It’s hard to miss the irony in the latest dust-up at Rutgers University — a place that claims to champion free expression, so long as that expression isn’t conservative.
The story starts with a Change.org petition, which calls for the disbanding of the university’s Turning Point USA chapter. The reason? Accusations that the group promotes “hate speech” and “incites violence.” But no evidence is presented. No incident cited. Just broad-brush accusations aimed at delegitimizing political views that don’t conform to the campus mainstream.
One of the petition’s signers, spotted by Fox News Digital, is Tia Kolbaba, an associate professor of religion. Kolbaba hasn’t commented, but the university issued a generic statement reiterating its support for free speech and academic freedom — while carefully avoiding a defense of Turning Point’s right to exist on campus without being targeted.
It’s a familiar pattern: the university protects faculty who support silencing dissenting views but stays silent when conservative students are the ones under fire.
All of this comes mere weeks after TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated — yes, assassinated — during a campus appearance in Utah. His alleged killer left behind shell casings inscribed with the words “hey fascist, catch!” and other far-left slogans. That context alone should prompt a moment of reflection before anyone accuses conservative students of being the ones inciting violence.
But reflection is not what this moment is about. It’s about control. Narrative control.
Turning Point USA’s Rutgers chapter fired back, calling the petition defamatory. Outreach coordinator Ava Kwan didn’t mince words: “The same people claiming we’re suppressing their free speech are actively trying to silence us for speaking the truth.” She’s right. And the contradiction isn’t subtle. It’s glaring.
While left-leaning faculty like Kolbaba back efforts to shut down student groups they disagree with, other Rutgers professors have long histories of radical activism. Take Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook. Bray openly supports militant tactics, donates book proceeds to Antifa operations, and has been dubbed “Dr. Antifa” by critics. When TPUSA students launched a counter-petition to have him removed, the response from the academic left was swift: they accused them of harassment.
Now Bray is reportedly fleeing to Spain, claiming threats and doxxing. And again, without evidence, the blame is laid at the feet of conservative students.
Let’s be clear: There is no proof that the Rutgers TPUSA chapter has harassed anyone. But that hasn’t stopped the petitioners from suggesting that students who support the Constitution, lower taxes, or strong borders are somehow responsible for “cultivating” violence.
This is what passes for dialogue on modern campuses — guilt by association, censorship in the name of “safety,” and open season on right-leaning speech. The hypocrisy couldn’t be more obvious: the same university that won’t even comment when a professor tries to cancel a student group will bend over backward to protect faculty aligned with far-left activism.
It’s not just absurd. It’s ideological gatekeeping with institutional backing.
