IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 4, 2010 CONTACT: Jordan@yaf.com; 202-596-7923
Florida Atlantic University Officals Shut Down and Harass YAF Campus Organizers for Discussing Liberal Bias on Campus
Boca Raton, FL - On Wednesday March 3, 2010 at around 5:20pm Florida Atlantic University (FAU) campus officials shut down and called campus police on four students and an alumnus of FAU to stop an informational meeting about starting a conservative organization on campus
James Schackleford saw a need for a conservative club on campus and decided to start a Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter. Shackelford hosted and informational meeting with FAU alum and Florida YAF State Director Daniel P. Diaz discuss future activities of YAF on campus as well as around the state. While Diaz was speaking at the informational meeting David Blank, a university administrator, asked the group to leave the room. Diaz asked Blank for fifteen minutes to finish speaking and Blank politely agreed to allow the group to finish its meeting. Upon hearing Diaz addressing the liberal bias on the FAU campus Blank stopped the meeting again and boorishly ordered the students to vacate the meeting room; shut off the room lights, tore down the group’s promotional posters, and called the campus police.
Ben Buck, an FAU student at the meeting said “We were sitting in a peaceful meeting, just discussing a new organization, when we were approached by an administrator asking us to leave based on the content of our discussion regardless of previous verbal permission to talk on public property.”
While the FAU students and Diaz were leaving campus FAU police detained and interrogated the group. Shackelford and Diaz were ordered to drop their meeting materials and to present identification. Diaz asked if they had broken any laws the officer said “we are investigating a possible trespassing charge and that is why we need to see your identification.”
Officer Lieutenant Irving of FAU police, the third officer to arrive on the scene, upon Diaz’s request allowed Diaz to leave and had an officer follow Diaz to his car. As Diaz was leaving Lieutenant Irving commented to a fellow officer [referring to Diaz] “…that guy probably has tea bags hanging out the back of his car.”
Diaz said, “If we were a Marxist, Socialist or Liberal group they would have let us finish our meeting, but the university officials and police harassed us because we are conservatives.” Diaz added, “This was the exact liberal bias on campus that I was discussing in the meeting that these future YAFers experienced firsthand. The university is no longer a place of open discussion and freedom of expression, but a breeding ground of intolerance for conservative beliefs.”
YAF is the nation’s oldest and most recognized conservative / libertarian youth activist organization. Founded on September 11, 1960, in Sharon, Connecticut at the home of William F. Buckley, Jr., YAF is a non-profit organization engaged in advocating public policies and activism consistent with The Sharon Statement. For more information call YAF’s national headquarters at 202-596-7923 or our visit our website at www.yaf.com.
Florida Contact:
Daniel P. Diaz, State Director, Florida YAF
Phone: 954-834-3429
E-mail danielpdiaz@rmcpacfl.com
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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2010
(Boca Raton, FL) On Wednesday March 3, 2010 at around 5:20pm four students and an alumnus from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) were shut down and had campus police called on them for having an informational meeting about starting a Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter on campus, a conservative organization.
James Schackleford, a student at FAU has been the lead organizer of a weeklong recruitment event for YAF. James saw a need for a conservative club on campus and decided to create a YAF Chapter. After two days of tabling Shackleford decided to hold an informational meeting informing students about what YAF stood for and what they plan on doing on campus and around the state.
Shackleford reached out to an FAU alum to help him recruit members for the organization. The alum is also a member of YAF and offered to speak about the organization at the informational meeting.
While speaking about the organization David Blank, a university administrator, approached the alum and the group of students and asked them to leave. The alum asked if he could have just ten to fifteen minutes to finish speaking and promised that everyone would leave once he concluded. Mr. Blank agreed and allowed the group to continue, but after hearing what the alum had to say about liberal bias on campus Mr. Blank, in a rude manner, immediately asked everyone to leave and promptly began shutting off the lights and called the campus police.
William Guardia was one of the students present during the confrontation with Mr. Blank “We were forced out [of] a room that we were just organizing in, the lights were turned off…in an angry fashion and I feel as a student I have a right to [organize]…I felt violated”
Ben Buck, another student who was present had this to say about the confrontation “We were sitting in [a] peaceful meeting, just discussing a new organization, when we were approached by an administrator asking us to leave regardless of previous verbal permission to talk on public property”.
The students went into the lobby to pack their things, and while packing their promotional information Mr. Blank began ripping the group’s posters off the wall, the door, and the table that the alum personally purchased specifically for tabling and recruiting students for the organization.
While the students were leaving with their materials they were confronted by the police and were told to drop their belongings because they needed to question them. The first officer on scene demanded that the alum and the student organizer James Shackleford present their identification. When asked if they had broken any laws the officer said “we are investigating a possible trespassing charge and that is why we need to see your identification.”
After being questioned by the campus police, the alum asked if he could take the groups materials to his car. Officer Lieutenant Irving of FAU police, who was the third officer to the scene, said that the alum wasn’t being detained and could go freely about his way, but he was being followed to his car by a fourth officer while being questioned so that an “FI” report could be completed.
While the alum was outside, Officer Lieutenant Irving of the FAU Police made a politically biased comment about the alum saying “…that guy probably has tea bags hanging out the back of his car.” Officer Irving was clearly making a statement about the alums political ideology.
After the confrontation was over, the students and alum met outside of the building to discuss what had just happened to them. They were all in shock and absolutely amazed at what had just occurred. They couldn’t believe how liberally biased the administration and campus police were.
“If we were a Marxist, Socialist or Liberal group they would have let us finish our meeting, but they didn’t because we are conservatives and can’t tolerate what we stand for” said the alum who was helping the students organize on campus.
James Shackleford, the student organizer of the group was the most disturbed by the confrontation. He shared with the group that he was “scared” and that he felt that he was being “harassed” by Mr. Blank and the officers that arrived on the scene.
Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a political group that was founded in 1960. YAF continues to be active as a national organization with chapters throughout the United States. Since its founding, YAF continuously identified itself as “conservative”. The founders were among those who helped to define the modern meaning of this term in American politics. The Sharon Statement is the founding statement of principles of the Young Americans for Freedom.
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Contacts:
Name: Daniel P. Diaz Name: James Shacklford
Phone: 954-834-3429 Phone: 561-601-3157
Email: danielpdiaz@rmcpacfl.com Email: jshacke2@fau.edu
By Jack Funari
