University deliberating on whether to fund security for Horowitz speech
A conflict with charges for security at a presentation by David Horowitz had the event's status up in the air Monday.
But Horowitz still is scheduled to visit campus Tuesday, though the university is reviewing whether Campus Conservatives will have to pay for security.
Campus Conservatives spokesman Dennis Lennox II contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education last week after discovering Campus Conservatives was being charged for having security at Horowitz's presentation. Lennox said students should not have to pay to ensure their safety at a controversial event.
The FIRE responded by e-mailing University President Michael Rao on Friday, alleging that the university's decision to charge Campus Conservatives for security is unconstitutional.
". Any requirement that student organizations hosting controversial events pay for extra security is clearly unconstitutional, as it affixes a price tag to events based on their expressive content," said Greg Lukianoff, president of FIRE, in the e-mail.
Rao responded Monday to the e-mail, stating CMU will provide two police officers for Horowitz's presentation.
Rao said the university will review its past practices for charging sponsoring organizations in similar situations, and make a decision accordingly on whether to charge Campus Conservatives.
The group has already been invoiced $220 to provide security for the event.
Campus Conservatives had yet to receive formal notification of Rao's decision late Monday afternoon, but decided still to go ahead with the event, Lennox said.
"We have a working relationship with FIRE and trust that the information they have relayed to us (about Rao's e-mail) is accurate," Lennox said, indicating a hope the university would come through and pay.
He said Campus Conservatives would still pursue legal action against the university if the group is charged for event security on Tuesday.
"We firmly believe students should not have to pay for their safety at an event," Lennox said. "We're students; we don't have hundreds of dollars just lying around to pay for police and security guards."
Adam Kissel, director of the individual rights defense program at FIRE, said CMU has had a pattern of not giving Campus Conservatives the same rights other student groups enjoy, although the university has always retracted their practices after receiving letters from the organization, he said.
"(CMU) has a Constitutional obligation to not charge Campus Conservatives for any necessary security. It is reasonable to suggest David Horowitz needs two security officers," Kissel said.
