Ex-Breitbart editor Shapiro will speak at OSU club’s event
An Ohio State University student group is hosting conservative speaker Ben Shapiro on campus tonight.
The former Breitbart editor, whose appearances at some other campuses have brought protesters, is scheduled to speak to a sold-out crowd at 7 tonight at the Ohio Union.
Shapiro was invited to speak at Ohio State by student organization Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative group that advocates for limited government, individual freedoms, free enterprise and freedom of speech, among other issues.
Bringing Shapiro to campus was a goal of the group since it formed two years ago, said Nick Bellopatrick, director of publications for the student organization.
“He’s one of the more prominent speakers on the political scene right now,” said Bellopatrick, a senior political science major. “We just want people to see a perspective that is not commonly found on college campuses.”
The event will feature remarks from Shapiro, followed by time for audience questions, Bellopatrick said.
Shapiro’s previous events on other campuses have drawn protests, including a September 2017 appearance at the University of California, Berkeley. The event drew hundreds of protesters and cost the university $600,000 for security. Even amid protests, most of his campus events have remained peaceful.
Ohio State’s Young Americans for Freedom group has seen some of its event posters taken down and replaced with posters opposed to Shapiro’s visit, said Elle Lamb, president of the group. But she hopes that those who disagree with Shapiro’s remarks take the opportunity to hear viewpoints different than their own.
“We’ve definitely had some people who are not excited that he’s coming,” said Lamb, a junior marketing major from Chillicothe. “They can protest all they want, but I hope that they come inside and they ask him their questions.”
In September 2017, Ohio State denied an event request that sought to bring white nationalist Richard Spencer to campus. The denial came after the university determined it could not accommodate the request because of substantial safety risks. Spencer sued the school, but the lawsuit was eventually dropped.
Spencer, a key figure in the white nationalist movement, had been an organizer of the August 2017 rally at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville that ended in violence and the death of a counter-protester. An argument outside an October 2017 Spencer appearance at the University of Florida ended in gunfire, though no one was injured.
While there will be extra security for the Shapiro event, Ohio State does not expect the substantial safety risks that it did for Spencer’s requested appearance last year, university spokesman Ben Johnson said.
“For the Ben Shapiro event, the student organization has been following the standard process for hosting an event, and the university does not anticipate a substantial risk to public safety or broad disruption of the university’s business,” Johnson said in an emailed statement.
Security costs for inside the event venue are about $4,800, including the cost of metal detectors required by Shapiro’s team, Johnson said.
While tickets are no longer available, there will be a standby line at the event for those without tickets who still hope to attend. If any ticket holders have not arrived by 6:50 p.m., their spots will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis to those on standby.