Global Courant 2023-05-21 13:30:53
The president of a Christian college attributed his college’s high enrollment to its commitment to free speech, but the school initially blocked conservative commentator Ben Shapiro from speaking on campus just a few years ago.
Founded in 1949 in Phoenix, Arizona, Grand Canyon University has tripled its enrollment over the past decade to more than 25,000 by 2022. The university president told Fox News that the university is committed to teaching — not indoctrinating — of its growing student base.
COLLEGE THAT ATTRIBUTES RISING ENROLLMENT TO FREE SPEECH HAS A CONTROLLED PAST:
SEE MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE
“By giving in to an unseen mob and ignoring Shapiro’s popularity among its students, Grand Canyon University was simply playing itself and deserves whatever negative backlash this entails,” YAF spokesman Spencer Brown said at the time. He also wrote that GCU administrators said there were concerns about it insulting his DACA students due to Shapiro’s strict views on immigration.
HOW A CHRISTIAN COLLEGE UNITES STUDENTS IN POLITICAL DISTINCTION
The university itself eventually invited Shapiro to speak as it continued its battle with YAF, but the conservative commentator initially declined. But Shapiro eventually agreed to speak on campus.