If you are a conservative on a college campus, get ready to be bullied.
That's the warning College of Charleston student Charlotte Townsend delivered during an interview on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning after detailing her experiences, including one case when political posters she put up were ripped down almost immediately.
“A fellow conservative and were putting up posters around campus and within 15 minutes they had been torn down and destroyed,” Charlotte Townsend said.
“Shortly after we confronted the vandal and he proceeded to say that it was his free speech to tear down our free speech.”
FLASHBACK: CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST ATTACKED ON UC-BERKELEY CAMPUS DURING RECRUITMENT DRIVE
People need to respect one another’s opinions rather than silencing an opinion that they do not agree with
“Before arriving on campus, I had heard the political climate in college was hard on conservatives. I didn’t realize what ‘hard’ meant until I took the hits myself. I live in a world where many of my peers are too afraid to support conservatism in front of their friends,” Townsend wrote in an op-ed published by The Federalist.
The college sophomore said conservative groups on campus have even been forced to take their concerns to college administrators.
“I know several other student groups that are conservative have gone to them, explaining that they do not feel their voices are being heard on campus,” Townsend said.
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PROMOTE FREE SPEECH ON COLLEGE CAMPUS'
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES - Demonstrators seen holding placards during the Climate Strike at Columbia University in New York City, NY. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“I think this is an issue that has a lot to do with people’s character. People need to respect one another’s opinions rather than silencing an opinion that they do not agree with."
Townsend's warning came after President Trump signed an executive order promoting free speech on college campuses by threatening colleges with the loss of federal research funding if they do not protect those rights on Thursday.
"We’re here to take historic action to defend American students and American values," Trump said, surrounded by conservative student activists at the signing ceremony. "They’ve been under siege."
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
