I used to hear stories about people “getting canceled” all the time, but nothing could’ve prepared me for a free speech battle with the people who intended to educate my generation.  

It all began a year ago when I decided to create a Students for Life of America (SFLA) group at my new public school. I spent months searching for a school sponsor for my pro-life group. After months of asking person after person, I finally found a teacher willing to stand firm with me for the group’s creation. Immediately, we began the creation process by emailing the school principal and vice principal. We were met with deafening silence after notifying them of our club request. 

It took a month for the vice principal to agree to meet and discuss where the club was in the establishment process. During that meeting, she told me it had been sent to the district board for review due to its “controversial” nature. So, my father and I contacted the district to speed up the process. It wasn’t until the summer that the board finally reached out and agreed to discuss it.  

But it seemed every step forward was met with a giant pause. We waited and complied with their every request. At the beginning of August, we finally thought we were making progress when the district contacted us and approved the rules and guidelines, which were sent to our vice principal to review with me. Excited, I prepared for a meeting with the vice principal within the first two weeks—except that’s not how it happened.  

One week, two weeks, and four weeks passed before she met with me and explained the guidelines. During the meeting, she said my club was not allowed to use the school’s name or anything related to it in our name, logo, or promotion. When I asked why, she said it was because the school didn’t want to be seen taking a side in the movement.  

I found this odd, given that my pro-life group was the only group in the entire school that was asked to do this. After further research, my dad and I found that there wasn’t even a written policy allowing them to do this.  

In the words of my principal, it was an “oral policy.” 

Not wanting to make enemies or risk losing my club, I complied and kept moving forward. To help promote the club, I created an Instagram account named @sotomayor_for_life. Knowing it was Instagram, where countless other accounts used the “Sotomayor” name and were not affiliated with the school, I felt no breach of this “oral policy” that seemed to only apply to my club. According to the school, I was “in the wrong.”  

The account gained much traction in the days following our first post, which resulted in heavy backlash. After I went onto our school’s visual announcements, proclaimed the club official, and announced our first meeting, people messaged me with insults and mockery of the preborn.  

“The club wasn’t right,” some would say. “A man should have no say in the conflict,” said another.   

They began commenting on the pro-life club account and finding any reason to tear it down.  

Parents were emailing the school, and people in the hallways of my school were calling me a “nazi” and a “misogynist,” all for creating a school club advocating for preborn life. It didn’t take long for the vice principal to call me into her office regarding the club. She told me that she was made aware of the Instagram account and wanted me to delete it. 

I was shocked.  

I asked why before she told me it was because my name had “Sotomayor” in it. I wondered if I could change the name, but she said no. Immediately, I knew this was wrong. After all, I was the one being bullied. Regardless, I relented and deleted the account.  

Later that day, my sponsor informed me she was stepping down due to pressure from kids and the threat of losing her job. I was highly discouraged – it seemed the “cancellation” was working. 

But, I was prepared, having a backup sponsor who was more than happy to take the new mantle. Only two days after this, I was called into the office and informed that the principal had decided to suspend my club until further notice.  

Instead of defending me and my free speech rights, she seemed more concerned for the bullies rather than me, claiming the backlash had created an “unsafe” environment and was preventing learning. This was insane, considering we knew the backlash hadn’t exceeded social media, and included no actual threats. 

The school was supposed to help me. Despite my compliance, following all the rules, and even at one point supporting the group, they allowed bullies to prevail, and I paid the price.  

Out of options and at a loss, my father and I finally contacted SFLA’s legal counsel to discuss the situation and the next steps.  My Marine veteran father always taught me to stand firm in my conviction, so I became encouraged not to give up. With the incredibly supportive team at Students for Life of America, including my fantastic mentors and friends Mary Briganti and Olivia Torralba, this whole experience has taught me a critical lesson: 

Stand up for the preborn, no matter the personal cost or inconvenience.  

I have often wondered why I chose this hard road, but I always remember my reason: to save lives, to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves, and to be a true man by advocating for the preborn and women. So, I will continue to fight and never give up because I know what’s at stake. 

I even spoke to a local news outlet about my school’s censorship of pro-life free speech issue to spread awareness of this censorship.

WATCH:

It wasn’t just my First Amendment rights that were compromised; it was every student who was part of my club. Every student said they feared speaking up because they feared people’s reactions to an opinion. SFLA’s legal team has reached out to my school to reinstate the club, and when it is, I will lead my group to a successful year full of activism and positivity to show the school and the students that Wildcats for Life is here to stay. 

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