Young Americans for Freedom Becomes Latest Target of Ideological Purge on Campus

The University at Buffalo derecognized a Young Americans for Freedom chapter because of its political viewpoint.
Alliance Defending Freedom

Written by Alliance Defending Freedom

Published June 20, 2023

Revised January 22, 2025

Young Americans for Freedom Becomes Latest Target of Ideological Purge on Campus

University campuses are supposed to be places where ideas are debated and diverse views are shared. Students learn to articulate and defend their beliefs while engaging in discussions with those who disagree.

Universities are supposed to be that way, but some universities prefer to banish from campus views they disapprove. Student groups often lead that charge. That is exactly what happened at the University at Buffalo.

A student club committed to freedom

Young America’s Foundation (YAF) is an outreach organization dedicated to the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. It also charters local chapters on college and high-school campuses across the country called Young Americans for Freedom.

The University at Buffalo (UB) chapter of Young Americans for Freedom was established in 2017. The group helps express the values central to YAF’s mission by posting flyers, hosting tables with information, inviting speakers to campus, and talking to students about their ideas.

But after UB Young Americans for Freedom hosted a speech on campus by one conservative commentator, the Student Association—exercising authority given by the University—passed a policy that banned YAF from recognition as a student organization.

Student organizations at the University at Buffalo must be recognized by the university to enjoy benefits like the right to use the university’s name, the ability to reserve spaces on campus to meet and host events, and more. Without recognition, student organizations cannot access these resources. And only those recognized by the Student Association can access funding from the mandatory student activity fee all students must pay.

Targeted and punished

The University at Buffalo authorizes its Student Association, a nonprofit membership corporation comprising all undergraduate students at the university, to recognize student organizations. UB Young Americans for Freedom has been a recognized organization since 2017.

But in March 2023, the Student Association modified the policies that a club must follow to be recognized. It added a new rule that said, “Except for clubs in the Academic, Engineering, or Sports Councils, and clubs whose sole purpose is to engage in inter-collegiate competition, no SA club may be a chapter of or otherwise part of any outside organization.”

This change disqualified UB Young Americans for Freedom from recognition because it is a chapter of YAF. By disqualifying YAF while exempting certain other clubs, the Student Association directly targeted Young Americans for Freedom and other conservative groups with its rule change.

The rule change was adopted about two weeks after UB Young Americans for Freedom hosted conservative commentator Michael Knowles for a speech on campus. The event drew much attention, and some people protested on campus.

When adopting the new rule against chapter organizations, the university’s student body president told the Student Association Senate, “We all know why we’re doing this.” This was a thinly veiled admission that the Student Association was changing its criteria for recognized organizations to target UB Young Americans for Freedom and their beliefs.

Even though the University at Buffalo and the Student Association were told that the criteria violated the U.S. Constitution, they decided to derecognize groups anyway. The Student Association gave clubs about two months to “come into compliance” with the new rule, and after UB Young Americans for Freedom declined to remove its affiliation from YAF, the policy stated that the group would be automatically derecognized.

A lawsuit, a new policy, and an appeal

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of UB Young Americans for Freedom and three individual students, and the Student Association revoked the policy. Unfortunately, the organization replaced it with another policy that also violated student groups’ constitutional rights.

The new policy states that  student officers must sign an acknowledgement that surrenders the rights of their organizations to exist as a legal entity under state law, file any lawsuits against the university or its officials, have financial accounts, and enter into agreements with other organizations or individuals. It indicates that student groups that decline to surrender their rights will not be recognized by the Student Association.

These requirements still violate the Constitution. Universities cannot bar groups from campus because they are affiliated with larger organizations. Furthermore, they cannot force student groups to surrender their rights or ban them from taking legal action when those rights are violated.

But that’s exactly what the Student Association is doing. Because UB Young Americans for Freedom won’t sign a form waiving its legal rights, the Association has blocked the group from accessing more than $6,000 in student-fee funding in its account.

ADF attorneys amended the lawsuit to challenge the new policy and filed a motion with a federal district court asking the court to prohibit the university and Student Association from blocking the funds. After the court dismissed the case, ADF attorneys appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

Students have a right to freely express their beliefs on campus, to gather together with those of like mind to advance those beliefs, and to decline to merge their group with all other student groups that Student Association recognizes. And university officials cannot create (or tacitly permit) unconstitutional policies to ban viewpoints they do not like. Universities can’t pick and choose which student groups are allowed on campus based on their views or lawful affiliations.

University at Buffalo Young Americans for Freedom v. University at Buffalo Student Association

  • January 2025: ADF attorneys filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
  • March 2023: The UB Student Association adopted new criteria barring student groups that are not classified by the Student Association as related to academics, engineering, sports, or intercollegiate competition from being affiliated with national or off-campus organizations.
  • June 2023: The Student Association automatically derecognized UB Young Americans for Freedom because the group refused to terminate its relationship with Young America’s Foundation. ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of the group and three individual students.
  • July 2023: The Student Association revoked the policy banning groups from affiliating with larger organizations but replaced it with a new policy that was also unconstitutional, which ADF attorneys also challenged.
  • March 2024: ADF attorneys filed a motion with a federal court asking it to prohibit the university and Student Association from continuing to block Young Americans for Freedom from accessing its funds.
  • April 2024: ADF attorneys presented oral argument in federal district court.

Related Articles

Oregon Punishes Catholic Counselor for Not Validating Same-Sex Relationships
Oregon Punishes Catholic Counselor for Not Validating Same-Sex Relationships
Trump’s Day-One Executive Orders Correct Course on Censorship, Gender Ideology, DEI
Trump’s Day-One Executive Orders Correct Course on Censorship, Gender Ideology, DEI
New Survey Reveals a Crisis of Self-Censorship in Higher Education
New Survey Reveals a Crisis of Self-Censorship in Higher Education
Meeting the Moment: Opportunities for ADF in a Second Trump Administration
Meeting the Moment: Opportunities for ADF in a Second Trump Administration
To top