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University says conservative event doesn’t align with ‘inclusive dialogue, respectful discourse, and student safety’
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University rejected a conservative student group’s request last week to host an event with retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West, stating that it does not align with its “inclusive dialogue, respectful discourse, and student safety” priorities, according to an email exchange first published at Townhall.
The request came from the private, Florida university’s Young America’s Foundation chapter. In an email Thursday, Negar Afshar, the university’s director of student organizations and engagement, rejected the event request, according to Townhall.
“As you know, our institution prioritizes fostering an educational environment that supports inclusive dialogue, respectful discourse, and student safety,” Afshar wrote to YAF chapter Chair Matthew Finkel.
“After careful review of former Congressman West’s public record and the proposed event, we have determined that moving forward would not align with these commitments,” Afshar wrote.
West is a former Republican congressman from Florida, a Christian constitutional conservative, and a former military combat veteran.
In a statement provided to The College Fix, Finkel described the university’s actions as appalling.
“It is a shame to see freedom of speech and respectful exchanges of ideas restricted in such a biased and blatant way here in the United States,” the student leader stated. “It is disappointing that our chapter has made a clear effort to follow the due process and still be restricted in our activities with no direct reason or explanation given.”
Embry-Riddle’s media relations office did not immediately respond to an email from The Fix asking about the email exchange as well as examples of how it believes West’s views contradict its “inclusive” and “safety” goals.
The university’s rejection email came after a dispute between Afshar and Finkel about procedures for student club event requests.
In an Oct. 6 email, Afshar asked for a meeting with the YAF chapter and acknowledged receipt of its event request form, according to the report:
“We need to discuss that before anything can move forward,” Afshar wrote. “Please select a time on my calendar as soon as possible so we can reconnect and review your plans.”
Finkel responded on October 8, explaining he reviewed ERAU YAF chapter bylaws and cited multiple events YAF held — like the 9/11 Never Forget Project — that were approved through “proper SchedulER requests and approvals.”
“It was clear to me that by the rules you set in place, the speaker form, created by you last semester, was our way of advising you of our intent to host a speaker on campus in any future instances, and that by filling it out with all the requested information, we would be providing you with the information you need to approve the event or come back to us with any changes that we would need to make to host the speaker on campus,” Finkel wrote. …
Afshar responded the same day by instructing Finkel to schedule a meeting and that he would “send a full response to your email shortly.” On October 9, Finkle asked Afshar to continue the conversation over emails to “prevent any delays with approvals.”
That day, Afshar confirmed that the “speaker request is currently moving through the appropriate review process.” Afshar continued, “My request to meet with you and any available members of your executive board, as well as my response to your previous email, are separate from that process and are not delaying the review of the speaker request.”
Afshar also accused Finkel of “increasingly accusatory and adversarial” communications, adding that “it is not a sustainable approach moving forward.”
“If you would like to return to the collaborative, respectful, and transparent relationship that YAF has maintained with this office for nearly a decade, I am more than willing to continue that partnership. If not, then we will need to move forward differently,” he wrote.
In another email Thursday, Afshar denied the chapter’s event request.
“The concerns identified through our review, including the nature of his previous campus engagements and remarks, as well as the potential impacts on our campus community, inform this decision,” he wrote, adding that the university’s decision is “not intended to prevent students from engaging with differing viewpoints.”
The Florida university has a history of blocking conservative student events, The Fix reported in 2025.
In a statement Monday emailed to The Fix, Young America’s Foundation President Scott Walker accused Embry-Riddle of “targeting” conservative students.
“Students should not need administrators’ approval to express conservative beliefs or hear from a speaker who represents their views,” Walker stated. “Silencing conservative students is not inclusion. It is yet another example of discrimination conservative students face on campus.”
MORE: Conservative events repeatedly blocked at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
