Davidson College wants a struggle session for YAF (03-07-2025--Hour2)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] News Talk 1110-993-WBT, our number two underway. Thanks a lot for hanging out. I do appreciate it. There are few things that I love me more than a struggle session on college campuses. And so I was very interested to hear that Davidson College is interested in doing a struggle session, apparently, for some students, part of the Young Americans for Freedom group.

[00:00:52] I want to welcome to the program, Jesse Appleby, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also known as FIRE. Welcome, Jesse. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing all right. So first, tell us, what is FIRE? What is the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression?

[00:01:12] Yes. We are a nonprofit, and we originally started on college campuses defending free speech and other individual rights. And then in the past couple years, we have expanded to defend free speech off campus as well. So this latest example of some of the work that you guys are interested in is at Davidson College here in Mecklenburg County.

[00:01:41] And the Young Americans for Freedom, it's a student group, right? I guess it's a, is it a campus group? Are they on campus? Yes. There's a national organization, and then there are chapters at many schools across the country. Yeah. And so, all right, what did, what did they do to get Davidson College to threaten what I am referring to as a struggle session for the students? What did they do?

[00:02:10] Well, technically, they didn't do anything wrong. But what happened is, last October, they tried to hand out pamphlets on campus titled, The Five Myths About Israel Perpetrated by the Pro-Hamas Left. And then they also shared an Instagram post commenting on sex, gender identity, and participation in women's sports.

[00:02:39] Davidson received student complaints about these two instances and have now charged the group with harassment for what they thought was misinformation promoting Islamophobia and transphobia. It's interesting. So the school is concerned about misinformation. They, you may want to, I don't know, like, are you working on this case yourself?

[00:03:09] Because you may want to relay to them that the Greeks on campus are not actually, like, Greek organizations. They're just, like, letters. Also, that the subway shop they got there, that's not an underground train. So they may not be aware of that misinformation, that they may be participating in themselves. But what exactly, do we have any examples that they provided, that the school, like, provided to say, like,

[00:03:36] this is the misinformation that you're handing out and, like, spell it out for us? No, they actually did not provide examples. And I'm not clear after reading the pamphlet what is exactly misinformation in it. It's clearly about an issue that many people will disagree with. Mm-hmm.

[00:04:06] But I'm not clear what they are considering misinformation. Yeah, I mean, the title alone, the five myths about Israel perpetrated by the pro-Hamas left, I know a lot of the lefties do not like that framing, that they are called pro-Hamas, because they'll try to say, oh, no, I'm just pro-Palestinian. I'm not pro-Hamas, right? So I guess that, but I don't, but they didn't give any examples.

[00:04:31] I read through the Davidson College letter that they sent to the president of the Young Americans for Freedom chapter, and they didn't provide her any specifics, which I think kind of makes it a little difficult if you are, you know, if you're going to try to defend yourself from this kind of an accusation, no? It does make it difficult to defend yourself.

[00:04:52] Although I should mention, even if there is a mistake or a factual inaccuracy in the pamphlet, that does not render it unprotected. It is still protected political advocacy, and YAF has every right to share that advocacy on campus. So it seems like that's just the fig leaf, right?

[00:05:20] This idea that it's misinformation that promotes whatever phobia that is, you know, in vogue to accuse people of. What really, I think, is the core of the issue is that some students reported, and maybe some faculty, I don't know, reported feeling threatened and unsafe on campus as a result of these alleged actions,

[00:05:45] which I always find to be hilarious because, you know, you're on the campus at Davidson College. Like, who do you think is going to be attacking you because you're pro-Hamas or Palestinian or you are pro-LGBT? Like, that's not—those are not the people that get harassed or attacked or have to worry about their personal safety.

[00:06:08] Right. And it's the reason we have high standards for true threats and harassment is precisely because we don't want random complaints of, I feel unsafe or I feel threatened, to shut down a whole swath of speech that should be greatly protected as just normal political advocacy.

[00:06:38] Yeah, because if you can shut down young Americans for freedom, well, they can file the same sort of complaint against their political opponents. And now, at this supposed institute of higher learning, now you have no discussion of any issues. Exactly. And both of these issues are pretty salient political issues that have been in the media quite a bit,

[00:07:04] have been discussed both on and off campus for the past year. It would be a bit odd if some of the hottest political issues of the day couldn't be discussed on a college campus in the United States. Yeah, if ever there is a place for that, right? Exactly. One would think it would be there.

[00:07:30] Let me ask you about this second part of their letter where they say, in order to resolve the alleged violation of the Code of Responsibility, your organization has several options. And by several, they mean two. And both of them basically arrive at the same conclusion, which is some sort of an accountability plan, which sounds to me like a struggle session. So what is your understanding of what an accountability plan is?

