Northwestern University: Student Government Freezes College Republicans Funding

On May 2, 2023, the Northwestern University College Republicans hosted political commentator James Lindsay on campus. The day after, Northwestern’s student government voted to freeze funding for the group, including funding needed to pay for the security for the event, in reaction to flyers promoting Lindsay’s appearance, which the student government claimed violated Northwestern’s policy prohibiting discrimination and harassment. On May 11, FIRE wrote the student government explaining it could not cut off the College Republicans’ funding because of the flyers, which even if the student government found them offensive, constitute protected speech. We also called on the university’s administration to step in to restore the funding if necessary. On May 24, the student government told the College Republicans that Northwestern had declined to investigate the flyers, and that the group’s funding had been restored.