Conservative student leader and her org targeted in free-speech case at North Carolina college

A conservative student and the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter she leads at North Carolina’s Davidson College are under investigation by the school over a pro-Israel pamphlet.

The college alleges the “Code of Responsibility” was violated by the pamphlet, as well as a post on the YAF’s Instagram account questioning the gender of an Olympic boxer.

In late February, Davidson student Cynthia Huang, president of the college’s YAF chapter, received a letter from Mak Tompkins, Davidson’s director of Student Rights and Responsibilities, informing her that the school had received “several complaints” that YAF members had distributed a pamphlet on or near campus, entitled “The Five Myths About Israel Perpetrated by the Pro-Hamas Left.”

The letter also charged that YAF “publicly shared a post from ‘Libs of TikTok’ on its Instagram account speculating the sex/gender identity of Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, which allegedly includes misinformation that promotes transphobia.”

According to Tompkins, individuals at Davidson had complained of “feeling threatened and unsafe on campus as a result of the alleged actions.”

Tompkins went on to warn that the complaints against Huang and YAF centered on allegations that they had supposedly violated the college’s “Code of Responsibility” concerning harassment – policies Davidson defines, in part, as “any conduct” which interferes with “a student’s work or educational opportunity” or “creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or educational environment.” 

In conclusion, Tompkins wrote that Huang and Davidson’s YAF chapter had until March 5 to either accept responsibility for the alleged infractions and submit to an “accountability plan” set up by the school, or face a “Code of Responsibility Council Hearing” composed of a Davidson faculty or staff member, along with three Davidson students, tasked with deciding the case and, in case of guilt, devising an “accountability plan” for Huang and the YAF chapter. 

“Neither of these options are tenable,” wrote Huang recently in an op-ed on YAF’s national website. “The first would be falsely admitting wrongdoing while the latter would likely involve presenting my case in the school’s kangaroo court to the very individuals who made the complaint – or, at the very least, biased persons who support them.” 

In the op-ed, Huang argued that the YAF’s distribution of the pro-Israel pamphlet, as well as its targeted social media post, “were simply an exercise of First Amendment freedom. I had not forced any student to read the contents of the pamphlet nor click on our Instagram account. It is thus not only illogical but completely false to define our actions as harassment.” 

Huang pointed out that as Americans “we possess the God-given freedom of speech that is not contingent upon whether others disagree or are offended by our speech.” However, she added, “Davidson’s commitment to free speech, as I have now repeatedly seen first-hand, only applies to those with whom the college agrees. For example, when I published an opinion piece expressing my pro-life values during the fall semester and received death threats from my fellow classmates, Davidson College took no action.” 

When Huang mentioned the harassments and threats against her to Tomkins during their meeting about YAF’s alleged violations, “she expressed that she was aware of them,” Huang recalled. “Although she communicated that she was sympathetic and would be willing to speak with me about my concerns, it seems odd to me that she knew of my circumstances and made no effort to intervene. Instead, she seemed to be more concerned about students who felt ‘threatened and unsafe’ by literature that did not target any individuals, but simply contained facts.” 

In response to Davidson’s allegations, the free speech advocacy group FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) has stepped forward to defend the First Amendment guarantees of Huang and the student members of YAF.  

In a letter to Davidson College President Douglas Hicks, FIRE attorney Jessie Appleby wrote that her group “is concerned by Davidson College’s pursuit of disciplinary sanctions against the Young Americans for Freedom student group for its distribution of political pamphlets on campus and its social media commentary. By charging YAF with violating Davidson’s harassment policy based on protected expression, Davidson violates its own laudable commitment to expressive freedom. We urge Davidson to immediately drop the charges.”