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 |  Subject: UC Irvine students clash over conservative speaker's speech on campus  Fri Jun 03, 2016 8:38 pm | |
| Protesters and supporters of media personality Milo Yiannopoulos clashed Thursday evening at UC Irvine. Members of the UCI College Republicans brought Yiannopoulos to campus.
IRVINE – The appearance of a controversial speaker at UC Irvine turned into a de facto Donald Trump rally – complete with “Build that wall!” chants and verbal clashes.
About 400 supporters of a controversial conservative celebrity who came to campus to speak Thursday evening verbally clashed with about 50 student protesters.
The protesters and supporters of provocative media personality Milo Yiannopoulos remained largely peaceful, though there were several minor physical altercations and campus police with riot helmets had to stop a multi-person brawl after a supporter used the N-word to describe an African American protester.
"I don't think this adds value," said Aketzalli Moralez, 19, a sophomore studying psychology and criminology, of the heightened passions, though she opposes Trump. "We are a divided campus now."
Members of the UCI College Republicans brought Yiannopoulos, an editor for conservative website Breitbart, to campus because they said they wanted to create a dialogue that goes beyond the politically correct messages more widely accepted on college campuses.
Yiannopoulos is a gay man who says being gay was a choice and that he doesn’t “believe” in lesbians. The title of his Thursday night appearance: “Social Justice is Cancer.”
About 6:15 p.m, 45 minutes before Yiannopoulos was set to speak, a group of protesters showed up with signs promoting feminism and multiculturalism, among other issues. They chanted against Israel, police violence and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Trump.
Conservatives are under attack at campuses like UCI, said Ariana Rowlands, the club’s president.
“Last week, I was having an argument with somebody and they were talking about immigration and he was calling me white,” Rowlands, 19, said prior to the event. “He said: ‘You can’t have an opinion on this.’ I am half-Mexican. Does that count for something? He said, ‘I ex-communicate you from the Mexican community. He was calling me mayonnaise and white.”
Yiannopoulos, on a tour of college campuses, riles people up with his appearances.
On Tuesday, protesters at first UCLA blocked attendees from his talk, which was cut early because of a bomb threat, according Breitbart news site At DePaul University in Chicago May 24, a group of students stormed his talk and university security stood by without pulling away the protesters, leading Yiannopoulos to march the students to the school’s administration building. Other campus talks have led to disruptions with students chanting slogans and smearing fake blood on their faces.
Concern over security prompted Orange County’s conservative Lincoln Club to hire four private security guards for the event. Earlier this week, representatives from the Lincoln Club and UCI Republicans met with campus administrators, an attorney and the head of the UCI police department, said Richard Albrecht, chairman of the Lincoln Club Student Outreach Committee.
On Thursday, the Yiannopoulos supporters wore pro-Trump hats and chanted many of his popular slogans, such as "Build that wall!" Some even tried to give the protesters pacifiers — a symbolic gesture against what the College Republicans said are attempts to stifle conservative thought on college campuses.
"We want to hold a peaceful event that promotes dialogue," said Peter Van Voorhis, vice president of the College Republicans. "We believe in unlimited free speech."
After Yiannopoulos began speaking in the 200-seat room in the social sciences building, the remaining 200 or so supporters began chanting "USA!" and tried to provoke the protesters. Still, with police creating a barrier between the groups, the two sides remained mostly peaceful throughout.
Inside, meanwhile, Yiannopoulos took on the Black Lives Matter movement, feminism, illegal immigration and what he said is a lack of aggressive policing in cities like Chicago. Dressed in his version of a police uniform – sleeveless dark blue polyester shirt, with an open collar and a fake badge — he also defended Trump, suggesting he’s a “natural and obvious candidate for gays.”
Asked about how to reveal one is a Trump supporter, Yiannopoulos said it’s easy to come out as gay. But (say) “‘Mom, I’m a Trump supporter.’ Oh God.”
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/yiannopoulos-718070-protesters-trump.html
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