04 Culture

A conservative student group called Young America’s Foundation, or YAF, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Florida is trying to bring Colonel Allen West to campus for a speaking engagement, but the administration is playing games with paperwork.

This only happens to conservative student groups and conservative speakers in higher education. Left-wing student groups bring in radicals to speak to them all the time and there is almost never a problem.

It goes beyond bias. It’s an infringement on free speech.

Townhall reported:

Former Congressman and Retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West Was Barred From Speaking on College Campus

Left-wing extremism and censorship are major problems on college campuses, with everyone from students to professors to administrators holding to one ideology and doing everything in their power to make conservatives — and conservative ideals — unwelcome on campus. At Florida’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Florida, this extremism led to school officials blocking former Florida Congressman and retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West from speaking on campus.

Students with Young America’s Foundation (YAF) sought to host Lt. Col. West for an event promoting conservative values, and despite trying to follow the university’s procedures, members of YAF say administrators restricted the event without providing a clear explanation.

In emails shared with Townhall, Negar Afshar, the Director of Student Organizations and Engagement, communicated with Matthew Finkel, the Chairman of the Embry-Riddle chapter of YAF. The first message, from Afshar dated Tuesday, October 6, was a “friendly reminder” that YAF had agreed to meet with Afshar regularly, “as well as discussing any event or speaker ideas in advance so we can approve and renew them together.” Afshar then informed Finkle that he received a Speaker Request form.

“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.”

ANALYSIS: Democrat professors outnumber Republican colleagues 28 to 1 in Pennsylvania political science departments

Professors registered as Democrats outnumber colleagues registered as Republicans by a 28 to one ratio in political science departments across six Pennsylvania universities, a College Fix analysis found.

The analysis reviewed the political science departments at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, West Chester University, and Penn State University.

At four of the six — University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon, Temple, and West Chester — zero registered Republican professors could be found. At Penn State, one was identified. At the University of Pittsburgh, two were found.

The Fix identified the affiliation of 101 professors after reviewing 147 professors in political science departments at some of Pennsylvania’s largest universities. The Fix based its analysis on voter registration data from the counties in which the universities are located.

The breakdown was 84 Democrats, three Republicans, and 14 third-party or unaffiliated, including one socialist. The rest, 46, could not be found in the voter rolls.

By percentages, 3 percent of identified professors are registered Republicans, and 83 percent are registered Democrats.

The analysis only includes professors, not adjuncts, lecturers, emeriti, or non-teaching staff.

Percentage has doubled since 2020-21

Nearly one in five freshmen at the University of California are flunking introductory math classes amid widespread calls from faculty to reinstate standardized testing requirements for admissions.

About 18 percent of students either withdrew or received a D or F grade during the 2025-26 school year. This share has nearly doubled from 2020-21, “the last year that the SAT and ACT were required for first-year admission,” according to EdSource.

Further, UC students averaged a GPA of 2.7 in introductory math classes in 2025-26. Students averaged a 3.18 in 2020-21.

However, “Failure rates vary widely across UC’s nine undergraduate campuses, skyrocketing at some while remaining mostly flat at others,” according to EdSource.

UC Merced showed the highest failure or withdrawal rate at 36 percent, while UC Santa Barbara recorded the lowest, at just 8.2 percent.

In response to the new data, a Republican state leader told The New York Post that “California can’t grade their way out of an education crisis.”