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Organizers say opponents should come to event: ‘We don’t bite’
A “roast” of Vice President Kamala Harris by a free speech group and two conservative commentators will go on this Wednesday at the University of South Carolina despite demands for it to be canceled.
The NAACP and Democratic politicians, along with dozens of student groups, want the University of South Carolina to cancel the event mocking Harris. Event promotion uses a sexualized version of her name and photo.
Uncensored America’s campus chapter, along with provocative conservative commentators Milo Yiannopoulos and Gavin McInnes, are hosting the event. Leftist activists have committed violence and disruptions at Yiannopoulos (pictured) events, as The Fix has previously reported.
Some McInnes events have faced the same fate. He founded the Proud Boys.
The NAACP, as well as South Carolina state Sen. Tameika Devine and state Rep. Leon Howard, asked the university president to cancel the event.
“As a State Senator, I adamantly oppose our state-funded institution providing a platform to individuals or groups that promote hatred, division, and violence, and I strongly urge the university to reconsider hosting such a harmful event,” Devine wrote in her letter.
Devine’s office did not respond to an email and a voicemail left in the past week.
The Fix asked if she would consider pulling funding from the university if it did not listen to her demands. The Fix also asked if she had any concerns that conservative politicians could use the potential threats of violence against other speakers in the future.
Howard’s office did not respond to requests for comment, including one sent to a specific email address provided by his office to The Fix.
The NAACP did not respond to similar emailed requests for comment sent in the past week. A representative did acknowledge the media inquiry and rerouted The Fix to a communications email. The black activist group wants a “cancellation of the event.”
Event might ‘incite’ violence against female minorities, student says
A recent graduate who is still involved on campus told The Fix via email why she wants the school to relocate or cancel the event. Courtney McClain organized a Change.org petition that has more than 25,000 signatures as of Sep 13.
“Since this issue has attracted national attention, there is a risk of unpredictable actions from members of the public attending the event, as there is no background information or screening process in place for them once they arrive on campus,” McClain said.
“Therefore, the push to cancel the event is being made not to stifle free speech but to prioritize the safety of students on campus who have valid concerns about being exposed to an environment that could incite degradation or violence towards their communities,” she wrote.
McClain said the petition is “not solely about” Harris, “but the vulgar promotion of the event.”
She said the promotion “can incite sex and race-based violence against Black and Asian female students.” She also criticized “the controversial history of the speakers, and the environment that this event will create on campus for marginalized students moving forward.”
“Many minority students find their identities reflected in Vice President Kamala Harris, so an attack on her is perceived as an attack on them as well,” McClain said.
The public university told The Fix it will protect the safety of all participants. It previously announced it supports the free speech rights of students.
“Like every event on campus, USC works with its police department and other campus partners to develop a comprehensive safety and security plan,” spokesman Collyn Taylor told The Fix via email. “The safety of our students, faculty and staff is one of USC’s top priorities and the security plan will reflect that.”
An alternative event is reportedly in the works, according to the Carolina News and Reporter. The Fix could not find information on the event on the Instagram pages of campus groups opposing the Harris event.
The student senate denied a funding request for the event, despite warnings it would violate a school policy to make decisions on a “viewpoint neutral” basis,” according to the campus newspaper.
One student, Mia LaPinta, suggested funding the event would mean the senate was taking a “political stance,” citing the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision.
Universities should protect ‘expressive rights’ group says
An attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression warned about letting universities cancel events due to threats of violence.
“Public universities, like USC, cannot use the threat of violence or disruption in response to controversial speakers as a pretext to silence those speakers,” FIRE’s Jessie Appleby said via email to The Fix. “That’s known as a heckler’s veto and it violates a public university’s constitutional obligation to protect faculty and student expressive rights.”
“When an event is targeted for violence or disruption by those opposed to the speakers’ message, federal courts have been clear that the university must respond with bona fide efforts to protect expressive rights with other, less restrictive means than cancellation,” Appleby told The Fix.
“Otherwise, universities would have broad authority to limit all manner of speech under dubious security rationales,” she said; this is because “any such actions to limit speech can nearly always be reframed and sold as efforts to protect the public or the speaker from harm.”
While universities should “respond to credible threats of violence” it must be done to protect “expressive rights,” she said.
Rather than canceling an event, universities should “remove or arrest those who actually engage in violence or sustained disruption.”
Uncensored America’s founder said the group wants to “bring free speech back to America, specifically by fighting censorship and cancel culture.”
“The only way we can do that is if we host censored and canceled speakers,” Sean Semanko said via email.
Asked what people should do if they disagree, Semanko said to “come to the event.”
“Ask a question during the Q&A. We don’t bite.”
Editor’s note: McClain’s status at the university has been updated
MORE: Check out the Campus Cancel Culture Database
IMAGE: Rubin Report/YouTube
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