Ben Shapiro, the controversial conservative political commentator and creator of The Daily Wire, a right-wing media outlet, is set to speak at Cornell on Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. in Bailey Hall.
The event, marketed by the Cornell Republicans and sponsored by Young America’s Foundation — a national youth conservative group that hosts speaker events around the country — is part of a national campus tour where Shapiro will speak to students on a range of contemporary issues.
Shapiro’s other stops include Yale, Vanderbilt and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Spencer Brown, the chief communications officer at YAF, released a statement saying that the tour would “break the left’s monopoly on ideas” at college campuses and bring “intellectual diversity.”
“YAF is thrilled to continue its years-long partnership with Ben Shapiro and looks forward to ensuring students on these campuses finally have the chance to hear conservative ideas,” Brown said. The YAF statement did not say what specific subjects Shapiro’s talk will address.
The announcement that Shapiro will speak at Cornell comes during a period of campus-wide tension over Israel’s war in Gaza, as pro-Palestinian activists continue to rally for the University to divest from weapons manufacturers. The first event on the college tour is set to occur at Yale on Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel.
In the same statement, Brown explained that YAF, which is the sole organizer of Shapiro’s campus lectures, has enabled him to be “heard by students at more than 60 schools nationwide.”
According to the YAF website, the event will feature a speech from Shapiro and then a subsequent Q&A and discussion with audience members.
Shapiro’s event at Cornell comes just a year after YAF hosted Michael Knowles, a conservative political commentator and host on The Daily Wire, on campus. The event saw more than 260 Cornellians in attendance and was met with protests from students.
During this protest, Cornell Progressives held a “Vigil for Trans Lives,” which 60 students participated in. The counterprotest was in opposition to remarks Knowles had made disparaging the transgender community.
Shapiro’s visit to Cornell also follows controversial conservative media personality Ann Coulter’s ’84 talk last April, where Prof. Monica Cornejo was arrested after disrupting Coulter. In 2022, Coulter was heckled offstage by Cornell students during a similar event.
Cornell Media Relations did not immediately respond to a request to comment about the measures that the University will put in place to secure the event and address potential disruptions.