The United States of America is not the leader of the free world by accident. It takes purposeful effort to keep our fragile democracy intact. One of the most fundamental principles to our great nation and to democracy itself is freedom of speech. Whether you like Tomi Lahren or not, she has a right to come speak at Clemson University for Turning Point USA’s “Back the Blue” event.
Lahren is an outspoken conservative and current host of FOX Nation. If you watch her show or scroll through her Twitter feed, you will quickly realize why she is easily one of the most controversial political figures in the United States. I think in many ways she attracts people the same way that former President Donald Trump does. Both say what they are thinking without worrying about being politically correct or possibly offending people. Those who agree with her applaud her, while those who disagree with her despise her.
Almost immediately after it was announced that Lahren would be coming to speak at Clemson, there was outrage. Both the Clemson College Democrats and Young Democratic Socialists of America put out statements expressing their disappointment in Clemson allowing Lahren to come speak. In a statement by The Clemson College Democrats, they said “We are committed to creating a more equal, fair and inclusive environment on our campus, and statements made by Ms. Lahren, especially those concerning the Black Lives Matter movement, are divisive and hateful.” The Young Democratic Socialists of America put out a similar message, stating that they are “disgusted by Clemson University’s behavior on welcoming a homophobic, xenophobic, racist speaker such as Tomi Lahren onto our campus.” In addition, Summer Shaw, a junior management major, started an online petition to ban Lahren from Clemson’s campus. As of Sunday, March 14, the petition had 3,540 signatures. While it is clear that many Clemson students think Lahren is a terrible person who spews hate and do not want her to come to Clemson, there are also plenty of students who think Lahren is great and are excited to attend her event. These are all opinions about her character, and whether or not we like someone is not reason enough to ban someone from campus. In addition, people are not being forced to listen to Lahren speak. If someone does not want to go see someone like Lahren speak, then they do not have to. But, just as people have the right not to listen, people also have the right to listen.
Despite the fact that some find Lahren to be very offensive, that does not give Clemson University the right to ban Lahren for coming to speak at Clemson. Turning Point USA is an independent student organization at Clemson and they have the right to invite guests to speak. Also, it is important to note that Clemson University did not invite Lahren for a “Back the Blue” event, Turning Point USA did. By allowing TPUSA to host Lahren, Clemson is in no way endorsing or promoting her or her beliefs. Instead, they are simply allowing freedom of speech and freedom of thought to exist on our campus and that is a very good thing! Clemson has allowed both liberal and conservatives to come speak on our campus. Just a few months ago Clemson hosted Angela Davis, a key activist for social justice, to headline the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration event. And while many were thrilled by her coming to speak at Clemson, others were not so excited. In fact, TPUSA put out a statement on January 15, 2021 which read in part “we firmly oppose the decision to host and compensate Angela Davis, or anybody sharing her communist, criminal and concerning background, as a speaker at Clemson University, particularly in honor of the memory of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.” Clearly TPUSA was upset by Davis coming to speak at Clemson just as the College Democrats and Young Democratic Socialists of America are for Lahren coming to speak at Clemson. Although there is a distinction between Lahren and Davis being invited to speak at Clemson University, as Lahren was invited by an independent student organization and Davis was invited by the school itself, it does demonstrate that Clemson is allowing a diverse array of speakers on campus, which again is a good thing! I do find it ironic that Turning Point USA, the College Democrats and the Young Democratic Socialists of America all put out similar statements expressing their opposition when Clemson University allowed a speaker with whom they did not agree with to come speak at Clemson. We should not and we cannot determine who does and who doesn’t have a right to speak based on if we agree with their political beliefs.
The purpose of this article is not to defend or attack Lahren’s character. Rather, the purpose of this article is to defend her right to come speak at Clemson. Whether you think something is morally okay to say or not does not determine whether or not someone has the right to say it. According to Cohen v. California, freedom of speech includes the right “to use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages.” This does not mean people should use offensive, rude or hateful language, but it does mean that it is usually allowed under the U.S. Constitution. After all, not everyone is offended by the same things and it is not the government’s right to determine what is and what is not offensive. Censoring what the American people can and cannot say would be a major abuse of power and lead to a very slippery slope. College is a place where we are supposed to meet people from different walks of life and expose ourselves to new ideas and beliefs. We should not be living in echo chambers. How can we make progress, unite the country and even grow as individuals if we only listen to those we already agree with?
