From the archive
An Interview with Aaron Spring
Aaron Spring, the Fordham student asked to leave a university coffee shop for wearing a “Make America Great Again Hat” answers whether businesses should be allowed to discriminate against people they disagree with politically and whether he would consider returning to the coffee shop.
On December 13th, 2017, Aaron Spring, the Fordham University student who made national news for a confrontation in a university coffee shop, joined Merion West’s Erich Prince to discuss his experience, the issue of freedom of expression on college campuses, and to respond to a conservative critic of his actions.
Thank you for being with us today, Aaron. Your story has been picked up by some major news outlets over the past few days. For our readers, who haven’t heard about what happened, can you walk us through your experience?
Some friends and I met-up, and we happened to be wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and American flag hats. We walked into a coffee shop to converse with one other, and we were kicked out because of the clothes we were wearing. The coffee shop’s staff, which I guess were mainly comprised of far-left liberals, were not too happy with our attire. But we were simply expressing our First Amendment rights and supporting our President.
Just to clarify, how long were you at the coffee shop prior to being asked to leave?
I would say about ten to fifteen minutes. We had bought coffee, we already sat down, and we were talking — and I didn’t actually leave after being asked to, so I was probably there for an hour and a half. They tried to kick me out, but I wasn’t leaving.
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This work is preserved in Merion West’s archive of articles and poems published from 2016 through early 2025. Explore the archive