The College Fix

Bias complaint asked university to intervene to stop Michael Knowles’ Young Americans for Freedom speech

A planned talk by conservative commentator Michael Knowles should have been stopped by University of Illinois officials, according to a copy of a bias report recently obtained by The College Fix.

“This should not be allowed,” the unknown reporter told the University of Illinois Campus Belonging team, referencing Knowles’ “hate-filled rhetoric around LGBTQ+ people.”

The event, a speech titled “Abortion is not Healthcare,” occurred in mid-April, but The Fix recently obtained the complaint as part of a public records request for bias team reports from the university.

“Allowing him to speak on campus creates unsafe environments for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff,” the reporter said, referencing an event hosted by Young Americans for Freedom.

Another person alluded to the Knowles’ event in a complaint to the university, saying the Daily Wire speaker has “a known history of discriminating against trans people.”

A year prior, Knowles gave a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference where he called for “transgenderism” to “be eradicated.”

The student said, “if there’s anything you can do to stop this event from happening and letting this hateful person come onto our campus, I would love to talk more about it.”

The April 16 event appeared to occur without issue, according to in-person reporting from The Daily Illini.

The Daily Wire commentator’s media team did not provide comment in the past several weeks about the situation, though a representative acknowledged receipt of the message. A spokesperson said Knowles’ schedule might make it difficult to comment.

Young America’s Foundation did not respond to emails and a text message in the past several weeks asking for comment on the bias complaint and the event.

A representative of the University of Illinois media relations team told The Fix on Nov. 26 someone would respond to the questions. No one did, nor has anyone responded to a follow-up call and email in the past two weeks.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression criticized bias teams for harming campus free speech.

“While public college students have their own First Amendment rights to complain about campus speakers, bias reporting systems harm the overall free speech climate in important ways, Alex Morey, vice president of campus advocacy, told The Fix via email.

“Many bias-reporting systems incorrectly suggest that ‘biased’ or ‘offensive’ or ‘hateful’ speech isn’t protected by the First Amendment,” she said. “Students then fail to understand that they should actually expect to hear a variety of perspectives during their college education, including perspectives that challenge or offend them.”

She said, “speech that simply offends” should not be subject to “chilling reporting and investigation protocols.” Rather, there should be “maximum tolerance for controversial protected speech and zero tolerance for genuine misconduct,” at public colleges.

MORE: UW-Madison liberals ‘physically sick’ and ‘hurt’ by Matt Walsh event

In addition to the complaints against the Knowles event, students and others submitted bias reports about a variety of incidents in the spring 2024 semester.

Regarding the Israel-Palestine conflicts, students submitted complaints about a sign on campus saying, “shut it down for Palestine,” a white board in a hallway with “from the river to the sea” written on it, trash cans spray painted with the words “Free Palestine,” and signs with the words “GLORY TO OUR MARTYRS,” on it. The complaint said this was “honoring the terrorist organization, Hamas, and its attack on October 7th, 2023.”

Two Jewish students complained about an anti-Israel event promoted by the Department of Urban Regional Planning: “Gaza: What Would MLK [Martin Luther King, Jr.] Do.”

One said a speaker, Robin D.G. Kelly “has honored a terrorist and a violent criminal. He has also spread incitement, promoted hatred of Israel and whitewashed violent protests.”

The other complaint said that this was “the third anti-Israel event this year” promoted by the Department of Urban Regional Planning. Another student submitted a complaint about a pro-Palestine event occurring “during the celebration of Passover.”

During a Palestine Solidarity encampment on May 5, 2024, eight students complained about a man with a megaphone “spewing Islamophobia” at the protesters, “telling people they will go to hell if they are Muslim, gay, trans, queen or having premarital sex.”

Two students complained that students placing an Israeli flag on the Alma Mater statue on campus “is discrimination and also a first amendment violation,” as an Indian sari had been forcibly removed from the sculpture earlier in the year.

A student complained that the University of Illinois “is ideologically biased and aligned with groups whose actions, statements, and mission are contrary to that of the university,” because the University collaborated with the Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel group.

According to the student, the ADL is “an ideologically extreme agenda-driven organization that peddles misinformation and slanders individuals protesting for the rights of Palestinians,” and “the university should sever all connections with the ADL immediately.”

A student reported on April 21, 2024, that during a “required I-Connect zoom meeting,” their “screen suddenly was disabled by the Co-Host” because of a decoration in the student’s background featuring Chief Illinwek, the mascot for the University of Illinois until 2007. The students said “this should not be allowed, as it is in direct conflict of the First Amendment.”

On April 28, a faculty member complained of a sign in the “Orange Room, Main Library (1st Floor)” with the words “Trans People Welcome, Republicans Are Not”.

A College Fix report on the university bias reports previously found a female Asian professor had told students course evaluations are racist and sexist, a directive several higher ed groups called “unprofessional.”

MORE: Just 19 Republican professors found at ASU compared to 284 Democrats

IMAGE: Michael J. Knowles/X

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