.”