Samford University official says anti-communist statement is 'inflammatory'

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A newly released email has confirmed Yellowhammer‘s previous report that an effort to form a Young Americans for Freedom chapter was blocked — at least temporarily — at Samford University because the group’s founding document contains “inflammatory” language about communism. The New Guard released a copy of an email sent to student organizer Karalee Geis by an SU official “putting into writing” the concerns of the faculty, which specifically highlights the language in the group’s stated purpose.

A Samford University spokesman confirmed the authenticity of the email.

In the email, Samford official Shannon Ashe wrote “We [the faculty] are looking for the YAF student group to amend or justify the inflammatory language listed in their purpose. This is the direct statement from the Sharon Statement, though likely appropriate in 1960, does not hold the same in 2016. We understand that your current group and officers desire not to be exclusive by initial design, however, these statements are exactly that.”

The “Sharon Statement” referenced in Ashe’s email is the founding document of YAF and was written by conservative icon William F. Buckley. Buckley’s creed laid out the core tenants of conservatism such as the belief in the U.S. Constitution, the free market, and strong national security measures. The statement’s only explicit mention of the Marxist ideology is in the last refrain, which reads, “…That the forces of international Communism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties…[and] that the United States should stress victory over, rather than coexistence with, this menace.”

Yellowhammer sent a copy of the Sharon Statement to Samford officials requesting greater clarification as to which portions were deemed inflammatory. That request was ignored.

In response to the media firestorm, Samford President Andrew Westmoreland issued a statement last week touting his university’s commitment to free speech, and his own belief in the power of capitalism. “I defend the rights of all people, even those within what many may view as the cloistered environment of a private university, to write and to speak,” Westmoreland said. “I think we have overwhelming agreement throughout the campus that Communism is a failed system…And I can’t help adding that I am a thoroughgoing Capitalist.”

The University has repeatedly emphasized that YAF will have the opportunity to reapply as a student organization in the spring semester.