The College Fix

UPDATED

Some students have not reacted well to the news that Ben Shapiro will be speaking at Baylor University later this semester.

There has been a wide range of reactions from students at the Waco, Texas-based Christian university, from anger to disgust to outrage.

On Twitter, for example, students have expressed everything from outrage over the university approving his lecture to a claim Shapiro sickens the soul.

“SERIOUSLY @BAYLOR???? You’re seriously not going to change your policy OR respond to @baylor_gay charter but you’re approving effing Ben Shapiro to come on campus????” one student tweeted.

SERIOUSLY @BAYLOR???? You’re seriously not going to change your policy OR respond to @baylor_gay charter but you’re approving effing Ben Shapiro to come on campus???? pic.twitter.com/2pFKMDktsf

— paige (survivor commentary, etc) brown (@turnthepaigeh) September 5, 2019

“Watching ‘Ben Shapiro Destroys College Snowflake’ videos so I can do some writing on him before he comes to Baylor and my soul hasn’t felt this sick since I tried to get through Jordan Peterson’s Bible lectures,” tweeted another.

Watching “Ben Shapiro Destroys College Snowflake” videos so I can do some writing on him before he comes to Baylor and my soul hasn’t felt this sick since I tried to get through Jordan Peterson’s Bible lectures.

— Jake 🌊🐢 (@waveturtlejake) September 18, 2019

Other students called for various forms of protest, with one going so far as to suggest burning down the school.

Other students displayed general despair over the upcoming speech.

“ben shapiro is coming to baylor and i literally cannot believe i am giving these people so much money in tuition,” tweeted one student.

ben shapiro is coming to baylor and i literally cannot believe i am giving these people so much money in tuition

— danni 🔥 karlach enjoyer (@danniwulf) September 5, 2019

“Baylor: we are working on having more open discussions and providing a safe environment for our LGBTQ students. Also Baylor: I think Ben Shapiro would be great,” tweeted another.

Baylor: we are working on having more open discussions and providing a safe environment for our LGBTQ students
Also Baylor: I think Ben Shapiro would be great https://t.co/6RH5Zj3KYM

— Dani 🌵 (@yamyam27_may) September 6, 2019

There were also several frustrated reactions on Baylor’s subReddit.

“Nothing about Shapiro aligns with Baylor mission statement of being a caring community,” according to one poster.

A few commenters also suggested Baylor is hypocritical for allowing Shapiro to come to a Christian university, with one writing “Baylor routinely props up bigoted and hateful rhetoric.”

When asked about the controversy, Baylor YAF member Maddie Bush said that the threats are “ridiculous” and that “it’s sad that people on our campus can’t find a way to agree to disagree or come to terms with people having different opinions.”

In response to a request for comment, Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman told The College Fix: “There’s not any change in the status of the student-hosted event.”

Shapiro’s lecture, scheduled for Nov. 21, will be hosted by Baylor Young Americans for Freedom as a part of YAF’s Fred Allen Lecture Series. (The reporter of this article is chair of Baylor YAF).

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Baylor. 

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