Christian apologist Frank Turek has accused Baylor University of imposing excessive security fees and administrative restrictions that led to the postponement of a campus outreach event featuring him and fellow apologist Corey Miller.
The event, originally scheduled for Oct. 5 at Waco Hall, was organized by the university’s chapter of Ratio Christi, a national Christian apologetics ministry. Turek, who founded CrossExamined, and Miller, the organization’s CEO, were expected to address students before the gathering was postponed.
Baylor officials disputed suggestions that the university had sought to prevent the event, attributing the postponement to security expenses and the student organization’s failure to complete required administrative procedures.
“The Ratio Christi fall event was postponed by the student organization due to security costs, which per Baylor University policy are the responsibility of the hosting organization,” a university spokesperson told The Christian Post.
According to Baylor, Ratio Christi failed to submit required event documentation “on several occasions,” resulting in a security assessment being finalized shortly before the scheduled gathering.
“Upon receipt of the full security estimate, the student organization decided to postpone, rather than work with campus leaders to identify a different and possibly less expensive location,” the university said. “We understand this is a disappointing outcome for those who were scheduled to speak and attend, and campus leaders stand ready to support our Ratio Christi student leaders on another event in the future, provided appropriate information is shared in a timely manner.”
Another point of contention involved Baylor’s decision to categorize the gathering as an “expressive activity.” Under university guidelines, the term refers to “any form of organized communication or conduct intended to convey ideas, perspectives, or information.” The designation subjected the event to additional requirements affecting publicity, attendance and administrative approval.
Speaking on the Oct. 9 episode of his “Cross Examined” podcast, Turek criticized the university’s handling of the event, alleging that administrators “did everything they could to shut down the event.” He identified six obstacles, including the substantial increase in security costs, the expressive-activity classification and a prohibition on livestreaming.
“In 20 years of going to college campuses, I’ve never experienced more pushback, more administrative roadblocks, and more last-minute changes that could be classified as extortion to thwart my presentation on the evidence for Christianity than we just experienced at Baylor University,” said Turek. “Yes, the Baylor University that advertises itself as a Christian school — a Baptist school.”
Among his central complaints was an alleged last-minute increase in the security fee from $2,600 to $8,500. Turek characterized the sudden change as something that “could be interpreted as extortion,” arguing that the university official responsible for the revised invoice had previously stated that security charges “top out at $3,500.”
Turek maintained that the unexpected financial demand, coupled with the lack of time to resolve the matter, made proceeding with the event impractical.
“Since we had a security team flying there on Sunday and the Baylor administration gave us no time to question, negotiate, or get clarification on any of this, they left us no choice but to cancel the event immediately,” he added. “We didn’t even know if they would take the room away from us at the last minute if we didn’t cough up almost $9,000.”
