The University of New Mexico has made the headlines today and not sure it’s for the right reasons. The prestigious institution has been brought to face the law for something that the public has considered unjust.
The institution has been brought before the federal court for the hefty amount they charged under the disguise of a security fee during a very important event held by their conservative students.
A Federal Lawsuit Against The University
As surprising as it seems, all roads seem to lead to the court as a legal battle between the legal foundation and the institution arises. The Southeastern Legal Foundation has somehow had it up to its throats and has decided to drag the university to court.
They have brought a federal lawsuit against The University of Mexico for charging the students of the school $5000 in security fees for attempting to bring the well-known women’s sports activist and former champion Riley Gaines as a guest speaker for their event.
A Lawsuit On Behalf Of Turning Point USA Chapter
This lawsuit against The University of Mexico has been brought in a representative capacity on behalf of the Turning Point USA Chapter present on the campus of the university and also its leadership institute.
TPUSA is a very informative group, and it comprises conservative-minded individuals. This is an organization that has been established to help organize, plan, and support conservative student organizations with their various event activities.
Who is Riley Gaines?
Riley Gaines has been making headlines lately. She is an American former competitive swimmer who hails from Gallatin, Tennessee.
She is also the director of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute. Gaines has now become very popular due to her anti-transgender in sports activism.
Something Triggered Gaines’s Activism
Riley Gaines’s activism passion all started when she competed in a swimming competition with a male who had transitioned into a female.
The concept of a man winning in a female competition just because he now identifies as a woman never made sense to her. And she’s not ready to accept this either.
Riley Gaines: Her Experience With The Transgender Swimmer
The topic Riley was supposed to talk about at The University of Mexico was one of her all-time favorites. She had earlier in her swimming career competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Her topic was going to be about her experience when she competed against a transgender athlete, how it felt, and how it triggered her advocacy for the protection of women’s opportunities in sports.
Gaines Is Being Billed To Speak At The Event
Gaines has been a victim of mobs in the past and all these originated from her discussions against allowing transgender women into the athlete community. Because of this, the University of Mexico has decided to take precautions before her arrival.
The university has informed the conservative students of the TPUSA chapter that, to hold such an event they’d need adequate security presence which should cost a security fee of about $10,000.
A Mere Assumption
This statement somehow triggered the Southeastern Legal Foundation, so they took their pen and wrote to the institution way before the event and dropped a warning.
In the letter, they warned them that the action they were about to take might be unfair and unjust. Deciding to impose an outrageous security fee based on an assumption about how people will react to a particular topic is going against their rights and violating the First Amendment.
The Institution Didn’t Care
Regardless of the points made by the Southeastern Legal Foundation in their letter or their warnings about the unconstitutional judgment of the speaker’s viewpoint, they still went ahead to bill the TPUSA campus group.
Well, they brought it down to a lower fee. However, the university had no business with a no-security fee session and went ahead to bill the Leadership Institute and the TPUSA campus group for a total of $5,384.
The Supposed Heavy Security
Now the day of the event came, and the leadership institute and the campus group had no choice but to pay these fees. The invoice from the school showed that twenty-seven officers were put on site with others standing by.
Even though the program ended up on a calm note with only a few protesters who showed up holding signs, the institution still had its arrest team on standby.
The University Is Different Towards The TPUSA
During a conversation with the SLF, they added that the university had earlier admitted that their acts toward the campus group were slightly different. This is because they always charge the TPUSA higher fees during their events.
And because of this, almost all the conservative organizations have ceased to exist. TPUSA has persevered through it all, being the only conservative group left on the UNM campus.
Gaines Has Always Had Critics
This wouldn’t be the first time Riley Gaines has been invited to campuses to share her experience and thoughts on life in general. And most of them always turned out pretty dramatic.
One of these occasions was when she was assaulted by her critics and even held hostage for ransom for sharing her views. This was after she spoke at another TPUSA event at the San Francisco State University event.
She’s Hated By Transgender Women
A more recent situation occurred when she was invited to talk at an event in Havard. She was invited by Harvard’s Network of Enlightened Women and the reaction was just as expected.
The different Trans groups and Queer Students organizations were present at the event hours before it started just to create posters and was criticized by dozens of Trans students.
A Full Blown Trial? Who Is Our Winner?
This might be the first of its kind, having the leadership institute together with the campus groups fight against injustice. Glad that they are aware of their rights and are working towards being compensated for their troubles.
However, judging from the past reactions from transgenders who have tried to attack Riley Gaines in her previous speaking events, the institution might have had a solid reason to charge the campus group a security fee. But, we are actively waiting to know if this case will go to trial or not.
