In the spirit of free speech, Pitt’s Student Government Board passed the microphone Tuesday to a line of students speaking out about a controversial speaker whose visit SGB partially funded.(http://pittnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/milo1-DF-web-750x500.jpg)
At its public meeting in Nordy’s Place, students packed the William Pitt Union’s multipurpose room to speak their piece on Milo Yiannopoulos’ lecture Monday evening. The Board released a statement earlier in the day defending its allocations decision and inviting students to “share their perspectives” at the meeting.
Yiannopoulos, a controversial conservative writer and activist who tours colleges to speak about the need for free speech, spoke at Pitt Monday evening to a crowd of about 350 students, some of whom protested the lecture. The Board had allocated funding to Pitt College Republicans, who had invited Yiannopoulos to campus.
During his talk, Yiannopoulos called students who believe in a gender wage gap “idiots,” declared the Black Lives Matter movement a “supremacy” group, while feminists are “man-haters.”
According to Board member Jack Heidecker, when SGB considers funding for allocations, it must take a neutral stance and cannot consider the content of the speaker. Despite its legal binding, the Board apologized to the students who were hurt from the speech.
“Just because we have to be neutral with our funding doesn’t mean we’re personally neutral — we feel strongly about these things,” Heidecker said. “I hurt yesterday, too.”
Marcus Robinson, president of Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance, said after leaving the lecture on Monday, he felt unsafe on campus for the first time.
“So many of us shared in our pain. I felt I was in danger, and I felt so many people in that room were in danger. This event erased the great things we’ve done,” Robinson said. “For the first time, I’m disappointed to be at Pitt.”
Robinson suggested that the University should have provided counselors in a neighboring room to help students who felt “invalidated” or “traumatized” by the event.
“This is more than hurt feelings, this is about real violence. We know that the violence against marginalized groups happens every day in this country. That so many people walked out of that [event] feeling in literal physical danger is not alright,” Claire Matway, a social work and urban studies major, said.
Tim Nerozzi, the president of College Republicans and a junior at Pitt, said SGB did not pay Yiannopoulos to speak at Pitt but did fund his hotel and part of his travel expenses.
“I’m not here to rain on your parade. We put a trigger warning on our fliers for the event. We never claimed it would be a family friendly or a politically correct lecture,” Nerozzi said.
In response to student comments, Harun said, with teary eyes, said the best way to make an impact on campus was to begin conversations like this with the Board.
“We’re very sorry people are feeling the way they are and it was not intended … and we’re sorry people are not proud to be at Pitt.”
Milo Yiannopoulos ✘
@Nero
Reminder: everyone who hates me is ugly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o14WLGp95R8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o14WLGp95R8) …
11:19 AM - 3 Mar 2016
Robinson suggested that the University should have provided counselors in a neighboring room to help students who felt “invalidated” or “traumatized” by the event.
Is he really dyeing his hair white? :gurlI wonder if he's tipping his hat to Geert Wilders with that one.
I remember first listening to Milo on the Joe Rogan Podcast.
Dude is such a trip/troll. :doge
A troll I don't agree with on most things but entertaining nonetheless.
Is he really dyeing his hair white? :gurl
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVFCHt5XIAQZRzU.png:large)(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVJAjoXWcAArgso.jpg)
I'm not even reading those block quotes, just gonna re-link to the Twitter thread (https://twitter.com/Mobute/status/671390539070242816) where people roast Milo for his appearance in the above picture.
Cause it's amazing.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVFCHt5XIAQZRzU.png:large)
I'm not even reading those block quotes, just gonna re-link to the Twitter thread (https://twitter.com/Mobute/status/671390539070242816) where people roast Milo for his appearance in the above picture.
Cause it's amazing.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVFCHt5XIAQZRzU.png:large)
I'm not even reading those block quotes, just gonna re-link to the Twitter thread (https://twitter.com/Mobute/status/671390539070242816) where people roast Milo for his appearance in the above picture.
Cause it's amazing.
I have no respect for grown adults who cry about requiring a safe place because someone they dislike is on campus giving a speech they don't have to attend.
I have no respect for grown adults who cry about requiring a safe place because someone they dislike is on campus giving a speech they don't have to attend.
I have no respect for grown adults who cry about requiring a safe place because someone they dislike is on campus giving a speech they don't have to attend.
What really bothers me are the people, both in this incident and others, when they automatically jump to 'feeling in literal physical danger' cause they got their feelings hurt. When I hear that shit I want to slap people.
I refuse to believe it. This story is just sensationalizing a few attention-whores.A lot of shock and horror stories are that, especially where politics is concerned. "They said that!?", "They want to do what!? and so on when it's either just some crackpot or a rumour that bypasses poe's law, because it's them and they would do that, wouldn't they.
I have no respect for grown adults who cry about requiring a safe place because someone they dislike is on campus giving a speech they don't have to attend.This is more than hurt feelings, this is about real violence. We know that the violence against marginalized groups happens every day in this country. That so many people walked out of that [event] feeling in literal physical danger is not alright.
Yiannopoulos confirmed in an interview with BuzzFeed News that he has “about 44” interns — “a mix of paid and unpaid” — writing and conducting research for him.
while that's embarrassing, his public appearances are all him, so I don't see it as that big of a problem
I guess my point is if he were completely a "figurehead" or something it would be plainly evident during his speeches, which it isn't
He also asks several workers to write a speech about feminism: “include (1) feminism attention seeking for ugly people (2) wage gap (3) campus rape culture… a load of mean jokes.”
QuoteYiannopoulos confirmed in an interview with BuzzFeed News that he has “about 44” interns — “a mix of paid and unpaid” — writing and conducting research for him.
:neogaf