Republican senator accuses Stanford of punishing student who refused to fund pro-abortion, pro-trans union

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is pushing back on Stanford University, claiming that it has punished students who don't conform to the institution's ideology.

In a letter obtained by Blaze News, Cassidy called out Stanford for allegedly threatening to fire a graduate student who refused to pay dues to a union that advocates values contrary to his own.

'Student workers should not be compelled.'

The union, known as the Stanford Graduate Workers Union, sends two-thirds of its dues to the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, which supports abortion and taxpayer-funded gender-transition procedures. The student refused to pay the dues, citing his conflicting religious beliefs, which allegedly resulted in the threat to fire the student.

"This firing would bar the student from obtaining a degree for no other reason than his objection to being a member of a union that supports political positions violating his sincerely held religious beliefs," Cassidy said in the letter.

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Cassidy described the "chilling effect" that discourages students with unorthodox, and often more conservative or traditional, views to self-censor.

"Forcing student workers to fund such activities has a chilling effect on speech and, presumably, would discourage students with certain religious views from applying to or attending Stanford University," Cassidy said in the letter.

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"Student workers should not be compelled to spend their hard-earned dollars funding organizations that use those same funds to advance causes that violate deeply held religious beliefs," Cassidy added.

Stanford University confirmed to Blaze News that it had received Cassidy's letter and that it will "look forward to reviewing it and discussing it with his office." The university did not comment any further.

Editor's note: This story has been edited after publication to include a statement from Stanford.

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