PHX Reporter

Former executive director of the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University (ASU), Ann Atkinson, criticized the university for hosting an upcoming “Marxist School” event despite her saying she was fired for hosting conservative speakers at an event earlier this year.

"At ASU, the Marxist School that teaches ‘Why Communists Today Need to Prepare for Power’ is allowed without objection,” Atkinson posted on X in mid-September. “But daring to host a program on Health, Wealth, and Happiness is met with condemnation, censorship, and job loss."

Atkinson further expressed her frustration in a post on X on October 24, responding to a student's post of an event flier on campus. She stated, "A communist revolution is welcome at ASU. But not Health, Wealth & Happiness."

The International Marxist Tendency's (IMT) website, SocialistRevolution.org, promoted the upcoming “Marxist School” event, scheduled to take place on November 4 and 5 at Arizona State University. Atkinson shared a link to the website, which described the event as a "weekend of discussions on Marxist theory and revolutionary strategy." The event is organized by Socialist Revolution and is also being held in other cities such as New York City, Minneapolis, and Bellingham, Wash.

According to Atkinson, she was fired from her position at ASU after the T.W. Lewis Center announced it would host a “Health, Wealth and Happiness” event in February. The event featured conservative speakers, including talk show hosts Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk, as well as financial author Robert Kioysaki. Following the announcement of the speakers, 39 out of 47 Barrett faculty expressed outrage and sent a letter to the dean condemning the event. This led to the university announcing that funding for the T.W. Lewis Center would not be extended past June 30, resulting in Atkinson's termination.

The situation has raised concerns about the university's handling of ideological events and whether there is a double standard in allowing certain viewpoints while censoring others. Atkinson's criticism highlights the apparent contradiction in hosting a Marxist event while penalizing a conservative event.

The controversy surrounding the university's stance on hosting events with different ideological perspectives continues to spark discussion and debate among students, faculty, and the public.