The liberal version of free speech on campus

Posted on Fri, May. 02, 2003

University of Miami blocks conservatives
Students say club application rejected
By Erik Schelzig
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CORAL GABLES -Four University of Miami conservatives say the student government is blocking them from starting a club and say the college's president, former Clinton Cabinet member Donna Shalala, has refused to intervene.

The students say they were told by student leaders that since the university already has a College Republicans chapter, there was no need for another conservative group. Shalala, who was Clinton's Health and Human Services secretary, has ignored a letter asking for help, the four women and their supporters say.

They call the decision discriminatory, because along with a Democratic club, the school has several groups that they say represent liberal beliefs and causes, such as Amnesty International and Students for a Free Tibet.