Elizabethtown College: Conservative Student Group Denied Permission to Host Speaker Opposed to Critical Race Theory

In August 2021, Elizabethtown College’s Turning Point USA student chapter invited political commentator Joe Basrawi to speak at an event. Basrawi chose critical race theory as the topic of his talk. After TPUSA advertised the event on social media, an administrator objected to the flyer’s description of the event (“Critical Hate Theory”) and informed the group that the college needed to approve guest speakers. TPUSA then submitted the required information, but administrators denied the request on the basis that Basrawi would promote a “negative” view of critical race theory and “cause division and disorder” on campus. On October 5, FIRE wrote to Etown explaining that its viewpoint-based denial of TPUSA’s speaker request violated the college’s promises of free speech.