College Republicans at SU recently announced that notable fast-talker and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has been invited to speak on campus in the fall of 2020. Shapiro does not provide any valuable perspective that aligns with SU’s vision or its mission statement, and the Student Administration Finance Board should not spend $39,000 for Shapiro to appear at our campus.

College Republicans has every right to invite Shapiro to campus, and he has every right to appear. But Shapiro’s use of his rights to free speech has been marred by bigotry, sophistry and demagoguery, which SU should not support with a check.

First, $39,000 is too large a sum for any public speaker. In fact, it is almost twice as much as full-time minimum wage workers in New York State make before taxes in an entire year. Surely SA could find a better use for this money. The move has already come under fire by SA presidential candidates.

Ben Shapiro is a quibbling casuist. He is a coward who employs buzzwords and logical fallacies to “win” his arguments. Though he claims to be in pursuit of an objective discussion and exchange of ideas and perspectives, Shapiro is only in pursuit of cross-examination. He talks over his debate opponents and tries to sidetrack and corner them with straw man arguments and absurd hypotheticals.

Some of Shapiro’s opinions are so outrageous that any response merely serves to justify the outlandish claim. It bewilders me how College Republicans can declare support for the #NotAgainSU movement, and then in its next breath invite Shapiro to campus. Shapiro is an avowed Islamophobe and often markets naked racism. How is College Republicans to be taken seriously in its commitment against acts of hate when it invites a fearmonger who defines himself with unapologetic hatred?

Conservatism, by definition, implies an inherent devotion to tradition and inherent skepticism — but above all, an inherent restraint. Shapiro demonstrates none of these qualities. Conservatism represents mild-mannered moderation; Shapiro represents emphatic excess. Some have chosen the phrase “radical conservative” to define Shapiro, but “radical rightest” is far more fitting. “Radical conservative” is intrinsically oxymoronic, and Shapiro’s platform is one of gross and profuse excess.

Shapiro embodies a movement in Republican politics wherein confident men define themselves as purely logical thinkers in pursuit of a higher truth through discourse Shapiro would rather “win” with an unsound argument than “lose” with a sound one. When he does find himself on the losing end of an argument, he reacts like a child. This is what makes him nothing more than an immature sophist. Shapiro, for all his education, for all his laurels, is an utterly underwhelming, fast-talking agitator.

I could forgive everything else, all of Shapiro’s artifice and sophistry, if he weren’t so predictable. What you see is what you get with Shapiro. Does anyone actually expect that he will change anyone’s perspective at SU? Does anyone actually expect that his presence will foster a dedication to the pursuit of wisdom via the exchange of perspectives? I don’t think anyone expects this — not even College Republicans.

Shapiro will not come with any intent to reach out to left-minded listeners, nor with intent to teach anything new to right-minded thinkers. College Republicans has invited Shapiro to campus in spiteful resistance to SU’s left-leaning campus culture. It stands to gain nothing but a spokesperson for its echo chamber.

Published on April 12, 2020 at 12:58 am