Representatives from LGBTQ student organizations and the University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs met Monday night to discuss ways to protest and potentially halt an upcoming campus performance from conservative blogger and activist Milo Yiannopoulos, organized by LSU Students for Trump.
Yiannopoulos is visiting the University as part of his “The Dangerous Faggot Tour,” which discusses freedom of speech and has sparked protests on various college campuses. At DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, protestors jumped on stage to speak out against Yiannopoulos.
Yiannopoulos is known for his inflammatory commentary, which some have branded as hate speech.
In July, he was permanently banned from Twitter for his targeted abuse of “Ghostbusters” star and “Saturday Night Live” comedian Leslie Jones. He tweeted that she was “barely literate” and a “black dude,” and he incited his social media followers to harass Jones with racist and sexist tweets, as well.
Yiannopoulos’ tour will make its stop at the Student Union Theatre on Sept. 21. But in a statement to The Daily Reveille, LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said allowing Students for Trump to host its event in a campus facility is not an endorsement of the speaker or his message.
“The group is hosting the event as a student organization and is going through the procedures to host their event, as any student organization can. The University’s role is to provide a facility, as we would to any of our student groups who go through the event process. Simply providing a facility doesn’t equal an endorsement by the University of any event held on campus. No university funds [are] being used to bring him here,” Ballard said in the statement.
Ethan Guerra-Deslatte, vice president of administration for LGBTQ student organization Spectrum, said he and other students have been receiving counsel from the Office of Multicultural Affairs and have been in communication with the Office of Diversity on how best to handle and potentially prohibit Yiannopoulos’ upcoming appearance.
LSU Vice Provost & Chief Diversity Officer Dereck Rovaris suggested invoking a University policy stating that if someone has a history of violence or causing violence, their event on campus can be denied, Guerra-Deslatte said.
“He’s not just anti-LGBT. He’s anti- anything that will get him attention,” Guerra-Deslatte said of Yiannopoulos. “This realistically can incite violence.”
Students for Trump Ambassador David Walters said he wanted to bring Yiannopoulos to campus to gain greater exposure for his organization and attract new members.
Walters said he and other members of Students for Trump are aware of past protests at Yiannopoulos’ shows, and they plan to have a designated protest area outside of the Union Theatre on the night of his performance.
“We’re doing this to enjoy ourselves, to listen to somebody speak and to learn,” Walters said. “This is not going to be some controversial, crazy thing where we’re just going to argue and this and that. Let the people that are going enjoy themselves.”