[00:08:01] Basically, our understanding based on Davidson's policy is just that that would be the punishment or sanctions imposed on the group. So if the group chose the first option and took responsibility, then an administrator at Davidson would decide on the sanctions and impose them on the group. If the group decided to go forward with a hearing,

[00:08:28] it would be before the Council or the Code of Responsibility Council. And if that Council found the group responsible for harassment, the Council would decide on the specific sanctions imposed. So it's really just a euphemism for punishment. Right. Okay. So either you plead guilty and we punish you, or you plead not guilty, we hold a hearing, and then we punish you.

[00:08:58] That's what it sounds like. So where does it stand and where is it headed? As of now, it's in limbo. We are sending a letter to the school today asking it to drop the charges against the students. We think under its free expression policy,

[00:09:24] these charges, this investigation never should have taken place. So we take the charges. All right. And if people want to help real quick, how can they do so? To fire as well. Oh, your cell phone is breaking up, Jessie. Are you still there? Oh, yes. Okay. Sorry about that. No, that's all right. We will have more information on FIRE's website,

[00:09:54] or you can also reach out to the school yourself and tell them that you object to what they're doing here, going after this group for clearly protected political advocacy. Yeah. Jessie Appleby, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, also known as FIRE. And you can follow them on Twitter at thefireorg, O-R-G. And Jessie, thanks so much for the work you're doing, and thanks for making time for us. I appreciate it. Thanks. All right.

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[00:11:48] for handing out a pamphlet in October. So if I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's possible that the timing of this pamphlet, which is called The Five Myths About Israel Perpetrated by the pro-Hamas left, I'm thinking that handing the pamphlet out in October might, might have had something to do with

[00:12:18] the October 7th massacre by Hamas and other affiliated jihadist groups and Palestinian civilians on the Israeli people and anybody else that happened to get in their way like the poor Thai people, right? And Americans and, you know, really anybody that they just happened to bond while they were just, you know, rampaging through Israel. So I suspect it might have been tied to that.

[00:12:45] Now, the Five Myths pamphlet is authored by Robert Spencer. And at the Young Americans for Freedom Foundation here on the website, this is a free pamphlet. And they list here, it says, according to a recent poll,

[00:13:12] 73% of Jewish students have experienced or witnessed anti-Semitism. It's so bad that Jewish students are rightly suing Harvard for the rampant anti-Semitism on campus. Did you see what happened at Barnard College the other day? A bunch of pro-Hamas, or if you would prefer, Hamas holes. I can call you that instead. You know, I'm not pro-Hamas, but...

[00:13:41] Justification for supporting Hamas. But I will call you Hamas holes if you prefer. Actually, even if you don't prefer, I'm going to call you that. So these kids, they dress themselves like terrorists, like Palestinian jihadists, and they stormed the library. And they came in through a back door, and they videotaped themselves doing this. And they all rush in through a back door,

[00:14:10] climb up the stairs. They got, you know, hoodies on. They got their masks on. Some of them are wearing the LARPers costume there of the kathia, you know, that scarf. And they take over the library lobby area, the ground floor. And there are, like, tons of students hanging out, studying, being students, you know? And the next thing, you get this massive demonstration.

[00:14:37] They just take over the area, and they start banging the drums, and they're on the bullhorn screaming their slogans and stuff and singing songs badly. And the administration can't get them to move. They're like, can you please move? I'm asking you to move. Like, this is what's been going on for now, what, three years? Has it been three years? Two years? Two years.

[00:15:09] Wait a minute. No, it was October 7th, 2023. So it's been over a year. Right. So we are now, we're into the second year. Sorry. Since October 7th. Hostages still being held. Right? In Gaza. Terrorist attacks still being carried out. In Israel. By jihadists. And so this pamphlet, The Five Myths, written by best-selling author and Young Americans for Freedom speaker, Robert Spencer,

[00:15:38] It's a free e-book. And it says, It offers a rich historical breakdown of hatred against Israelis while exposing five myths that the pro-Hamas left continue to push about Israel. Including, they only gave us three here. I mean, these are promotional material, so they don't want to give away the whole thing. Right? It's like a movie trailer. So, here are the three of the five. Myths. Israel is occupying Palestinian land.

