Republican student activists accuse University of Minnesota officials of political bias for pushing a February 26th speech by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro to a small venue on the Saint Paul campus. University Vice President Matt Kramer responds one of the group’s initial requests was for a relatively small auditorium. He adds, “We are committed and have accommodated speakers on all sides of the political spectrum that speak… at the University of Minnesota.”
Republican activists also accuse university officials of not disciplining students who disrupted their events. Kramer responds the University has a code of student conduct and, “I’m not aware of anything… that asks, what’s your political affiliation or what do you believe in?”
The dispute has the attention of several Republican lawmakers involved in decisions on state funding for the U-of-M.