PHOENIX — Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro is declining Grand Canyon University's invitation to speak on campus after the school initially said it was concerned he would cause a divide with students on campus.
In a tweet Wednesday, Shapiro said he will not accept GCU's invitation as is and will only speak on campus if Young America's Foundation organizes his appearance.
His counteroffer comes after GCU said Tuesday that it was not working with the national office of the conservative students' organization, YAF, after the group did not follow the university's protocol for approving speaker engagements.
In a statement GCU said:
"The process of releasing the information became very contentious as the parties could not agree on the exact language that was going to be used. After nearly 24 hours of not being able to work in a productive fashion with the YAF national organization, the University has decided to take a different path forward."
National spokesperson for YAF Spencer Brown called out the Christian university for only caring about its reputation in a tweet Tuesday.
PREVIOUS: GCU invites Ben Shapiro to speak on campus after announcing decision to cancel his appearance
Shapiro, formerly the editor-at-large of Breitbart News, founded and is the top editor of conservative news and opinion website The Daily Wire.
Shapiro has been met with protestors at other appearances. In similar fashion to the GCU saga, the president of Cal State Los Angeles blocked Shapiro in 2016 from speaking at the school then eventually allowed him. That lecture was titled "When diversity becomes a problem."
The political commentator does not back Donald Trump but has conservative views, such as his stances that all abortion is criminal and transgenderism is a mental illness. He is against same-sex marriage and thinks taxes should be lowered for the rich.
GCU, a private university located in Phoenix, said its first decision to cancel Shapiro’s speaking engagement is not a reflection of his ideologies but rather a desire to focus on opportunities that bring people together.
The school said it would continue to work with YAF’s student chapter and with Shapiro directly if he'd like to speak on campus sometime this spring.