[00:16:08] Myth. Myth. Israel is really an apartheid state. Quote-unquote. Myth. Palestinian leaders are willing to negotiate in good faith. Okay? And so by handing out this pamphlet, which is simply, I would argue, is simply pushing back at misinformation. Right? At a propaganda war that is being waged. Globally. By the left and their allies

[00:16:38] in the jihadist movements. They are advancing lies in order to win the propaganda war because they cannot win militarily. They cannot win militarily as evidenced by the fact that they slaughter innocent civilians. That's who they target. They go after civilians. That's terrorism. That is literally the definition of it. It is to target civilian populations in order to affect some sort of a

[00:17:08] policy shift at their governing levels. That's what they have been doing. They've been doing it for a very, very, very long time. So, you're telling me that if I were to distribute an anti-Israel pamphlet, that would be okay. But if I do an anti-Hamas one, that's not okay. That's what Davidson College here in Mecklenburg County, that's what they're doing. They're going to punish this organization for handing out this pamphlet. And the punishment

[00:17:37] will be some form of a struggle session. Right? Publicly denounce what you've done. Which, by the way, will earn you nothing. It'll earn you nothing. News Talk 1110-993-WBT-704-570-1110. Email is Pete at thepetecalendershow.com. Talking about Davidson College's attempt to punish the president

[00:18:06] of the college chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, accusing her of harassment. The dean of students sent a four-page letter. They apparently did have some kind of a meeting. It's referenced in the letter here on Wednesday, February 26th. During our meeting, I, one, discussed the pertinent information from the report, two, gave you an opportunity to respond to the report,

[00:18:36] three, collected additional information to help determine the best way to resolve the issue through Davidson's student accountability process, and four, provided you with support resources. In other words, here's the code of conduct. This is what you did wrong. You made people feel unsafe. This is the RVO portion of DARVO, which is a form of psychological abuse. It's how narcissists,

[00:19:06] sociopaths, how they reverse victim and defender, RVO, reverse victim and defender. If you are going to tell me that what I have been witnessing, which is the deed, the denial, right, in DARVO, if you're going to tell me that what I've been witnessing on college campuses and throughout the society, this rise of anti-Semitism, right, and Jews are the canary in the coal mine on this sort of stuff,

[00:19:36] the rise of anti-Semitism, the harassing, the abuse, the discrimination, the threatening behavior, and the insults and stuff that have been directed towards Jewish kids on campuses, you're going to deny that that's been occurring, and then you're going to reverse victim and offender here and say that passing out a pamphlet, I don't even think she was, like, I haven't seen any, uh,

[00:20:06] any write-up as to what exactly about the pamphlet was cited or whether the student in question here, whether she said stuff while handing out the pamphlet, it doesn't seem so, it just says that you distributed a pamphlet which allegedly includes misinformation that promotes Islamophobia,

[00:20:36] allegedly includes, who's, who's doing the alleged, right, who's doing that? Is that some other student that disagrees politically? They're a Hamas holei, and so they're like, we love Hamas, sorry, the Palestinian people, and so, I don't want that pamphlet being handed out because I don't agree with it, and so I'm going to accuse you of making me feel unsafe? Have, again, have you been witnessing the rise of anti-Semitism? It is the largest group

[00:21:06] of hate crimes by data collection in America, annually. The hate crimes against Jews, always. So, you're going to tell me that the misinformation promotes Islamophobia. Is there any misinformation promoting anti-Semitism, too, or no, or what? So, you're allowed to beat the drums and walk around like face masked up

[00:21:35] and scarf wearing and, you know, river to the sea chants and all of that. That doesn't make anybody feel unsafe in the immediate aftermath of October 7th as the bodies were still warm from the slaughter and people were saying, what did you think decolonization meant? Which, by the way, just as an aside, I will point out yet again that the Muslim world is one of the most,

[00:22:04] if not the most, prolific colonizing philosophies ever on this planet. Like, they have conquered, they came out of the, you know, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Peninsula, right? And spread all the way to the far reaches of Spain and Portugal, right? I mean, like, all the way through, they have, in rapid fashion. So, that's not colonization? Of course it is.

[00:22:34] Of course they did. Jews have been on that land, if you want to talk historical roots, what, a thousand, fifteen hundred years before the birth of Christ? Something like that? I mean, and there's evidence to this. Now, I know, I know a lot of the colonizing societies that, you know, came out of the Arabian Peninsula. I know they like to, you know, destroy all of the artifacts of any previous civilization and that sort of thing, but we do have artifacts of the Jewish presence in that land. It's called Judea

[00:23:04] for a reason. And the people are called Jews because they came from that area. It's very simple. Anyway, this is where you're supposed to have these conversations is on a campus, is at college, which is where ideas are discussed, arguments are made, research is conducted. Shutting down a group that is talking about a topic that is not only in the news but also has like this long history, right?

