San Francisco State University (SFSU) has found itself in the middle of another free speech controversy after blocking a scheduled event by the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA (TPUSA). The event, titled “How Wokeness is Destroying America,” was to feature TPUSA contributor Jon Root as a speaker.
The move by SFSU comes in the wake of an incident earlier in April where former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines was physically attacked and barricaded in a room for hours following protests over her scheduled speaking event on the SFSU campus about women’s sports and transgender athletes. Gaines’ event was also sponsored by the school’s chapter of TPUSA.
“It’s more than apparent SFSU condones violence, doesn’t uphold free speech, and is scared of perspectives that differ from their own,” Gaines tweeted about the incident. “They have now cancelled Jon’s [Turning Point USA] event with no reason why.”
Two days before the scheduled talk, SFSU revoked the room that had been booked for the event. The chapter’s president stated that the group had been warned in an email that the event should be understood to be unapproved by the administration if students attempted to host the discussion in person. The school’s Academic Affairs Office had also been advising professors with evening classes on the day of the talk to move online due to an “uncertain level of disruption.”
A spokesperson for the school reportedly informed TPUSA that accommodations would be made if the event occurred virtually. SFSU cited concerns about its capacity to safely hold a potential protest like the one seen during the Gaines speech as the reason for canceling the event’s reserved room.