[UPDATE] On Wednesday, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro announced on Twitter his decision to decline an invitation from Grand Canyon University to speak on one of its campuses:
Re: GCU's speech offer, I have worked with YAF and YAF students for years. I will not go around the hard working, dedicated YAF students at GCU; I'll go to GCU when YAF brings me to GCU.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 6, 2019
PHOENIX — Grand Canyon University announced Tuesday that it was extending an invitation to conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
Late last week, the university banned the popular speaker after the Young America’s Foundation sought to bring Shapiro to campus.
The University issued a press release announcing that Shapiro would be invited “to speak on its campus sometime this spring.”
The Christian University took a not-Christ-like swipe at the Young America’s Foundation’s national organization in the release, blaming it for the situation which lead to widespread condemnation of the university.
In the release, the university said it “felt the need to explain the timeline of events that led to this decision due to misleading and false information that has been made public by the Young America’s Foundation national organization, which sought to bring Mr. Shapiro to campus.”
Unlike GCU, my story has never changed. They couldn’t take the heat for their decision, so they tried scapegoating the students. When I wouldn’t allow that, they apparently decided to come after me. It’s a shame, but unfortunately par for the course in this situation. https://t.co/FwaZuoYLVs
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) February 6, 2019
The university’s statement said the GCU chapter of the Young America’s Foundation did an “outstanding job of working with its national office to produce a conservative speaker series at GCU during this academic year.”
In this latest case involving Mr. Shapiro, the same protocol was in place. However, when the YAF chapter submitted its guest speaker request in writing on Dec. 11, YAF’s national organization announced publicly on the same day that Mr. Shapiro would be speaking at GCU, even though the university had not yet begun its approval process, the school alleged in its statement.