[00:23:33] These questions of good and evil, wrong and right, colonizer, oppressed, like all of these types of questions should be hashed out in precisely that venue. The idea that you would bring somebody in there for handing out a pamphlet. Oh, and also she made a post. She shared a post from Libs of TikTok. That's it. She shared a social media post

[00:24:03] by the account Libs of TikTok, which I will remind you, the Libs of TikTok account simply takes videos of leftists and reposts them. That's what it does. Libs of TikTok. Liberals of TikTok. It just says, hey, look at what this person said. And that creates a lack of safety on campus.

[00:24:31] You are not unsafe because somebody disagrees with you. Okay? And the sooner colleges start teaching their students, their infantilized students, that concept. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources. Why? Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with Ground News. It's an app

[00:25:00] and it's a website and it combines news from around the world in one place so you can compare their coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check.ground.news slash Pete. I put the link in the podcast description too. I started using Ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The Blind Spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself.

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[00:26:00] more details as we get closer in the next hour. One of the things that the president of the Young Americans for Freedom Davidson College chapter president got in trouble for by the college was because she shared a post from the libs of TikTok on Instagram speculating the sex slash gender identity of

[00:26:30] Emane Khalif I think it's how that's pronounced the Algerian boxer which allegedly includes misinformation that promotes transphobia. right this was the boxer that nobody could tell what their gender is what their sex is and they went in there and whipped up on all the women won a bunch of medals at the Olympics outrage ensued right

[00:26:59] and so because this student at Davidson published or reposted on Instagram something from libs of TikTok that got her in trouble with the Davidson College Dean of Students and now she's facing some sort of punishment oh by the way because it made it made it made somebody not sure who classmate teacher don't know right made somebody feel threatened and

[00:27:28] unsafe like we should not be governed our rights should not be determined by the most emotionally fragile people in the society okay that should not be a standard we strive for to allow to allow our behavior to be dictated by people that perceive violence and threats based on simple disagreement or difference

[00:27:58] of opinion it's not healthy and this is really going to send you over the moon the journal of sexual medicine February 25th 2025 brand new study just released titled examining gender specific mental health risks after gender affirming surgery okay so and they use all of the words right they frame it all as gender affirming

[00:28:28] and all like all of the words that the activists and leftists have dictated to us so this is not some sort of right wing publication okay this is based on a national database study this report the aim was to evaluate mental health outcomes in transgender individuals with gender dysphoria who have undergone gender affirming surgery

[00:28:57] and then they break it up based on gender and the time since their surgeries the primary outcomes were differences in mental health disorders specifically depression anxiety suicidal ideation body dysmorphic disorder and substance abuse or substance use disorder

[00:29:27] as they call it among transgender individuals after they get the surgeries from this database survey or study of 107,583 patients matched cohorts demonstrated that those who undergo the surgery were at significantly higher risk for depression

[00:29:56] anxiety suicidal ideation substance use disorders than the people who did not get the surgeries higher risk higher risk after surgeries higher risk I feel like I need to keep saying that because for some reason the narrative has been that this is the only way that you could prevent somebody from killing themselves yet they are at higher risk of doing that exact thing after the surgeries

[00:30:25] males with surgery showed a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety 25% versus 11% for depression males with the surgery versus without higher rates of depression and higher prevalence of anxiety 13% versus 3% females exhibited similar trends

[00:30:55] with elevated depression at 23% versus 15% who don't get the surgeries and anxiety way higher at like 10.5% to 11% among women that get the surgeries by the way I have no idea what they're talking about when they say females and males because they use they right because they're not using

[00:31:25] like they're calling females females females females that mean they're actually females or are you using the males who then transition to females this is the problem when you corrupt the language you're not clear I can't tell but I'm guessing that they are using females as in biological females that undergo the surgeries because they have higher rates of anxiety

[00:31:54] and that tracks across the demographics women have higher rates of anxiety than men do so that makes sense clinical implications findings suggest the necessity so like okay you've determined this stuff now what do we do about it like what's the recommendation what's the solution where what do you think they're going to propose well if you guessed more resources you would be correct

[00:32:24] there you go that's right the findings suggest the necessity for gender sensitive mental health support following the surgeries to address post surgical psychological risks so they go through the surgeries these risks increase and your response is to say keep doing the surgeries but let's just give them more therapy is it possible that they ended up in the surgery on the surgeon's

[00:32:54] table because of the therapy is that possible gender affirming surgery while beneficial in affirming gender identity is associated with increased risk of mental health issues underscoring the need for more mental health support after surgeries don't say no surgeries don't don't do that no no no it's more therapy all right that'll do it for this episode thank you so much for listening I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that

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