After the student government at Student University denied event funding to my College Republicans chapter here on the basis of nothing but political bias, the College Republicans of America stepped in to provide the resources for the speaker, even in the face of intensifying left-wing backlash.

The event, titled “Gender Expert to “Skeptical Dissenter,” features Sara Stockton; Syracuse University alumnus, psychotherapist, consultant, and now public speaker. While Stockton was once an advocate for “gender-affirming care” for adults and children and worked as a therapist in that field, she had a change of heart and mind. and now advocates against “gender-affirming care” for children, viewing it as doing more harm than good.

After seeing Mrs. Stockton in the hit exposé documentary, What is a Woman? I was lucky enough to discover she is a local to the Syracuse area and invited her to share her uniquely qualified perspective on the matter with the campus and surrounding community. When applying to the Student Association for the funds, we received an unprecedented response.

Financially speaking, our event had “met all expectations” according to the Association’s Finance Board. But, in a separate section of the email, the “Assembly Notes” read that “the student activity fee should not fund this event due to the speaker's transphobic rhetoric in the past.”

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When asked to substantiate these allegations, the representative of the Association was unable to offer specific statements, only referencing a mental health assessment manual Mrs. Stockton co-authored regarding transgenderism. Ultimately, the representative wrote that the Assembly had denied funding because Stockton’s views (presumably her skepticism to the transitioning of children) did not align with “the overwhelming majority of the student population” and “the goals of the university, which push diversity and acceptance.”

Mrs. Stockton has rejected the Association's characterization totally, explaining that her opposition to the transitioning of minors came from a deep care for those children, not a hate or phobia.

"There is no one I care more about than gender nonconforming kids—these are kids who were similar to me and who I am extremely protective of. Suicide indoctrination and suicide extortion, like Dr. Coolhart is engaging in, is extremely harmful to vulnerable young people, and while it serves the universities politics to promote the possibility of someone killing themselves, in the end it’s the dysphoric young person who suffers because of Dr. Coolhart lies and misinformation." Stockton said.

"I know and care about dysphoric young people, and this [transition] is the lowest level of problem solving if we can’t find a way to help children other than straight to medicalization." she concluded.

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Regardless of the truth of the Association's reasoning, their denial of funding was very real, and left us in crisis. Without student funding, the club had very little hope of raising the money ourselves in time. Fortunately, the Syracuse College Republicans are chartered with the national College Republicans of America organization. After hearing what had happened, CRA President Will Donahue was able to raise the money within days, allowing us to push the event forward despite the Student Association's blatantly politically discriminatory attempts to strangle it in the crib.

Troubles, however, did not end there. Students, faculty members, and even local activists have also been trying to stop the event. Social media pages have encouraged followers to flood the university ticketing software with false RSVPs to limit room for those genuinely interested in hearing Mrs. Stockton speak. Fake emails like “gof*ckyourself666@gmail .com” and “F*ckyou@su.edu” have been received.

A petition on Change.org is calling for the University to cancel the event and for a protest at the event. At the time of writing it has reached nearly 1500 signatures. Comments all across the internet have branded Stockton’s ideas as “hate speech” and even “dangerous,” arguing that they endanger “trans youth,” despite the fact that alleged danger is the very premise Stockton questions.

Opposition grew loud enough to force the campus Department of Public Safety from its original location in a central portion of the campus to Drumlins Country Club for security reasons, a location so detached from the main campus it may as well be Siberia. DPS has also mandated that only students and faculty may attend the event due to concerns regarding disruptive demonstrators, marking another change from the club's original intent.

Regardless, the speech and Q and A with Mrs. Stockton will be going forward on November 29 at 7:00 at the Drumlins Country Club at Syracuse University, with doors opening at 6:30

For those interested in watching who are not university affiliated, a livestream of the speech and Q and A should be available on our YouTube channel SU College Republicans. The link will be will also available @cuserepublicans on Instagram and at sucollegerepublicans.org.

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This experience has not discouraged us, but instead fueled our passion to spread truth and free discussion, as this resistance has done nothing but show us how much it’s needed. We’re looking forward to putting on this event and hope you enjoy!