A Republican state lawmaker who previously defended the right to freedom of speech at Arizona’s public universities is now calling on Arizona State University to put a stop to a pro-communism event.
Rep. Austin Smith (R-Wittman) served on a legislative committee that criticized ASU for allegedly stifling conservative speech on campus. Earlier this month, Smith said that students of all political persuasions should reach out to him for support.
“My message is to any students that are out there, whether you're liberal, you’re conservative, you're independent, you’re apolitical … anyone that you feel your voice is being, you know, trampled or you feel threatened, reach out to us we will be there to back you up,” he said.
Now, Smith is calling on ASU President Michael Crow and the Arizona Board of Regents to condemn and shut down a pro-communism gathering scheduled for Jan. 21.
In a prepared statement, Smith said, “Communist organizing is not free speech.”
“ASU should prohibit the meeting from occurring on the university campus by whatever means are required,” he added.
When KJZZ reached out to Smith for comment, he cited a 1961 state law that says universities must not “attempt to persuade others to embrace communism.”
“You have failed to do the basic work of journalism … before asking the question” Smith wrote in an email. Smith went on to provide a link to the Arizona Revised Statute “in hopes you will accurately report the difference between free speech and communist organizing.”
The state law Smith referenced was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 1973.
The event at issue, scheduled for Jan. 21, is called “100 Years of Lenin.” It’s being hosted by the Socialist Revolution club at ASU, which describes itself as “dedicated to reading and discussing Marxist classics.”
An article by the club credits itself with shutting down a Turning Point USA meeting on ASU’s campus. Smith is an employee of Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of TPUSA.
Nick Brancaccio is a part of the Socialist Revolution in Phoenix. Brancaccio says that Smith’s statement gave him “a bit of a laugh,” and that his group is “not at all” interested in violence.
“We train ourselves with ideas,” Brancaccio said.
He added that the school hasn’t reached out to discourage or prevent the event from going forward as planned.
A spokesperson for ASU said via email that, “as a matter of free speech, the university neither endorses nor restricts opinions or views expressed at student group meetings, rallies or other events. The group involved is one of about 1,000 student groups at ASU.”
ASU has drawn the ire of multiple Republican lawmakers, like Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale), who chaired the Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Committee on Freedom of Expression at Arizona’s Public Universities.
“I haven't heard or seen anybody in ASU, NAU or UofA, I have never seen conservatives trying to cancel left-wing, Marxist ideology, but it always is the opposite,” Kern said at one of the hearings.
Kern said in the committee that he thinks the legislature should cut funding from ASU for allegedly preventing free speech, and he has filed a bill to do just that.
Republican lawmakers in another separate hearing criticized Arizona’s public universities for not doing enough to prevent hateful speech against Jewish students over the past four months.
