https://socialistaction.org/2017/12/03/uconn-students-respond-to-alt-right-speech-on-campus/
UConn students respond to alt-right speech on campus
/ 2 days ago
Dec. 2017 UConn studentsBy UCONN YOUTH FOR SOCIALIST ACTION
On Dec. 1, University of Connecticut (UConn) students organized a march
and rally in response to their perception of the university
administration’s inadequate action in relation to a white nationalist
speaker on campus four days earlier. That night, Nov. 28, the UConn
College Republicans hosted alt-right spokesperson Lucian Wintrich.
Around 150 students, faculty members, and people from as far as
Massachusetts showed up to protest the event.
Wintrich was drowned out with chants such as “Go home, Nazi” for most of
his hour-long talk, followed by a collective walk-out by the protesters.
During the walk-out, a woman grabbed Winthrop’s speech, after which he
assaulted her, grabbing her from behind. In her words, “He went for my
face.”
That is the context in which the “March for Action” happened. The march
was attended by around 200 students. The demands made by the organizers
and their supporters were focused on having the administration
strengthen their policies on hate speech and to discipline the College
Republicans. However, UConn’s Youth for Socialist Action (YSA) chapter
believes that these demands, if implemented, would increase the
repressive abilities of the administration.
In the days since Wintrich’s speech, the UConn administration, including
President Herbst, have been calling one-on-one meetings with faculty
activists.
Following are major excerpts from the speech by the UConn YSA president,
Evan, that he presented at the Dec. 1 rally.
I am here to talk about how to maintain mobilization following the event
on Tuesday [Nov. 28] and the obvious energies that are showing
themselves now. …
The administration already has the power to silence people, and it does.
Excellent scholars have been ostracized at this university for
supporting Palestinian liberation, the cultural studies programs are
always hanging on by a thread, and they have been stalling on having a
real curriculum on Native American history for decades.
Our strategy cannot be to force the university to protect us; they are
neither willing nor capable to do so. It would do good to remember what
they did in response to the big Title IX violations and severely racist
attacks a couple of years ago. They didn’t do anything to affect the
material conditions of racism or misogyny on campus, they didn’t
substantially increase community education efforts.The administration,
to cover its own ass, increased the size of the administration. The
expansion of administrative authority immediately marginalized the
cultural centers. We cannot appeal to administration—we must protect
ourselves.
The very last thing the administration needs is to have more power to
silence people. All over the country, university administrations are
using their power to stamp out the left and the groups of oppressed
people. As far as I know, no professor has ever been arrested for white
supremacist ideas with the support of their university. On the other
hand, professors are arrested and disciplined for supporting Palestine
all of the time.
At CCSU, the students demanded the campus newspaper make new rules for
censoring out hate speech. Those rules were then used to kick an editor
off the paper for being a socialist, for writing about antiwar and anti
racist activities, for belonging to the YSA.
I am forced to think of George Cicariello-Maher, a professor at Drexel
and a leading scholar on Venezuela, recently put on academic leave due
to right-wing pressure. Or Johnny Eric Williams, a Trinity professor who
recently wrote a book on the racist ideology permeating modern genetic
science, and was put on leave for a supposed “racist” post against white
people on social media. Or even Linda Sarsour, who is regularly accused
of anti-Semitism for her vocal support for Palestinian liberation.
If we ask for the university to punish organizations for bringing in
speakers who use hate-speech, what will we say when the right comes
after us for inviting someone who calls for Black reparations or real
self-determination for Palestine? We should not forget that Malcolm X
was labeled by many as a Black fascist.
So if we cannot appeal to the administration, what are we to do? We need
are our own organizations. Who has the most protection on this campus?
Tenured professors. Why is that? Because they have the AAUP! Just like
professors need to be organized, just like workers need to be organized,
students need our own organizations so we can defend ourselves against
white supremacy, misogyny, transphobia, etc.
Two of the biggest difficulties with student organizing are the
self-enclosure of the campus and the quick turn-over of activists and
organizers. Both of these problems are solved with having as big of a
general organization of students as possible.
There were nearly 300 people protesting Lucian on Tuesday. Imagine 300
students as intimately involved and committed activists working around
the state. We could easily organize contingents of hundreds of people to
go to immigrant court hearings and show the state we will not stand for
more deportations.
When a student group decides to bring a racist, misogynist, piece of
trash speaker to campus, we can make them explain themselves—not to an
external group like the school administration, but to us. When Sodexo
inevitably tries to bust up the cafeteria workers’ union here, the
workers will need our help in fighting for a livable contract. We can
help in any strike efforts or actions. We can spread pro-union
propaganda. This could even be the basis for student workers to unionize.
What we should do going forward is to form united fronts of student
groups. To maintain momentum and independence, we can stand together
against racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and all forms of oppression.
The YSA will fight with you for united fronts that can mobilize, not
300, but 3000 and more for equity and justice. All of us must stay in
constant dialogue, with the intention to hold big conferences before
events like this one so students can collectively debate and discuss in
person exactly what we are trying to accomplish. …
We can mold ourselves to build unity in fighting to demolish the
arguments of the alt-right in big teach-ins, where we put forward the
perspectives of oppressed people, rather than organizing to give the
university more repressive power.
Thank you for coming out and hearing me through. We will build, we will
fight, and we will win.
Photo: Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant
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December 3, 2017 in Connecticut, Fascism / Far Right, students.
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